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    Emma: "Better be without sense than misapply it as you do."
    Emma: "Better be without sense than misapply it as you do."
    Emma: "Better be without sense than misapply it as you do."
    Ebook607 pages9 hours

    Emma: "Better be without sense than misapply it as you do."

    By Jane Austen

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Jane Austen’s Emma (1815) explores the life of women in Regency England, combining romance with some aspects of the comedy of manners. The story centers around the eponymous character who, unlike Austen’s other popular heroines, is an upper middle-class young woman with no pecuniary concerns. Emma Woodhouse is rather a strong-headed, beautiful young woman who lives with her father and who has resolved not to marry. Yet, she spends considerable time and energy trying to make matches for the other people around her and tends to draw amusement and satisfaction from such practice. After one successful experience, Emma tries to match her friend Harriet to a man named Mr. Elton. Her earnest and honest friend George Knightley warns her of Mr. Elton’s snobbish nature. Nonetheless, Emma starts by making her friend Harriet reject a marriage proposal. Surprisingly, while she believes Mr. Elton’s attention is drawn towards Harriet, the man ends up declaring his love for the match-maker herself. When Emma informs Mr. Elton of her intention to match him to her friend, he feels insulted, considering Harriet’s inferior social class. He leaves the town while Emma keeps on trying to find a husband for Harriet. By the end of the novel, Emma marries Mr. Knightley to finally give up her favorite hobby while Harriet marries Robert Martin. We’ve also included a concise and informative biography of Jane’s works and life at the end of the book. We hope it helps to give a little context and colour about how her life interacted with her art.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherA Word To The Wise
    Release dateAug 20, 2013
    ISBN9781780006260
    Emma: "Better be without sense than misapply it as you do."
    Author

    Jane Austen

    Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist whose works are among the most popular novels ever written. Her keen eye for social tension, and ear for taut, witty dialogue have delighted readers for centuries, while her novels have maintained historical importance through their analysis of the dependence of women on marriage to gain social standing and security. She has been widely adapted for both stage and screen, and continues to be among the most widely-read of late-18th-/early 19th-century writers.

