Emma by Jane Austen

Title: Emma

Author: Jane Austen
Read by: Nadia May
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Length: 15.3 hours
Source: MP3 Audio through Wisconsin Public Library Consortium – Overdrive on my Droid

It has been two-hundred years this year since Miss Emma Woodhouse walked into our hearts through the immortal classic, Emma by Jane Austen.  With her fortune secure and a loving father at home, Emma doesn’t want for anything in life, except for something to keep her active mind busy.  She keeps it busy by trying to find the perfect match for her new friend Harriet Smith, and much hilarity ensues.  Will Emma learn the error of her ways and find happiness for herself?

I love all of Austen’s novels.  I love reading the physical novels, but I’ve also found it is wonderful to listen to the novels as well.  As Austen wrote them and read them out loud to her family, they work very well in the audible format.  They are actually quite perfect to listen too.  Nadia May is a wonderful narrator with a great British accent.  I could listen to her all day!

I love the story of Emma.  I love how she is very sure of herself and a bit of a snob.  But she has good in her and loves to help people.  By the end of the tale, she has learned more about herself and about how to be more sensitive to everyone’s feelings.

I also love how Austen’s characters are so well developed that I can recognize them in my own family and friends.  Who does not know a Miss Bates, a well-meaning middle aged woman that can’t stop talking?  Or who doesn't know a Mrs. Elton who seems to think a little too highly of herself.  Listening to the audiobook brought all of these characters to life.

Overall, Emma is a classic tale that is one of my favorite novels.  Listening to it on audiobook format is just about perfect.  I highly recommend it.