Emma (Penguin Classics)
 

Emma

by Jane Austen

Of all Jane Austen's heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most flawed, the most infuriating, and, in the end, the most endearing. Pride and Prejudice's Lizzie Bennet has more wit and sparkle; Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey more imagination; and Sense and Sensibility's Elinor Dashwood certainly more sense--but Emma is lovable precisely because she is so imperfect. Austen only completed six... (read more)

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Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

2 of 2 members found this review helpful.
Tinky
  • Rated 5 stars

Austen's greatest and most complex creation, Emma Woodhouse has all of the arrogance of the supremely well-intentioned, and none of the empathy. Her cheerful ignorance of the ways of the human heart provides the basis for the novel's chief pleasure: we watch Emma receive her emotional education, and along the way we do, too. This and the wintry "Persuasion" are Austen at the peak of her powers.

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Didn’t Like It

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.
Elizabeth G
  • Rated 2 stars

I shouldn't have marked this as "read," because I stopped in the middle and don't plan to finish. I had a hard time finding a single likeable character, and that was disappointing. I interrupted my reading of Emma to read Persuasion, which was a good move. Persuasion was a total page-turner.

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Community:
  • Rated 4.073657 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 0 stars
 

Newest Comments

  • E Bennet

    e bennet said:

    I like the idea that Mr.Knightley has been Emma's constant debate partner on her match makings. When he has been inlove with her all along, while she only realizes when she felt jelous. Although I do agree that Emma seems so childish and naive compared to other Austn's main characters.

    posted 6 days ago
  • Selina C

    selina c said:

    I love Emma! I love that she is so clueless but that's what makes her endearing. She certainly gets her comeuppunce in the end - if come-uppance is the word for it!

    posted 8 days ago
  • Vanessa

    vanessa said:

    This is also my least favorite Jane Austen novel. The main character Emma is so self indulgent and annoying, the book is the inspiration for the movie "Clueless". If you liked the movie, this is the real version of the story-but it's just irritating as a novel. Read Pride and Prejudice instead.

    posted Sunday, July 27 2008 ( | view 1 reply )
  • jeet i

    jeet i said:

    must i read this novel. what is this all about?

    posted Saturday, March 15 2008 ( | view 2 replies )
  • Sara B

    sara b said:

    i love all her books , and it's not only because i admire her writing style but because i can totally relate to what she says. she was a very open minded brave woman i think. and she tried to show her own true character through the heroins of her books...( that's what i would like to think) :)

    posted Saturday, January 19 2008
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