How long is emma by jane austen

If it's your fantasy to be a condescending shrew then this is the book for you! Each year, I read or listen to at least one of Jane Austen's novels, novellas, or letters. It had been some time since I picked up Emma so I was pleased to one-click the free version on Amazon and then upgrade for a dollar to the audio which was produced by Blackstone. I am hit or miss with their narrators, but Nadia May was fabulous. She had a good storytelling tone and pace, voiced the characters well, and was an overall good match for the story.

Emma is a wonderful novel set in an English Regency village. The plot is utterly character-driven and centers around a young, beautiful, woman of the gentry class who takes up matchmaking and improving an impoverished girl of obscure connections against the advice of family friend George Knightley all to rather interesting results.

And there ends my usual set up for a review. This book has plenty of reviews so I'm just going to ramble on about what jumped out at me on this latest experience with the book. Austen said that Emma is a character that only she would love. That has always struck me. Emma happens to be liked by many even if she isn't their top favorite Austen heroine. Unfortunately, I have always been one of the crowd she was talking about who has never been enamored with Emma. I have read Emma a few times and love the overall novel and some aspects of Emma the heroine, but I can't get past her mistake of treating Harriet Martin like a project to alleviate her ennui.

But, she has grown on me over the years. In fact, like all of Austen's heroines, I can see a little of myself in her particularly when I was her young age with mostly my wants and desires ruling my actions. And, there, I suppose, I have learned to cut Emma some slack even if I still grind my teeth about toying with Harriet's future happiness.

I can see just how sheltered and unsophisticated she is even though she is full of womanly grace, has pleasing manners, and comes from wealth and status. She's lived in a village all her life and doesn't travel to broaden her mind and experience. She doesn't read or spend time around learned people with the exception of Mr. Knightley who she dismisses as overly critical.

The village doesn't offer her any real peers so there's a big fish in a small pond thing going on. No one else does anything, but praise her. That, right there- no one to hold up a true mirror to her- is what she really lacked.

It is over the course of the novel that Emma realizes her folly when the influx of newcomers like Jane Fairfax, Mr. Elton, Frank Churchill, and Mrs. Elton, push her out of complacency and this brings changes showing she is not hopeless and is worthy of the gentleman who quietly waits for her to come into her own. Each time I read this, something different stands out. This time, it was Mr.

While Emma's high-handedness with Harriet gets me a little irritated, it is Mr. Woodhouse- and Frank Churchill, I'll add- who get me seriously cranky. I know we all see Mr. Bennet as a lazy dad, Sir Walter as a terrible vain sort, and Sir Thomas as practically an absentee one from Austen's other novels, but Mr. Woodhouse tends to get a pass because of his illness and general silliness. However, when I thought about who could have been a larger influence on Emma other than just Mr.

Knightley, it was Mr. Woodhouse who has her duty and show of respect. He can't care or see past his freakouts over his illnesses. He's silly so we laugh at him, but he's just as selfish and lazy as Mr. Bennet and Sir Walter and is lucky that Emma's going astray was not in the nature of Lydia Bennet's nor that her disposition wasn't that of Elizabeth Elliot's.

So, I had another enjoyable time with Austen's classic and learned to appreciate more about her writing through these characters going about their lives in the village of Highbury. I enjoyed seeing a young, promising heroine grow and appreciating the magnificence of Austen's Mr.

George Knightley. New to me narrator, Nadia May, will be one I watch for. I love Jane Austen, love this story, and love listening to Nadia May. So why couldn't I listen to this book? I'm not sure if it was the tempo too fast! I tried several times but finally gave up. The only reason I could give this three stars was that I know the book itself was good. Emma is excellently narrated. The characters and storyline are really brought to life. Great audio quality, too.

This book has supplanted every favorite I have had of Jane Austen's novels. I was alarmed by how extremely similar it is to the movie Clueless. I hadn't realized that Clueless was such a faithful retelling.

Nadia May did an excellent job at narrating. Jane Austen was at the height of her artistic powers when she wrote Emma , the fourth and last of her works to be published during her lifetime. Whether she chose to use a new publisher because Thomas Egerton was unwilling to print a second edition of Mansfield Park or because she hoped to get a more lucrative copyright agreement for Emma or both , Austen offered Emma to John Murray, the prominent London publisher of The Quarterly Review as well as the works of some of the leading authors of the day.

