Background:
http://www.janeausten.org/jane-austen-biography.asp
Hint to enjoying this book:
My friend Deborah saw that I was reading this book and offered a tip that helped me survive the book and actually enjoy reading it! She said it's the movie Clueless with a few changes. She was right! If you compare the book to the movie you can see similar characters, attitudes, events, with just a few minor changes here and there.
Review:
I always had a hard time trying to get into "Pride and Prejudice" when I tried that book. However, "Emma" opens with a "sad" event. Emma Woodhouse and her father are mourning over the fact that Miss Taylor, Emma's former governess (think live in nanny) has gotten married and moved into her new husband's house. It's not a far carriage ride or walk by foot to visit them, but to them, it is an unfortunate happening for Miss Taylor (now Mrs. Weston).
Emma is a pretty girl in her early 20's. Her sister is married and has children, and her mothered had died long before. She has to take care of her hypochondriac father. Not only is her cautious about his health, but everyone else's health that comes to visit him. When they hold a dinner party he is worried about drinking too much, standing too close to the fire, walking around too much, eating too much, etc. There is always something that can go wrong. If it does he thinks his doctor is the best and everyone should consult with him. Other doctor's are inadequate and don't know what's good for the patient.
Emma is also VERY smart, however, she knows it. She is vain about her mind and sometimes, although she will not admit it, she makes mistakes. For example, she befriends a girl named Harriet Smith who is in love with a farmer. Harriet doesn't know who her father is and does not have a mother. In those days, a person born out of wedlock was thought of as very low. Emma doesn't want Harriet to marry Robert Martin because he is not of high class and therefore Emma wouldn't be allowed to associate herself with Harriet. Harriet abandons the thought as Emma pushes her to shoot for Mr. Elton, a very high society man who visits the Woodhouse mansion (Hartfield) almost everyday, just like Mr. Knightley (the highest ranking person in the town and brother-in-law to Emma).
Mr. Knightley tells Emma that Harriet is not worthy of Mr. Elton and should go ahead and marry Mr. Martin, but Emma won't have it and tells him that she knows for a fact Mr. Elton is deeply infatuated with Harriet. Mr. Knightley retorts that it is not Harriet that he is in love with and Emma laughs that off.
That is the start of this wonderful book. I don't want to give away too much incase you decide to read it for yourself. There are rivals, love interests, betrayal, and mystery all rolled into this 328 page book. I personally did not like Emma as a main character until she realized her own problems and her own self. It was a wonderful journey to take as she made mistakes, decisions, friendships, and even found love.
Likes:
Emma, as a character, is very relatable. Problems arise and are taken care of in a fashion that any high schooler can understand. The story itself. The ending.
Problems:
Although it is written in modern English, there are some terms, sentence structures, and even places that we may not recognize making this hard to get through. There are long paragraphs describing very small actions at times, which puts me off. Once you get past the first part of the book (which was what I gave to you) it gets interesting, especially when Mr. Churchill arrives. He shakes things up a bit and really gets the ball rolling.
Who I'd recommend this book to:
Classic lovers, first time Jane Austen readers, Clueless lovers (like myself), people who love a good romance book.
ISBN:
13:978-0-486-40648-0
10:0-486-40648-2
This was my first book review ever. Feel free to comment, suggest changes, give opinions, etc.
Please stop by again to check out my next review: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
K.
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