Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance and was the last of her six novels to be completed, written while she was in Chawton. The story takes place in the fictional village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey and engages in the families of 3 or 4 families in a country village. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters and depicts issues of marriage, gender, age, and social status. Bethore she began the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine." In the first sentence, she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." Emma is spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives; her imagination and perceptions. This novel has been adapted for several films, many television programs, and a long list of stage plays. It is also the inspiration for several novels.
