Jane Austen's Emma

Plot

First published in 1968, Dr Burrow’s study focuses attention upon Jane Austen’s last completed novel, Emma (1816), which, like Mansfield Park (1814), is free of the puzzling shifts of tone and occasional loose ends which are exhibited in her other four novels. While often pausing to analyse and comment on major contemporary critics Dr Burrows offers a range of perceptive insights into the minutiae of this outstanding novel. He has clarified certain of the book’s qualities, placing detail back into its proper context and perspective. Comic relief is contrasted with the more serious elements, and the work shows a deft treatment in its analysis of Austen’s characterisation and use of language.