Rating: 
Summary: "Handsome, rich, and clever"
Review: Lovable Emma Woodhouse, Pretty, bright, and rich, not to mention a little mischievious. Since she has lived nearly twenty-one years with very little to distress or vex her, carefree Emma spends her time match-making for her friends. But when she undertakes the office of matching pretty, but not very bright Harriet Smith with the local Vicar she gets more than she bargains for.
The characters are rich and consistent, and Austen again gives us, the ridiculous; mr. woodhouse, Miss Bates. The scoundrel who pretends to be an angel of light;Frank Churchill. The concerned friends; Mrs. Weston, Mr. knightly. Then there is Emma, who belongs in a class of her own. She is the most fortunate, yet the most flawed Austen heroine, which flaws only endear her all the more. And in the end they pay off, when she falls in love with someone as imperfect as herself. The language and diolouge are as shining, bright, and charming as the characters themselves. Overall this novel can do nothing but please, just as Austen's novels before and after Emma show. A must-read for Austen fans.
Rating:
Summary: A good read!
Review: After reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, then Sense and Sensibility, I could not help but read another one of Austen books. The merits of the book lie mostly in character development. Emma, a girl of 21, is altogether too absorbed in the dangers of matchmaking, which result in several devastating consequences for her friend Harriet and her own continual blindness to the true feelings of the men around her. The reader encounters various characters of interest that form a better "tangle" of plot than Pride & P/Sense & S has to offer. I admit that the first 2/3 of the book left me questioning Jane Austen's work. I could not admire Emma Woodhouse (whom I thought to be at first a silly girl who misinterprets everything) as much as the other "heroines" in Austen's other books, but she proves to be sweet and naive, but clever at the same time, and she always has the best intentions at heart, especially for her loved ones like Mr. Woodhouse. It appears that Jane Austen always saves the best for last--I found the last 1/3 of the book delightful. Throughout the whole book however, Austen's talents and satire shines in various characters, particularly Mrs. Elton, who represents society's perpetual desire to be upper-class. Austen also sheds light on the social stress of class, power, connectinos, etc, without overwhelming the reader.
I highly recommend reading this masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Matter of personal preference
Review: Although I enjoyed the novel, I believe it is really a matter of personal preference. If you like this kind of books that don't take place in our century and are common to Austen's style (that is, long and elaborate expositions and extensive character development), then Emma is a perfect read. However, if those books are not exactly what you enjoy, then it would no longer be as captivating for you.
Rating:
Summary: Another light read
Review: Emma is a must read for Austen fans. Filled with the wit, the scandal, the light-hearted fun and the 17th century morals we have come to expect. Yet Emma is no Lizzie, and if you are expecting it to live up to Pride and Prejudice you will be disappointed. Not her best work but worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: Austentatious!
Review: As with all of Austen's novels, the reader will find the breadth of human character within the cover. The novel demonstrates a biting wit as well as a sentimenal side. I first read this book when I was fifteen and I was absolutely captivated. If you have not read this book then you are in for a treat.
Rating: 
Summary: read it for its historical significance...
Review: 'Emma' is the first Jane Austen novel I've read in 20 years. My earlier experiences (with 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Sense and Sensibility') were disappointing; they seemed to be overly genteel and without substance. Was 'Emma' any different? Er,.. no. The first thing that grabs you about 'Emma' is that it reads like a play. It is almost all dialogue. No action, no flowing descriptions of the early 1800s England country ... just talk. This makes for a very tiresome read. Worse, the story (about a sweet young thing who busily plays matchmaker without any consideration of her 'victims' or her own love life) is rather [bad]. Any dramatic moments are very tame. Emma's high society world is so devoid of emotion it is any wonder they bother living at all. And in Emma's world there are no bad guys, no poverty, ... and no one seems to work for a living. Think 'Ozzie & Harriet' transported back 150 years and plopped into rural England and you've got the idea. So why bother with 'Emma'? Purely out of respect for the author, and her legacy as one of the founding female writers of modern English literature. She attempts, although not very successfully, in writing on matters other than soap operatic tosh ("gothic novels") her female peers did during that time. True, other woman writers have since greatly eclipsed anything Jane Austen has done. But she was the pioneer. So please give at least one of her novels a try.
