Showing posts with label Victorian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Victorian. Show all posts

Emma Summary

Emma Summary

Emma

Published: 23, December 1815

Author: Jane Austen

Genres: Classic, Comedy & Humor, Drama, European, Family Life, Fiction, Friendship, Historical, Literature, Regency, Romance, Rural Fiction, Small Town, Teen, Victorian, Young Adult


Check out the review of this book here:



Summary

Miss Taylor, Emma Woodhouse's former governess, has recently married Mr. Weston. Emma takes credit for their marriage after introducing them and thinks she enjoys matchmaking. Emma defies her sister's brother-in-law, Mr. Knightley, and pursues her new passion after going home to Hartfield with her father. She tries to pair Harriet Smith, her new acquaintance, with Mr. Elton, the town vicar.

Despite Harriet's liking for Robert Martin, a decent, educated, and well-spoken young farmer, Emma persuades her to decline his marriage proposal. Mr. Elton, a social climber, makes the mistake of thinking Emma loves him and proposes to her. He is enraged when Emma confesses she thought he was attached to Harriet since he considers Harriet to be socially inferior.

Mr. Elton travels to Bath after Emma rejects him and returns with a pompous, nouveau-riche wife, just as Mr. Knightley predicted. Harriet is crushed, and Emma is remorseful for deceiving her.

Mr. Weston's son, Frank Churchill, comes for a two-week visit and makes a lot of acquaintances. Frank was adopted by his affluent and controlling aunt and has only had a few chances to visit her. Mr. Knightley informs Emma that Frank has a superficial persona, despite being educated and entertaining.

Jane Fairfax also arrives to spend a few months with her aunt, Miss Bates, and grandmother, Mrs. Bates, before beginning a governess job owing to her family's financial predicament. Colonel Campbell, her father's friend, gave her a superb education when she was the same age as Emma.

Emma has kept herself apart from her because she admires Jane's brilliance and is irritated by everyone praising her, even Mrs. Weston and Mr. Knightley. Mrs. Elton, who is patronizing, takes Jane under her wing and promises to find her the ideal governess position before it is needed. Emma sympathizes with Jane's position.

Emma thinks that Jane and Colonel Campbell's new son-in-law, Mr. Dixon, are drawn to each other, which is why she arrived earlier than intended. She tells Frank, who met Jane and the Campbells at a vacation resort a year before, and he seems to agree with Emma.

Jane receives a piano from an unidentified source, which adds to her suspicions. Emma begins to fall in love with Frank, but it only lasts until his second visit. The Eltons are cruel to Harriet, culminating in Mr. Elton openly snubbing her at the Westons' gala in May. Mr. Knightley, who had hitherto avoided dancing, begs Harriet to dance gallantly.

Frank brings Harriet to Hartfield the day after the ball because she passed out following a nasty encounter with local gypsies. Harriet's thanks to Frank is misinterpreted by Emma as her love for him. Meanwhile, Mrs. Weston worries if Mr. Knightley has feelings for Jane, but Emma rejects the possibility.

Emma disagrees with Mr. Knightley when he thinks he sees a connection between Jane and Frank because Frank looks to be wooing her instead. Jane arrives late to a Donwell event in June, while Frank arrives late. The next day, Frank and Emma are joking about at Box Hill, a local picturesque area, when Emma casually attacks Miss Bates.

Emma feels embarrassed when Mr. Knightley chastises her for disrespecting Miss Bates. She sees Miss Bates the next day to make amends for her terrible behavior, impressing Mr. Knightley. Emma learns during the visit that Jane has taken a governess post from one of Mrs. Elton's friends. When Jane is unwell, she refuses to meet Emma or accept her presents.

Meanwhile, Frank has been visiting his aunt, who, unlike any other character in Austen's books, dies soon after his arrival. He and Jane had been secretly engaged since September, but Frank knew his aunt would be against the union.

Maintaining the concealment put a burden on the conscientious Jane, causing the pair to argue, resulting in Jane terminating the engagement. Frank's laid-back uncle gladly approves of the pairing. Emma is disappointed to learn that she was so incorrect as the engagement is made public.

Emma expects Harriet to be devastated by Frank's engagement, but she instead declares her love for Mr. Knightley, and while she recognizes the match is too unequal, Emma's support and Mr. Knightley's generosity have given her hope.

Emma is taken aback when she realizes she is in love with Mr. Knightley as well. Mr. Knightley returns to comfort Emma after the engagement of Frank and Jane, supposing her to be distraught. He proposes to her when she recognizes her folly, and she accepts. Harriet accepts Robert Martin's second proposal, and the two marry for the first time.

Frank and Jane pay a visit to the Westons, and Jane and Emma reconcile. They will marry after Frank's aunt's grieving time is through. Emma and Mr. Knightley get married before the end of November, with the promise of "perfect bliss."


Useful Search Related Words & Keywords:

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Rating: 90/100
Recommended: 95/100 Yes.

Buy the Kindle version here:


Free with free Audible trial:


The Complete Works of Jane Austen:


Emma. (2020) (13+):


Emma (1996) (PG):


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Northanger Abbey Summary

Northanger Abbey

Published: December 1817

Author: Jane Austen

Genres: Classic, Drama, Fiction, Historical, Literature, Regency, Romance, Victorian


Check out the review of this book here:



Summary

Catherine Morland, seventeen, is one of ten children of a rural pastor. Although she was a tomboy as a youngster, by the age of 17 she is "in preparation for a heroine" and enjoys reading Gothic books, particularly Ann Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho.

