Description
Book SynopsisAlthough Jane Austen famously referred to Emma as a heroine whom no one but myself will much like, the irony of her remark has been obvious since the first appearance of her novel in December 1815. The central character may have attracted diverse reactions, but there can be no doubt about the endless enjoyment afforded to generations of readers. The essays in this collection demonstrate the varied delights of reading Emma. Most have been written in the last twenty years, but each draws on the cumulative body of scholarship and critical analysis that has built up since the novel was first published. The purpose of the collection is to introduce readers of Austen to new ways of interpreting her most substantial and rewarding novel. Each essay engages with Emma, but there is considerable dialogue taking place between the different approaches, which collectively contributes to the enriched readings of Austen''s work. The collection opens with an introduction encouraging readers to re-read Emma, and to find its pleasures magnified by the critical interpretations and scholarship represented in this casebook.
Table of ContentsIntroduction by Fionna Stafford Acknowledgements 1: 'Opinions of Emma' collected by Jane Austen (1816) 2: Walter Scott, Unsigned review of Emma (1816) 3: Reginald Farrer, 'Jane Austen, ob. July 18, 1817' (1917) 4: Lionel Trilling, 'Emma and the Legend of Jane Austen' (1957) 5: Wayne C. Booth, 'Control of Distance in Jane Austen's Emma' (1961) 6: Claudia L. Johnson, 'Woman, lovely woman reigns alone' (1988) 7: Joseph Litvak, 'Reading Characters: Self, Society and Text in Emma' (1985) 8: John Dussinger, 'Desire: Emma in Love' (1990) 9: John Wiltshire, 'Emma: The Picture of Health' (1992) 10: Mary Waldron, 'Men of Sense and Silly Wives: The Confusion of Mr Knightley' (1999) 11: Linda Troost and Sayre Greenfield, 'Filming Highbury: Reducing the Community in Emma to the Screen' (1999) 12: Gayle Wald, 'Clueless in the neo-colonial world order' (2000) 13: Brian Southam, 'Emma: England, Peace, and Patriotism' (2000) 14: Frances Ferguson, Jane Austen, Emma and the Impact of Form' (2000)
