The Cambridge Companion to ‘Emma'

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'.

Preface Peter Sabor; Chronology; 1. Composition and publication Jan Fergus; 2. The literary context Bharat Tandon; 3. The historical context Jonathan Sachs; 4. Money and rank Robert D. Hume; 5. Contemporary responses Edward Copeland; 6. Style, structure, language Linda Bree; 7. The heroine John Wiltshire; 8. Setting and community Janine Barchas; 9. Music Ruth Perry; 10. Games, riddles and charades Jillian Heydt-Stevenson; 11. Translations Gillian Dow; 12. Screen versions Deidre Shauna Lynch; Guide to further reading.

Peter Sabor is Director of the Burney Centre and Canada Research Chair in Eighteenth-Century Studies at McGill University. He is a past president of the Canadian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He is General Editor of The Court Journals and Letters of Frances Burney and co-General Editor of The Cambridge Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Samuel Richardson. His publications on Austen include the Juvenilia (2006) volume in The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen and Jane Austen's Manuscript Works (2013), co-edited with Linda Bree and Janet Todd.