However, Austen felt that the amount offered was too low and negotiated with Murray to publish Emma on a commission basis, along with a second edition of Mansfield Park. She paid for printing and advertising the books, and Murray received a commission for distributing and selling them.

Emma was first available for sale on December 23, , although, since the release was so close to the end of the year, the date on the title page is Although she disliked the Prince Regent, he admired her novels and had copies in each of his residences. However, she had to reimburse Murray for costs associated with producing the second edition of Mansfield Park , which did not sell well. Knightley and back again, and so on in a round, but it all comes back to Emma. The book actually reminded me of the feeling that I had towards the end of Madame Bovary, which was odd.

That was also a book about living in tight spaces, which seemed to get smaller and smaller whenever you turned, and where the escapes offered to you seemed to have something lacking from them. I was gasping for air by the time that they got to Box Hill, which is I think exactly what Austen intends. But this Emma is not like that Emma. That Emma ignored the math more and more. I still think she changes and grows in incredible amounts, in ways that make sense to me and seem genuine.

She seems like the most messy, true to life, screwed up, actual person that Austen wrote about. That is the important point here. JA, FTW! And in my opinion, deservedly so. Emma is far and away the heroine that I identify the most with of all the Austen women. Jane Austen thought that nobody would like her when she wrote Emma She has so many deep flaws that are so easy to completely hate, but she means so very well, and is really a deeply caring person.

She just has absolutely no self awareness yet, and has not matured enough to change her opinions when faced with opposition. Here is where she learns how. It reminded me so much of myself at a certain age, and even on some level right now. She's a snob, she's rather a bitch at times, she's condescending, and not all that perceptive.

But I just love her anyway. Perhaps because I used to or still have those characteristics and want to believe that even those people will learn and deserve love in the end, even from a Mr. But also, I think, because Austen creates her so sympathetically, that it's hard not to love her.

This book explains motivations a lot more than in the others, and one gets a few sides of the story of errors towards the end of the book, as everything is set completely right again. I liked that, that she didn't let it go, but tied up all her threads to her readers' satisfaction. Or at least mine. My first Austen movie.

Got me into the genre, really. I think it's fantastic, and very sweet, and Jeremy Northam is perfectly well cast. Also: you'll see Ewan McGregor with an awful haircut, looking completely unattractive. It's kind of funny. I am not prejudiced. While inheriting author's most beautiful style of writing, each of her works appears to have its own 'uniqueness', offering the reader a wonderful reading experience each time. Emma is no exception to this rule, easily making it to my all-time-favorite-fiction.

I'll admit I was a bit apprehensive based on some of the reviews, but for me, everything was amazing. Those very very long sentences are quite amazing one's gotten used to!

Characters like Elinor Dashwood, Anne Elliot, Elizabeth Bennett all shared a certain amount of sensibility and virtue, making them morally superior to most secondary characters. But in Emma, the protagonist does not share the same set of characteristics. Rather, Jane Fairfax is the character here who appeared to have share some those traits - at least to a degree. On the other hand, from the set of male characters, Mr.

This continues on for the majority of story, while highlighting her lack of rationality and it's effects on others. Despite the narrative helping the reader empathize with at times, it was difficult to justify most her actions. I think it's natural for the reader to develop a little dislike toward her during first two volumes.

However, there was no lack of humor, and no single part felt boring. And I loved the large number of vivid, and entertaining secondary characters. It was a lot of fun reading and understanding each one's disposition, which were well explained by the author. Especially, Mr. Woodhouse, a unique and amusing character who became one of my favorites along with other supporting characters such as Miss Bates, Harriet Smith complimented the plot beautifully.

But, the concluding chapters did wrap everything neatly, doing justice to all the characters. Will definitely read again. View all 51 comments. Jun 22, Sean Barrs rated it it was amazing Shelves: romantic-movement , classics , love-and-romance , 5-star-reads. Austen paints a world of excess. That much so I found the need to swear.

The sarcasm is just oozing out of her words. The thought of visiting his recently departed governess, a long-tim Austen paints a world of excess. The thought of visiting his recently departed governess, a long-time family friend, is utterly deplorable.

