Emma

Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Original en 157321 words First published 1815 United Kingdom

Jane Austen's comic masterpiece of 1815 — 'a heroine whom no one but myself will much like', she predicted. Emma Woodhouse is rich, clever, bored, and convinced she is an excellent matchmaker. Her meddling in the love lives of Harriet Smith, Jane Fairfax and half the parish of Highbury produces a catalogue of disasters, while the one man who sees through her, Mr Knightley, waits for her to see through herself. Perhaps the most perfectly plotted novel in English: a comedy of self-deception in which the reader watches a clever woman become a better one.

Text sourced from Project Gutenberg (public domain in the United States); the Project Gutenberg trademark and license text have been removed on import. Public-domain status determined by the author's death year + 50 years rule.

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