The Cambridge Companion to ‘Emma'

This collection of essays on Jane Austen's Emma, her last novel published in her lifetime, offers both close readings of the text and a survey of the historical and literary context in which it was written. Topics discussed include composition and publication, reception, translations and adaptations for film and TV.

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Thanks to its tightly paced, intricately plotted narrative and its astute psychological characterisation, Emma is commonly thought to be Jane Austen's finest novel. In the twelve chapters of this volume, leading Austen scholars illuminate some of its richest themes and topics, including money and rank, setting and community, music and riddles, as well as its style and structure. The context of Emma is also thoroughly explored, from its historical and literary roots through its publication and contemporary reception to its ever-growing international popularity in the form of translations and adaptations. Equally useful as an introduction for new students and as a research aid for mature scholars, this Companion reveals why Emma is a novel that only improves on re-reading, and gives the lie to Austen's famous speculation that in Emma Woodhouse she had created 'a heroine whom no one but myself will much like'.