Emma

A Modern Retelling

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Susan Lyons

An unstoppable combination: Alexander McCall Smith and Jane Austen, as Sandy modernizes the story of Emma Woodhouse.

Emma Woodhouse's widowed father is an anxious man, obsessed with nutrition and the latest vitamins. He lives the life of a country gentleman in contemporary England, protectively raising his young daughters, Isabella and Emma. While Isabella grows into a young woman, marries a society photographer for Vogue at the age of 19, and gets down to the business of reproducing herself, Emma pursues a degree in interior design at university in Bath and then returns to set up shop in her home village.

With her educated eye for the coordination of pattern and color, Emma thinks she can now judge what person would best be paired with another and sets about matchmaking her young friend, Harriet, with various possible suitors. Little does she know she is not the only person encouraging romantic pairings in the village.

©2014 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2015 Recorded Books

Not one of the author's best

What did you like best about Emma? What did you like least?

Not as well written as the author's other books I have read. Not much character depth and Emily became tiresome.

similar but not the same

This would be a good stand alone story ; but It's not as funny as the original. some of the shocking reactions were taken out of this version.

wonderful redux

very satisfying from beginning to end. Now I must reread the original Jane Austen! looking forward.

An amusing rewrite of a loved classic

This is an amusing rewrite that matches the theme of the original novel but lacks the subtlety. For me, it really conveyed Emma's uncomprehending elitism that gets hidden behind our romanticized version of Austen's world.

For those criticizing the romance, I would recommend rereading the original. The interactions between Emma and Knightley were just as few as before. If you mean W and G, then I concur. It was unexpected.
Some of the lgbt things felt a little pointless; it would have been nice to have an actual gay or bi character, instead of people just pretending. Emma certainly seemed to have some leanings towards being bi or ace (asexual biromantic?) but it wasn't explored at all.

Overall, I would recommend it to those looking for a cute tale with a moral that Austen probably would have agreed with.

Wasn't the Same without The Period Costumes

I think that Alexander McCall Smith did a great job of retelling this story, but I realized that part of what I loved about the book was the period setting. He was able to change the situations into comparable ones in the modern century, but it just wasn't as impactful. It was an amusing listen, but for me, it just didn't bring the enjoyment I had hoped for.