Perfect Happiness (CH)

by Rachel Billington

The sequel to Jane Austen's EMMA, the hit film starring Gwynneth Paltrow. A wonderfully witty and moving novel which complements Jane Austen and is an elegant novel in its own right. A year after her marriage to Mr George Knightley, Emma is still living at her family home, Hartfield. Although congratulating herself on perfect happiness, Emma finds she is curiously dull and restless. Mr Knightley, passionately in love with a woman sixteen years younger, finds himself dealing with a wife who is changing before his eyes.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Regency, Chick Lit, Historical Romance

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Rachel Billington has written twenty one novels and eleven books for children. She is also a journalist, feature writer and reviewer. She is a regular contributor and Associate Editor of Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners and a Vice-President of English PEN. In 2012 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Literature.

Reviews

[Jennifer Gentry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book as "Emma" is one of my favorite Jane Austen novels (not as well-loved as "Pride and Prejudice", but that's beside the point). Upon reading the sample, I was thoroughly intrigued with the idea of discovering what Mr. & Mrs. Knightley's ever-after resembled. How was life at Hartfield? How did they adjust to living as husband and wife after viewing each other for so long as friends--and friends with such a disparity in ages? How did the marriages of some of the other characters turn out? Would Augusta Elton develop any taste and lose her sense of vulgar vanity? (After reading this book, I can say with all certainty that she did NOT.)

Within the opening pages, we discover that Jane Fairfax Churchill, after giving birth to a son, met an unfortunate and untimely death. This sets into motion a series of events that completely alters everyone's lives--and the Knightleys' marriage. These events were interesting enough that, despite my utter dislike for the story, I simply *had* to finish reading the book instead of abandoning it as I heartily wished to do.

Perhaps I've seen the Gwynneth Paltrow version of "Emma" too many times to be able to accurately perceive the truth in this from the actual story, but it seemed to me that Emma, by the time she married Mr. Knightley, had undergone a transformation in the way she viewed other people. She seemed less of a snob, less concerned about status and such. This, however, is far from the Emma that Mrs. Billington portrayed. Her Emma was just as haughty and snobbish--and judgmental--as the "real" Emma from the start of Jane Austen's novel. No transformation had been made after even a year of marriage, which I find extremely hard to believe.

I also read with disapproval the portrayal of Emma & Knightley's marriage and their lack of communication. How could two people--as portrayed by Jane Austen--with so much ability to make themselves known and heard by the other suffer through so many months of a sudden lack of communication? There were times I just wanted to smack both of them and shout, "Talk to each other!" While possibly more true to real life (especially during those early years of marriage), it was not the Emma and Knightley I've grown familiar with through the years. And while I appreciated not having to read about it (I heartily disapprove and dislike when authors use descriptive sex scenes---particularly in Austen continuations. I believe she would roll over in her grave at such things), I find it extremely hard to believe that there was no passion in their marriage, as Mrs. Billington would have us believe.

Finally, while Frank Churchill's character is far from reproach in "Emma", I cannot believe he is so bad, so inherently wicked, as Mrs. Billington portrays him in her novel. He has always been selfish, self-centered, and devious. But I just cannot agree that womanizer and debauched cad should also be added to his list of faults.

This book was very well written and would probably be thoroughly enjoyed by someone who has NOT previously read "Emma". The Jane Austen enthusiasts looking for a continuation of a beloved book will want to keep looking.

[Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading reviews of this book and "Perfect Happiness" earlier edition of "Emma and Knightly" and seeing that many people had criticized this book, I was skeptical to give it try. Since there aren't many good sequels to "Emma" out there, I was willing to try something that was not raved about.

I wasn't disappointed. The story was intriguing, perhaps not the greatest sequel written. But overall, ended up being a bit of a page turner!

We find Emma a year or more into her marriage with Mr. Knightly and she finds out that she has a lot of learning and growing to do. She is put to the test when her quiet little life and the lives of people around her are undone with a few life-chaning events. Emma herself struggles with her new role as "wife" especially since her relationship with Mr. Knightley for so many years has been one of brotherly love. In this continuation of Emma, there are deaths, about three marriages, two new likeable characters, and a developing of the character of Frank Churchill (which in my opinion is very close to the portrayal Jane Austen made of him in Emma). I really enjoyed the character development in this book: I think Jane Austen created some of thhe most unique, realistic, and flawed characters in literature and it is interesting and comforting seeing them develop into the type of people they should be. Just like we should be doing. There are a lot of good lessons for us to learn about communication, jumping to conclusions, grief, finances, trust, and love.

I recommend this book to those who love and long to live in Highbury, those who are not too critical as far as Jane Austen continuations and sequels go, and who like the caharcter of Emma and are curious how she matures and handles being married to Mr. Knightley. I do not recommend this book to those who desire a certain level of writing in Jane Austen continuations and sequels. If you want writing in the style of Jane, in the voice of Jane, and characters that are true to Jane, you might not enjoy this book.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

As soon as I finished reading Emma, I turned to this book. I think the author did a pretty good job keeping both Emma and Knightley (individually) true to the original. However, I felt like their relationship with each other was not what Austen would have written. The two enjoyed a good verbal sparring in Emma but it seemed as if they had NO communication in the sequel. As a result, there were misunderstandings galore. In Emma, they were not afraid to tell each other what they felt even if they disagreed. In this book, it seemed as if they were living side by side without any actual interaction.

Also, I didn't think Churchill was all that bad in Emma... this book paints him as a monster.

All in all, I enjoyed the story, even though I think Emma and Knightley would have/should have communicated more. The author stayed fairly true to Jane Austen's style and I felt like most of the characters were true to the original story. So far, this is my favorite Austen sequel.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harmless but a bit silly, especially the development of Frank Churchill into an out and out cad. Despite that I quite enjoyed it. Mr Knightly remains one of my favourite heroes!

