The definitive text of Jane Austen's penetrating and sparkling satire, Emma, this Penguin Classics edition includes an introduction by Fiona Stafford. Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, rich - and fiercely independent - is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the advice of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her pretty, naive Harriet Smith, her well - laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.
With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work. Edited with an introduction by Fiona Stafford, this edition includes a chronology, additional suggestions for further reading and the original Penguin Classics introduction by Tony Tanner. Jane Austen (1775 - 1817) was extremely modest about her own genius but has become one of English literature's most famous women writers. Austen began writing at a young age, embarking on what is possibly her best - known work, Pride and Prejudice, at the age of 22.
She was also the author of Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park. If you enjoyed Emma, you may like Charlotte Bronte's Villette, also available in Penguin Classics. 'These modern editions are to be strongly recommended for their scrupulous texts, informative notes and helpful introductions' Brian Southam, the Jane Austen Society 'The author of Emma has produced sketches of such spirit and originality that in this class she stands almost alone' Sir Walter Scott.
Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. With the publications of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1815), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. Her novels have rarely been out of print, although they were published anonymously and brought her little fame during her lifetime. A significant transition in her posthumous reputation occurred in 1869, fifty-two years after her death, when her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced her to a wider audience.
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