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Emma

Emma 2

by Alexander McCall Smith
Publication Date: 01/11/2014
4/5 Rating 2 Reviews

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$29.99
Beloved and bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith lends his delightful touch to the Austen classic, Emma. 'It's comfort reading at its most soothing' Independent Prepare to meet a young woman who thinks she knows everything. Fresh from university, Emma Woodhouse triumphantly arrives home in Norfolk ready to embark on adult life with a splash. Not only has her sister, Isabella, been whisked away on a motorcycle up to London, but her astute governess, Miss Taylor is at a loose end, abandoned in the giant family pile, Hartfield, alongside Emma's anxiety-ridden father. Someone is needed to rule the roost and young Emma is more than happy to oblige. As she gets her fledgling design business off the ground, there is plenty to delight her in the buzzing little village of Highbury. At the helm of her own dinner parties and instructing her new little protegee, Harriet Smith, Emma reigns forth. But there is only one person who can play with Emma's indestructible confidence, her old friend and inscrutable neighbour George Knightley - this time has Emma finally met her match? You don't have to be in London to go to parties, find amusement or make trouble.
Not if you're Emma, the very big fish in the rather small pond. But for a young woman who knows everything, Emma has a lot to learn about herself. Ever alive to the uproarious nuances of human behaviour, and both the pleasures and pitfalls of village life, beloved author Alexander McCall Smith's Emma is the busybody we all know and love, and a true modern delight.
ISBN:
9780007553860
9780007553860
Category:
Contemporary fiction
Publication Date:
01-11-2014
Publisher:
HarperCollins Publishers
Country of origin:
United Kingdom
Pages:
368
Dimensions (mm):
234x153mm
Weight:
0.55kg
Alexander McCall Smith

Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors. His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Then, after the publication of his highly successful No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty languages and become bestsellers through the world.

The series include the Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Sunday Philosophy Club series starring Isabel Dalhousie, the von Igelfeld series, and the new Corduroy Mansions novels. Alexander is also the author of collections of short stories, academic works, and over thirty books for children.

He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and a CBE for service to literature in 2007. He holds honorary doctorates from nine universities in Europe and North America.

Alexander McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh. He is married to a doctor and has two daughters.

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3.5

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2 Reviews

Alexander McCall Smith’s retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma was an enjoyable light read. Not having read the original, I can’t say how it compares but it seems like an interesting adaptation. At first I wasn’t really sure which time period it was supposed to be set in because the language seems too formal and old fashioned for the present day. There was a good mix of characters- some were likeable, some were not, my favourite being Mr. Woodhouse. The storyline was somewhat predictable but a pleasant novel nonetheless.

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After taking credit for introducing her governess and best friend, Miss Taylor, to her husband, the spoiled and beautiful Emma Woodhouse becomes interested in match-making. However, when her attempts to find a match for the naive and dim-witted Harriet Smith go awry, she nearly misses her own chance at romance.

Adapting a well known and much loved novel such as Jane Austen's Emma to a modern setting was always going to be a challenge, one I feel that Alexander McCall Smith has risen to successfully. McCall Smith has managed to capture the charm and witty humour of Jane Austen without it feeling rehashed or overdone.

My one disappointment in this novel was the failure to bring it completely into the 21st century. At times I forgot that it was set in today's world as there was little to separate it from the original time period except the use of modern transport and technology.

An enjoyable read for both those new to Emma and lovers of the classic alike.

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