She lives the great distance of half a mile away; thus, the only possibility is to hire a carriage. This is clearly the only feasible solution to the problem.

He is self-indulgent and spoilt, and in this Austen ushers in the origins of her heroine. Thankfully, Emma has a degree of sense. In addition, the departure of her governess is an agreeable experience. She has empathy. Whilst she misses her friend and her teacher, she is genuinely happy for her. Unlike her farther, seeing her friend enter a love filled marriage is an occasion for joy and celebration even if she dearly misses her company.

She is a strong woman. She spends her days helping her new friend Harriet; she endeavours to find her the perfect husband, and sets about trying to improve her character. But through this, and her own naivety, Emma never considers her own youth, and that she, too, is in need of some degree of improvement. Thus sweeps in the straight shooter, the frank speaking, Mr Knightley. She considers herself a true authority on marriage, on matchmaking, but her experience, her credentials, come from one fluke partnership.

Her young age breeds arrogant ignorance. Because she has created one healthy marriage, she immediately thinks she knows what love is about: she thinks she will succeed again. And as a result she makes a series of terrible mistakes. Ones Mr Knightley is only too generous to point out. Such irony! She has no idea what love is, and in her well-meant advice, she frequently mistakes simple things such as gratitude and simple kindness as romantic interest.

Austen being the wonderfully comic writer that she is, exploits this silly little misconception for the entire plot. Emma does finally get over herself. By the end she understands the feelings that are ready to burst forth from her own chest. What she needed to do, and what Mr Knightly so desperately wanted to see, was for her to grow up. And she does: happiness reigns supreme. This lacked a plot driver. This has a great deal going for it, though it is terribly slow at points. It will be very interesting to compare it to Persuasion and see which is the best.

View all 14 comments. Book from Books - Emma, Jane Austen Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The story takes place in the fictional village of High-bury and the surrounding estates of Hart-field, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey and involves the relationships among individuals in those locations consisting of "3 or 4 families in a country village".

The novel was first published in December while the author was alive, with its title page listing a p Book from Books - Emma, Jane Austen Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December while the author was alive, with its title page listing a publication date of As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian—Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters and depicts issues of marriage, gender, age, and social status.

View 2 comments. Jul 28, Amanda rated it did not like it Recommends it for: Masochists. Shelves: untumbled-turds , blog. He's too crude and crass. I shan't give him another thought. I tried, but life's too short. Plus, I like 'em crude and crass. Cross posted at This Insignificant Cinder View all 69 comments. I've noticed a lot of people hate Emma. She's spoiled by her circumstances and self-absorbed in a way that only someone who hasn't really known any sort of hardships can be.

And I get why she isn't the heroine that anyone is really rooting for in a serious way. Because if the book had ended with Emma alone with her father, it wouldn't have really broken my heart. But here's the thing I found as I listened to this one: It wasn't really Emma that I hated, it was the whole stick-to-your-social-level thinking that was so I guess I forgot that society's structure was such an ingrained part of everyone's lives during this time period that the fact that Emma dared to think her friend worthy of a certain man, made her into a villainess.

I think we tend to focus on Robert Martin, who for all intents and purposes was a nice dude, and Emma discouraging Harriet to accept him because she thought he was socially above him. But in reality, it wasn't just that Emma who needed to be chastised for sticking her nose into Harriet's love life. Although, yes, she should have been!

It was the whole if you marry a farmer, we can't be seen together anymore thing. How was this a thing?! How was this ever a thing?! Ok, ok. Take away my disappointment in the casual way humans treated other humans who hadn't been born into the right family and weren't gentlemanly enough. And take away the part where Knightly blushingly confessed that he had probably been in love with her since she was I get it.

I still made The Face when I heard that one, though. Take all of that away, and I honestly liked this story. Emma wasn't a bad person, she was just somewhat Clueless as to what the real world was like, and oblivious to not only what other people needed but to what she needed, as well. Speaking of what she needed - she needed someone to grab her father by the shoulders, give him a good shake, and tell him to stop acting like such a pussy.

