Aaaand the massive Austen tome makes a comeback! Emma Woodhouse is a single, young and wealthy girl, who is prone to set up everyone she knows, convinced she is the greatest matchmaker who has ever lived. Of course, hijinks ensue, nothing ever goes according to plan, there are 19th century scandals and bonnets and dinner parties. The usual, and don’t we love it so?Emma is a very interesting character, mostly because she’s an awful person! She’s incredibly selfish and daft. She changes over the course of the novel, but I still felt like slapping her a bit at first. I love all the characters in this as well: Mr. Knightley is swoon-inducing, Frank Churchill is a bit of a scoundrel, and Emma’s father is so wonderfully satirical.
Having read 3 of Austen’s novels, I definitely think this is the funniest I’ve read; it’s light and frothy and not riddled with disease or anything sordid. It’s just fun and witty, which is what I love the most about Austen.
It did take me quite a while to get through this, and I think it is mostly because I’ve watched the film adaptation about 4 times before reading this. And I don’t even like it that much, Ewan McGregor is a terrible Frank Churchill. It did spoil the twists for me, but it was still a nice read, and satisfied my craving for 19th Century romance.