Although Jane described Emma Woodhouse as “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like,” Emma possesses enough charm to engage the reader even before she gains some much-needed insight. But can a novel succeed when its main crisis is simply a rude comment made at a picnic?? With Austen’s masterful prose, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” Emma presents perhaps the most wonderfully drawn characters of all Austen’s works and certainly gives Pride and Prejudice a run for its money as the most comedic “comedy of manners”. Yet for all of this, Austen’s subversive irony is never far removed. Similar to Northanger Abbey in that the heroines are blinded by their own imaginations. Easy enough to be fun for young/inexperienced readers, yet rich enough for endless debate and analysis.