BOOKS

emma

Curator Reviews

Ellie Kemper

The one criticism I’ve read about this novel is that Emma isn’t particularly good or likable, but that’s beside the point. The sly, clever, eloquent Jane Austen is the one who is likable, and the reader is in exquisite company with her at all times.

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Jay McInerney

Not as frothy as “Pride and Prejudice,” but for me, richer and more nourishing. The prose shimmers with irony and wisdom.

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Meghan Udell

It’s hard to think about literature and knitting without referencing Jane Austen. Sure knitting was a by-product of the time — a task to keep women’s idle hands busy while creating practical garments — but Jane Austen was never one to abide by traditional gender roles. The title character Emma is a self-assured, and self-sufficient young woman — an anomaly of the time. Prone to hubris, the only character Emma admires is the continually knitting Jane Fairfax.

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