Rating:
Summary: Finding Love in a Cruel World
Review: Matchmaker, Matchmaker,
Make me a match,
Find me a find,
Catch me a catch,
Night after night in the dark I'm alone
So find me a match,
Of my own. - Fiddler on the Roof In this romance, all the married characters are perfectly matched: Mr. and Mrs. Weston, John and Isabella Knightley, the reverend and his wife, and the list goes on. No wonder there is a friendly cupid in the village: Emma Woodhouse. This story explores the different aspects of love. Harriet Smith is Emma's friend. Miss Smith falls in love with three men in one year; quite a record even for Highbury. Hardly a flirt, Harriet Smith's heart is pure and indestructible. Bad advice makes her ditch Robert Martin, but a chance encounter reveals that her feelings for him are unchanged. "Unconditional" is the best word for this kind of love. Mr. Knightley's love is unrequited. For years he's been longing for a woman out of reach. And Emma does not even know she is in love. She only finds out when Harriet lays claim to the one man her heart desires. And the case of Mr. Woodhouse reveals a bizarre and unhealthy obsession. He refuses to believe his family and servants can ever find happiness away from Hartfield. But this actually reveals his own dependent form of love. When Emma marries he won't let her leave the house, so unfortunately her husband has to move in till Mr. Woodhouse dies. But it is not a tale of love unless the green-eyed-monster makes an appearance. Emma's jealousy is the most obvious. Jane plays the piano better than she does. Jane does almost everything better than Emma. It is no wonder that Highbury's most eligible bachelor is enraptured by this pale beauty. Needless to say, Jane Fairfax is an infrequent visitor at Hartfield. Miss Fairfax in turn discovers her jealousy of Emma at Box Hill, when Emma flirts loudly with a man who unbeknownst to her, is Jane's secret lover. Jane decides to break all ties with Emma. This might have been the best plan, because until matters turn right, sickness makes Jane paler than ever which may frighten visitors. But perhaps the worst culprit is Mr. Knightley whose disparaging remarks concerning Frank Churchill at first seem to be the wise counsel of a man of the world. Frank found true love as a young man while Mr. Knightley is fast approaching middle age unable or unwilling to find someone to marry. His constant criticism of Frank ends abruptly when he finds a woman willing to marry him. Highbury's cupid is in some ways similar to Jane Austen. They both are strong independent women who believe that marriage with the right person can create happiness. This is a light read. For the most part, Austen avoids physical description in favor of dialogue. It is amazing how depth of character can be portrayed this way. Jane Austen's ability to make fiction appear real is a rare talent.
Rating:
Summary: Irony in Emma
Review: In Jane Austen's Emma, there is an abundance of irony that can clearly be seen. This can be seen in several parts of the book, and is at work throughout it. One example is the web woven between Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Elton, and Harriet Smith. Another is Frank Churchill's secret engagement to Jane Fairfax. Yet another is Mr. Knightley and Emma being in love. Austen uses
irony expertly to keep us, the readers, guessing.
Austen's use of irony between Harriet, Mr. Elton, and Emma is obvious. She uses it when Emma paints a portrait of Harriet for Mr. Elton. Referring to the portrait, Mr. Elton says, "'Let
me entreat you, Miss Woodhouse, to exercise so charming a talent in favour of your friend'"(38). There is verbal irony and situational irony in this because Mr. Elton was intending to compliment Emma's artistic skills, but both Emma and Harriet took it as a compliment to Harriet's beauty. Mr. Elton also sends a riddle that indicated he wanted to court Harriet when all along he intended to court Emma.
There was very apparent irony in a entanglement between Emma, Jane, and Frank. We think that Emma and Frank are meant for eachother and will end up together. There is a considerable amount of flirtation between Emma and Frank, and, at one point, Emma fancies herself in love with him. All along though, Frank is involved in a secret engagement with Jane.
Lastly, and probably the most significant, is the irony of Emma and Mr. Knightley being in love with eachother all along. Austen strategically refrains from telling us he is in love with her and Emma never knew she was in love with Mr. Knightley. Their love is portrayed to be of a brother and sister. It is ironic that while Emma is trying to set up all her friends, she is unaware of her own love for Mr. Knightley.
The irony in Emma is necessary to create the confusion that makes this book so splendid. With all the irony throughout the book it makes it almost impossible for the reader to realize what
is actually going on. This adds to the surprise ending. How Austen uses irony makes her a great writer and her book worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: This was a wonderful book, no matter what others say!
Review: This book was wonderfully uplifting and entertaining. I enjoyed it immensely, and I believe you will as well, if you like amusing stories dealing with romance, confusion, friendship, matchmaking, and true love. Do not listen to some of the other reviews that say this book is a rip-off of Clueless. Obviously the people who posted those are incredibly ignorant, especially since Emma came out a very long time before Clueless, and if anyone was eligible to sue, it would be Jane Austen (if she was still alive) suing the makers of Clueless. Again, this was a very enjoyable book, and I would definately recommend it to anybody!
Rating:
Summary: QUESTION ON THIS BOOK>>>>>IS IT CONSIDERED A >>>A R BOOK>>>>
Review: IS THIS BOOK>>>>>>CONSIDERED an......AR rated book.??...
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