Emma is a novel written by Jane Austen. It is set in the fictional country village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls and Donwell Abbey, and involves the relationships among people from a small number of families. The novel was first published in December 1815, with its title page listing a publication date of 1816. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency...

In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the suit of a snobbish gentleman, as well as the romantic entanglements of her four sisters.

The story focuses on three families: the Bertrams, the Prices, and the Crawfords. The reader comes to take their measures against that of the quiet witness at the center, Fanny Price, a poor relation who is being cared for by her wealthy aunt and uncle, Lady and Sir Thomas Bertram. Though perceived as silent and passive, Fanny's wisdom, firm principles, and steadfast heart are gradually appreciated by those around her- especially Edmund Bertram, to...