Reading Jane Austen: 'Emma'

· Humanities-Ebooks
Ebook
105
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

The neek's cast of characters includes some of the author's most fully realized creations, including the upstanding Mr Knightley, the egregious Mrs Elton and the irrepressibly garrulous Miss Bates. But Emma is dominated above all by the personality of its heroine, Emma Woodhouse, Austen's portrayal of whom - a masterclass in irony and the management of narrative perspective - is one of the great high-wire acts of English literature. Among the most variously interpreted novels in the language, Emma has been seen as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unregulated imagination, the story of a woman's humiliation and reform, and a rallying cry of early feminism. This e-book seeks to uncover something of Emma's extraordinary multivalence through a close reading of the text, setting it in the context of Jane Austen's life, times and literary heritage and looking at the way it has been read and re-read by critics in the two centuries since it was published.

About the author

Neil Wenborn is a freelance writer and publishing consultant and has published widely both in Britain and in the United States. His works include biographies of Haydn, Stravinsky and Dvořák. He is co-editor of the highly respected History Today Companion to British History (Collins & Brown) and A Dictionary of Jewish - Christian Relations (Cambridge University Press). A collection of his poetry, Firedoors, is published by Rockingham Press.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.