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    Reviews for Emma

    4/5

    7,882 ratings95 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is one of Jane Austin's most fun books. Emma is one of Austin's typical Can't-see-the-nose-on-her-face heroine, and her misadventures are quite entertaining.
    • 4/5
      Emma is a lovable character even with all her faults and misjudgments. She seems to be forever misjudging people and putting her own ideas in place of the reality. She attempts to match make on behalf of her friends but does not do so well at it. In the end it is her own match that secures the happy ending.
    • 4/5
      I rated this high because I appreciate it from a historic literary standpoint, but I HATED THIS BOOK.
    • 5/5
      My favorite book by my favorite author.
    • 3/5
      Oddly, not as readable as Sense and Sensibility. I found myself honestly not caring about many of the characters in the book, though somehow I adored the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow. Really disappointing.I hope to try and read it again some time in the future. Maybe I'll like it better then.
    • 5/5
      This is my second favorite Austen novel (after Pride & Prejudice, of course). A matchmaker (Emma) proclaims she will never get married but eventually falls in love and succombs to marriage in the most elegant way. Perfectly Austen.
    • 5/5
      I love electronics, cars, and all things made available by modern technology. But reading Emma (or any Austen, really) makes me want to live back in the 1800's. So lovely.
    • 5/5
      Even though many people I know who have read the book dislike the main character, I liked her very much. She wasn't nearly as perfect as Elizabeth or Elinor, but it was her many flaws that made her so appealing to me. She just seemed more real. I found the book very witty and loved reading it.
    • 4/5
      Smart, enjoyable read. Not much exuberant passion is displayed by Austen, but it lays beneath the words.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite Jane Austin book. Emma Woodhouse is funny and captivating. I love to see as she finds her place in the world and finding love right under her nose. As with all of the Austin books, we see a world that is long since forgotten in modern society but the message is still true. Excellent read.
    • 3/5
      I probably would have liked Emma more if I had finished it. . .It was alright. I mean, I had some difficulty around the middle section of it, it kind of slowed down and I STILL cannot get around the old-fashioned language of it. I'll have to read a paragraph like 10 times before I understand.Great story, though. Maybe I'll read it again when I'm a little more intelligent.
    • 5/5
      I think Emma was the first Austen novel that I ever read, and it has only grown better with each re-reading. The story of a girl as she comes of age in regency England, it touches on the many issues facing women in that period - gender roles, class and social climbing, education, family values, and proper behavior in public and private in this socially proscriptive society. Austen does a fantastic job of drawing you into this world and illuminating daily life in her society.
    • 5/5
      Jane Austen. Enough said - the greatest of romance writers.
    • 3/5
      It's hard to read this and not compare it to Clueless from time to time, but on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not Austen's best certainly, but entertaining nonetheless.
    • 4/5
      Not my favourite of Austen's books, certainly, and I cannot see the attraction in the eponymous heroine. Furthermore, the book feels terribly over-long, and when the big reveal arrives, as it does in all of Austen's fiction, it is particularly unsurprising.
    • 4/5
      I always thought I wasn't an Austen fan, but Emma made me rethink my position. Far more engaging than Pride and Prejudice, imo.
    • 5/5
      I have read all of her completed works and most of her juvenalia. It is not one of her popular novels because of the heroine but that is the challenge to see the good in Emma as well as her class snobbery. I have it in the Penguin edition as I have the other completed books.
    • 3/5
      This started off quite well, and the constant misunderstandings by Emma Woodhouse of the romantic intentions of others quite comical. However, I found too many of the characters difficult to distinguish in my mind (my favourite was probably Emma's hapless, hypochondriac father), and they lacked the colourful nature of the more eclectic cast of characters in Mansfield Park. So it was a bit of a struggle in places.
    • 5/5
      Emma, Emma, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways. (Until you get over yourself, that is.) And the great thing is, the story's written so brilliantly that even while you're wishing you could wring the title character's neck, you're having the time of your life reading about her.
    • 2/5
      I just have trouble carrying the least bit about Miss Emma. She may be more likable than "Twilight's" Bella, but they both are utterly self-involved twits.
    • 5/5
      Though it was a must-read during my English literature class, I would read it over and over again because each character reminds me of someone I know!
    • 4/5
      Re-read these days and am still just loving this!
    • 3/5
      I thought Emma was very witty. While not my absolute favorite of Jane Austin's, still an enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      Emma is, if not my first, one of my favourite novels. Jane Austen perfectly describes the characters and the events that happen throughout the book. You can easily sympathize with characters one moment and hate them the next. Emma is a great novel that i can look forward to reading again and again.
    • 5/5
      Jane Austen's finest. Her language and imagery is vivid and exquisite as always. However, the plot in Emma is so much more extravagant with its twists, turns, and love triangles. It is no wonder that novelists and movie makers today are still trying to match it's genius and modernizing it as they did with Clueless.It is easy to see why Jane Austen has remained one the of the best authors of all time.
    • 1/5
      I can't stand this novel!! It's so slow. It's like watching baseball
    • 1/5
      I really didn't find Emma to be a sympathetic character - she's so condescending and self-centered. She does grow throughout the novel, but I didn't grow to like her any better. I think part of the problem is my personal bias against the social norms described in the novel; I just can't stand the class-ism or the obvious scorn for people who work for a living. Maybe I hate it because I have to work for a living, which would make me an outcast in this society!
    • 5/5
      A wonderful book. You will thoroughly enjoy reading this book.
    • 4/5
      I love Austen, and this book is one of her best. The character of Emma is great. She is a fun person and really human. She is a romantic that wants everyone to be happy, but makes so many mistakes along the way. I like the era the novel is set in, with everyone very much set in their social status. The other characters are great, my favourite being Miss Bates.
    • 4/5
      A delightful book, if not a little irritating in parts. I've read this at least once before, but it's been a few years. Emma lives with her father and fancies herself a matchmaker who will never marry herself. She learns a few lessons along the way that turn her from a spoiled, annoying young woman to someone who is kind and caring. My only complaint with this book is that Mr. Woodhouse and Mrs. Elton annoy me to tears. Otherwise, this is a good read.

    Book preview

    Emma - Jane Austen

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