Title: Emma
Author: Jane Austen
Author: Jane Austen
Read by: Alison Larkin
Publisher: British Classic Audio
Length: Approximately 16 hours and 46 minutes
Source: Review Copy from author Alison Larkin - Thank-you!
Source: Review Copy from author Alison Larkin - Thank-you!
Emma is a classic Jane Austen novel about a young independent woman who
tries her hand at matchmaking. Doing so
ends up causing more harm than good and makes Emma take a look into her own
heart to challenge her own prejudices and to discover who she really
loves. I’ve enjoyed this novel since I
was a teenager and I was more than excited to review a new audiobook version
narrated by my new favorite Austen book narrator, Alison Larkin.
Alison Larkin is an excellent narrator.
Her voice is pleasant and soothing with a great British accent. Even better is that she really gets into the
characters and gives each character their own voice through the story. I especially loved her voice for Mrs. Elton
in Emma. It was hilarious and as pompous
as you can imagine. I also enjoyed the
snippets of piano music that played between the chapters.
I love listening and reading books that you’ve loved and read
before. I’ve always felt that Austen
novels in particular lend themselves quite well to the audiobook format
especially as Austen and her family would read her stories out loud to
entertain themselves and the books seem to fit that mold.
I was struck this time on my way through Emma just how much class and
your level in society really makes a difference for each thing you do. Emma as a young woman with a fortune of
30,000 pounds does not need to worry about it, but she does spend a lot of time
judging everyone else. She finds the
Martins vulgar because they farm for a living, Miss Bates to be despised
because she is a single woman with no fortune, the Coles as uppity as they have
come into money and think they can mingle with those that are “better” than
them, etc. Mrs. Elton also discusses
this as well. In the United States,
money was king as it didn’t really matter where the money came from, but it’s
funny in England that your money should be “old.” How long did it take to go from earning money
through trade and buying an estate to being “old” money? I’m curious.
I’m also curious, where did Emma’s family’s money original come
from? I noticed this time that their
estate was just a small one carved out of Donwell abbey and it made me very
curious.
Jane Austen’s characters are unparalleled. From Miss Bates who is the well-meaning
person you know who can’t stop talking about boring topics to Mrs. Elton, the
person who is sure she is superior to everyone around her, Austen’s characters
are superb because they are the people all around us.
I love how just when you think the novel is over with many startling
revelations, there was still three hours to go.
I love how Austen completely wraps up the endings for all of the
characters.
My Favorite Quotes:
“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it
more.” This quote from Mr. Knightley
makes me swoon!
“It’s such a happiness when good people get together.”
“A single woman, of good fortune, is always
respectable, and may be as sensible and pleasant as any body else.”
“Oh! To be sure,” cried Emma, “it is always incomprehensible
to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage. A man always imagines a woman to be ready for
any body who asks her.”
Overall, Emma by Jane Austen is a classic novel not to
be missed. It is wonderful to rediscover
a beloved classic by listening to an audiobook rendition. Alison Larkin is a perfect Austen audiobook
narrator with great voices for all of the characters. She brings the story to life.
Laura,
ReplyDeleteI haven't read (or listened to) Emma but I did see a movie version, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It does seem that audio books of Austen novels are a good match, especially with narrators such as Alison Larkin. I enjoyed all of the quotations you included--they'd probably be my favorites, too. Wonderful review as usual, Laura!
Interesting questions! I reckon money never became 'old' on its own in our British class system - really the only way to do it was to marry into an 'old' family. And those 'old' families were usually descended from the great families that surrounded the monarch or the major aristocrats at some time in the past - sometimes very far in the past - and were granted land. So it was more to do with birth and landowning than money, and therefore very difficult for people to climb the social ladder. As for Emma's money, I'm guessing they were a junior branch of a great family (ie, Mr Woodhouse would have been a younger son) - so they wouldn't have inherited the major landholdings, but would have had money as their share. That's why newly rich men were super keen to marry their rich daughters to impoverished aristocracy rather than to other newly rich men - it was the way in...
ReplyDeleteI love audiobooks and already have two of Alison Larkin's Austen narrations. Looks like this one is worth adding to my TBL list.
ReplyDeleteAs to "new" versus "old" money, and looking at Jane and Bingley in P&P, she was actually marrying beneath her. She was a gentleman's daughter (no matter that there wasn't much money) and his family's money came from trade. Her status would give his money some respectability for the next generation.