Catherine is asked to join the Allens (her richer Fullerton neighbors) in visiting Bath and partaking in the city's winter season of balls, theatre, and other social joys. Soon after, she meets Henry Tilney, a charming young guy with whom she dances and converses. Mrs. Allen meets Mrs. Thorpe's daughter Isabella, a bright and provocative young lady, through Mrs. Allen's old school friend Mrs. Thorpe, and the two immediately become friends. Catherine's elder brother, James, is a friend of Mrs. Thorpe's son, John, at Oxford, where they are both students.

Catherine's connection with the Tilneys irritates the Thorpes, who correctly see Henry as a competition for Catherine's affections, despite Catherine's lack of interest in the crass John Thorpe. Catherine seeks to retain her ties with both the Thorpes and the Tilneys, despite John Thorpe's constant attempts to ruin her Tilney relationship. This causes multiple misunderstandings, forcing Catherine to explain herself to the Tilneys in an unpleasant situation.

Isabella and James decide to get married. James' father approves of the match and gives his son a rural parson's living of £400 per year, but they must wait two and a half years for him to get the benefice. Isabella is displeased, but she misrepresents her dissatisfaction to Catherine as being exclusively due to the delay, rather than the worth of the cash. 

Isabella starts flirting with Henry's older brother, Captain Tilney, right away. Catherine, who is innocent, is baffled by her friend's behavior, but Henry, who knows his brother's nature and habits, is all too aware of it.

Catherine is invited to stay with the Tilneys at Northanger Abbey for a few weeks. Catherine anticipates the monastery to be exotic and terrifying, based on her novel reading. Henry taunts her about it, as Northanger Abbey turns out to be delightful rather than Gothic. The mansion, however, has a mystery suite of rooms that no one ever visits; Catherine discovers that they were Mrs. Tilney's quarters, which she discovered nine years ago. Catherine concludes that General Tilney may have murdered her or imprisoned her in her chamber since he looks unaffected by her death.

Catherine realizes that her overactive imagination has led her misled since nothing about the apartments is weird or upsetting. Unfortunately, Henry interrogates her; he deduces and informs her that his father loved his wife in his own special manner and that her death really affected him. She walks away, weeping, fearful that she has completely lost Henry's respect. Catherine realizes how dumb she has been and concludes that, while novels are enjoyable, their content is unrelated to practical life. Henry never brings up the issue with her again.

James writes to tell her that he is not engaged with Isabella and that she is engaged to Captain Tilney instead. Henry and Eleanor Tilney have significant doubts about their brother's engagement to Isabella Thorpe. Catherine is deeply disappointed after discovering Isabella's dishonesty. A letter from Isabella herself later confirms the Tilney siblings' suspicions, demonstrating that Frederick Tilney was only flirting with Isabella. 

The General departs for London, and the mood at Northanger Abbey lightens and becomes more cheerful as a result of his departure. Catherine spends many pleasant days with Henry and Eleanor until the General arrives in a rage when Henry is out. He has Catherine leave early the next morning to return home, a surprising, unfriendly, and dangerous decision that compels Catherine to make the 70-mile (110-kilometer) trek alone.

Catherine is bored and miserable at home. Henry unexpectedly makes a visit and explains what has transpired. General Tilney had mistakenly considered her to be extremely wealthy as the Allens' potential heiress, and hence a good match for Henry, based on John Thorpe's disinformation. In London, General Tilney came upon Thorpe again; who, enraged and spiteful by Catherine's rejection of his half-made marriage proposal, claimed that she was on the verge of starvation. 

Enraged, General Tilney came home to evict Catherine (again, based on John Thorpe's disinformation). When Henry returned to Northanger, his father told him what had happened and prohibited him from thinking about Catherine ever again. When Henry discovers how she was handled, he defies his father and tells Catherine that despite his father's displeasure, he still wants to marry her. Catherine is overjoyed, but when Henry asks her parents for their blessing, they inform the young couple that ultimate permission would only come if General Tilney agrees.

General Tilney eventually agrees since Eleanor has married a wealthy and titled man, and he realizes that the Morlands, while not affluent, are far from poor.


Useful Search Related Words & Keywords:

Ann Radcliffe, Ann Ward, Austen Criticized It In Northanger, Carey Mulligan, Catherine Morland, Classics Edition, Drama, Felicity Jones, General Tilney, Giles Foster, Gothic Romance, Gothic, Great Story, Henry Tilney, Jane Austen, JJ Feild, John Thorpe, Jon Jones, Katharine Schlesinger, Kindle Edition, Literature, Mansfield Park, Mrs Allen, Mysteries Of Udolpho, Northanger Abbey, Oxford World, Peter Firth, Pride And Prejudice, Robert Hardy, Romance, Sense And Sensibility, World Classics, Worth Reading, Young Lady, Young Man


Rating: 85/100
Recommended: 90/100 Yes.

Buy the Kindle version here:


Free with free Audible trial:


The Complete Works of Jane Austen:


Northanger Abbey (2007) (PG):


Northanger Abbey (1987) (13+):


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