Woodhouse was so fucking annoying. I mean, he's portrayed as a lovable, harmless old man, but She almost didn't marry because of him. And everyone just bowed and scraped and let him get away with his nonsense. Except Knightly's brother. Probably the only normal person in the entire fucking book. It was good luck that they had a chicken thief in the area that scared her father into wanting a man around the house.

I really did think that was a cute way to end the story. And Knightly really was a super nice guy who deserved a happy ending of his own. My point is, that while it has its problems, I wasn't bored to tears with this classic story.

And I like that Austen wrote about people and the things that made them tick, and not the weather or the scenery. The issues I had with the book are the same things that make the book a classic.

In other words, it's old. And they did shit differently when this was written. Not really sure what you can do about that other than be super fucking happy you weren't born back then.

Nadia May was a wonderful narrator and really made listening to the audiobook a very pleasant experience. And, as always, I suggest audiobooks for those of you who aren't fans of trying to read some of these older books. Getting someone to spoon feed you this old stuff can make all the difference in the world. View all 35 comments. View all 10 comments. I decided to just add books to an existing review. This new book of Emma is like the Pride and Prejudice.

Martin wasn't good enough for her - I didn't like Emma at all. Now I can understand how Emma only wanted to do good by Har I decided to just add books to an existing review. Now I can understand how Emma only wanted to do good by Harriet and that was how it was back in those days. But, as Mr. Knightely pointed out, Harriet was not from some wealthy family and Emma was doing the wrong thing in trying to find her a great husband.

Knightley went to the trouble to help Mr. Martin in how to go about asking for Harriet's hand in marriage and Emma shut that down. But lets just say it all worked out in the end. Emma went on a journey of trying to get people together.

She wanted to bring people together and have them all married off. It seemed that it always back fired. Bless her heart for trying. She really was just trying to do good even though some of her thoughts and actions were not that kind.

Emma's father, Mr. Woodhouse was a peculiar character. I can't say too much because it seemed that what they called "his nerves" back then, sounds just like some forms of my panic disorder and agoraphobia.

So I'm not going to go on about him not wanting to leave the house or him hating for anyone leaving him, he had issues, so just leave him alone.

It was such fun reading about the story line and all of the descriptions in the book. But Emma was a little enchantment all on it's own. Then Emma tries to set Harriet up with Mr. Elton and that backfired as well as he had a crush on Emma. Poor Emma once again made a mistake. What is it all about? Austen left behind no artistic manifesto, no account of her narrative methods beyond a few playful remarks in letters to her niece, Anna.

There have been scattered exceptions. I think she has much to teach me. Contemporary novelists have been readier to acknowledge her genius and influence. McEwan alerts the reader to the fact that his own novel learns its tricks — about a character who turns fictional imaginings into disastrous fact — from the genteel and supposedly conservative Austen.

It was certainly not revolutionary because of any intellectual or political content. But it was revolutionary in its form and technique. Its heroine is a self-deluded young woman with the leisure and power to meddle in the lives of her neighbours. The narrative was radically experimental because it was designed to share her delusions. Though little noticed by most of the pioneers of fiction for the next century and more, it belongs with the great experimental novels of Flaubert or Joyce or Woolf.

In Emma , she is. To measure the audacity of the book, take a simple sentence that no novelist before her could have written. Our privileged heroine has befriended a sweet, open, deeply naive girl of 17 called Harriet Smith.

While cultivating their relationship, Emma knows very well that Harriet is her inferior. The sentence is in the third person, yet we are not exactly being told something by the author. Even the rhyme in the phrase makes it sound better to herself. In fact, the kindness is all in the mind of the beholder.

Emma has set out to mould Harriet. Harriet will be her project. Her plans are kind, she tells herself, because she will improve this uninstructed and wide-eyed young woman. We should be able to hear, however, that her designs are utterly self-serving. Soon she is persuading Harriet to refuse a marriage proposal from a farmer who loves her, and beguiling her with the wholly illusory prospect of marriage to the smooth young vicar, Mr Elton.

Take another little sentence from much later in the novel. By now Emma is convinced that Harriet, scorned by Mr Elton, can be paired off with the highly eligible Frank Churchill. Emma meets Harriet, who has also heard. Except that this is all twaddle. Harriet does not give a fig for Frank and never has.