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Emma (Dover Thrift Editions)
Emma - Dover Thrift Editions
Author: Jane Austen
Sparkling comedy of provincial manners concerns a well-intentioned young heiress and her matchmaking schemes that result in comic confusion for the inhabitants of a 19th-century English village. Droll characterizations of the well-intentioned heroine—one of Austen’s immortal creations—and her hypochondriacal father—plus m...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780486406480
ISBN-10: 0486406482
Publication Date: 12/23/1998
Pages: 384
Rating:
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 28

4.2 stars, based on 28 ratings
Publisher: Dover Publications
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Emma (Dover Thrift Editions) on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Emma Woodhouse, the title character of this wonderful book, thinks that she would be a good matchmaker. She lives on an estate in the English countryside with her father, her sister, and, until recently, her best friend and former governess, Miss Taylor. Miss Taylor recently married a man Emma introduced her to. So, with this success, Emma feels that her matchmaking career has begun.
Unfortunately, Emma is lacking in two essential qualities for the job. As Austen says she is "handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and a happy disposition.." but she is not very observant and does not yet understand the human heart.
It can be difficult for today's reader to get into books by Jane Austen. She wrote her books in the early 19th century and often wrote about life in the English countryside, a setting far from our own experience. The pace of the books is slower and the descriptions longer than we are used to, and the characters are often not able to say quite exactly what they mean. The books were written for a different audience at a much different time.
Also, the books are long; they are definitely not the fast-paced, action-packed thrillers we love to read today. Austen's books require a different kind of reader: one who has some time: one who can slow down and savor the characters and the story.
Because, unlike her heroine, Jane Austen is observant and does understand the human heart. The characters she describes are the principal joy of this book and, once you get to know them, you will find that you already know others like them. Besides bright but slightly bored Emma, we find here the eccentric Mr. Woodhouse, always concerned about his health and the health of other, the dull Miss Bates, always chattering away about nothing, the pliant Harriet, whose life Jane almost ruins, the ambitious Mr. Elton, a self-centered social climber, and Mr. Knightly, Emma's friend and gentle critic.
This book will reward those who can make their way into the story, who can step away a little from the fast pace of life today and enjoy some familiar people who lived long ago.
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reviewed Emma (Dover Thrift Editions) on + 5 more book reviews
Excellent book even if you have seen the movie.
mywoodybird avatar reviewed Emma (Dover Thrift Editions) on + 28 more book reviews
very well written and interesting book
reviewed Emma (Dover Thrift Editions) on + 15 more book reviews
Nice looking version of "Emma." The book is practically brand new.
reviewed Emma (Dover Thrift Editions) on
This book was a fantastic book that made me laugh and cry. This book had me talking about it for days.
reviewed Emma (Dover Thrift Editions) on + 43 more book reviews
A wonderful Austen classic, with a happy ending -
reviewed Emma (Dover Thrift Editions) on + 33 more book reviews
Emma is one of my favorite Jane Austen novels - and this QPBC version is lovely - beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully presented.
reviewed Emma (Dover Thrift Editions) on
A multi-voice dramatization, with narrator. Nearly verbatim, (word for word), but not exactly. 4 cassettes Produced in 1989

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