[Ceri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sequel to Jane Austen’s Emma, beginning around 18 months into the Knightley’s marriage and all is not well in Highbury. The story begins really quite depressingly; news of a death, and the realisation that Emma and Knightley are emotionally not very close – they have kept up their respective roles of spoiled child and advisor. The story then moves onto a bankruptcy and another death. I had to take a break from this book and come back to it, misery piles upon misery and through it all Emma and Knightley get further and further apart.

At the end of ‘Emma’ I felt that Emma had matured somewhat and gained a better level of understanding but here the character has reverted to the clueless character of two years before. It is also disappointing to see Mr Knightley constantly pulling away from his wife, he is hardly ever there, and when he is he’s usually leaving! Since Mr Knightley provides Emma with so little friendship it is comprehendible that she wouldn’t confide in him but I don’t feel that would be in line with Emma’s character, I think in the circumstances in the story Emma would have felt obliged to tell him of certain events. There was also a reliance on the couple mistaking the other’s feelings in the same way that was cleared up in ‘Emma’ and I felt it was unlikely that they’d both do this again. Plus all this was cleared up in literally five pages, and there must have been so many opportunities for this to be cleared up much more quickly, it seemed unlikely to me that it would have dragged on for so long.

There were some things I liked very much about this book; the style of the writing is really very good, it’s witty and ironic and it reminded me of the original book. Emma’s sister Isabella is a very minor character in ‘Emma’ and here she is fleshed out much more, which I thought was done really well. There are also some original characters, most notably Mrs Philomena Tidmarsh, who is an intelligent widow who befriends Emma for a mixture of reasons. However, despite all these positives, the sad subject matter and bad state of the relationship between Emma and Knightley, which I felt was unlikely, meant that I found this book hard going to read.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am dumbstruck. I love Austen’s “Emma.” This is not the same Emma, the same Mr. Knightley. Emma grew up in the original book. In this sequel, she was more a snob than ever before, full of jealousy and quite callous. Emma and Knightley had always spoken openly with each other. Not in this book. They both hold on to secrets and don’t communicate. This story just didn’t gel with its original. I didn’t care much for it at all.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tons of typos and missing quotation marks. Plot -- average. Characterization -- eh. Didn't really feel like Frank Churchill or Miss Bates or Mrs. Weston was really the character they were in the Jane Austen original. A little bit of a let down.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5.

For full review: https://katiegreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adaptations and sequels based on Jane Austen’s work are so enticing to me because I love Jane Austen so much. That said, you have to read them with more than a few grains of salt, sometimes, because nobody writes Jane Austen’s stories and characters like she wrote them.

“Emma & Knightly” was a cute and entertaining sequel to the story, with probable events that didn’t require too much stretching of the imagination to picture them part of the original. I did think the author took the characters a little too far over the top with some of their eccentricities, as in Emma’s case, and there was almost a tone of mockery in some of the beginning chapters when she reviewed the original story, but on the whole this is wholesome, well written, and entertaining.

[Jess Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Une très bonne idée de départ...J'aime énormément le parti pris de l'auteur sur le couple Emma/Knightley. La différence d'âge est très bien exploitée même si les "fans" du couple auront peut-être un peu de mal. Emma est particulièrement caractérisée et je trouve que l'auteur met subtilement en valeur son décalage avec Knightley. Ce dernier est touchant dans son désir de protection d'Emma, même si on sent bien qu'il l'infantilise... Mr Woodhouse est plus pénible que jamais et j'aime VRAIMENT lire enfin Emma être fatiguée de son père ! Jane Fairfax ne nous manque pas tant que ça et le veuvage de Frank donne du piment à l'histoire, notamment dans les sentiments d'Emma. Les choses se corsent avec l'introduction des nouveaux personnages, les Tindmarsh ... Je n'ai rien à redire sur Dugobair ( qui ne semble être là que pour caser un perso) en revanche je suis mitigée sur Philomena, j'aime bien sa relation avec Emma et surtout les sentiments qu'Emma éprouve à son égard ( soyons clairs, cette fille est pédante et se trouve toujours mieux que tout le monde), j'aime son histoire, mais je n'aime pas l'utilité qu'on lui donne dans la fin du récit. Autre point négatif : Miss Bates, je n'ai rien contre la vieille dame (qui est superbement menée par l'auteure, si ce n'est une fois encore son destin)

Pour le reste, j'ai trouvé l'histoire assez bonne. Les trois quart du bouquin sont très bons, surtout dans la vision d'Emma de l'auteure, sans complaisance et sans trop d'affection non plus au final : Emma est capricieuse, prétentieuse (mais s'amende) un peu perdue, troublée ( ahhh Frank) amoureuse, ne sait pas ce qu'elle veut et j'ai VRAIMENT aimé de lire qu'au bout d'un an de mariage avec Knightley (trop vieux, raisonnable etc ) tout ne va pas bien. Même si au final Knightley s'avère plus passionné qu'on ne le croyait ^^. J'ai aussi aimé qu'Emma voit ENFIN la "vraie" nature de son père comme elle le dit " Je l'aime mais c'est un vieil homme égoïste et capricieux qui ne me laissera jamais partir et être une femme" (ce n'est pas du mot à mot mais c'est l'idée) BRAVO !! Idem sur le fait que Knightley en ait ras le bol de Mr Woodhouse (sérieusement qui pourrait supporter ce vieux Mr plus d'une journée ?) Bref une belle réussite pour moi car j'ai la même vision des personnages que celle de l'auteure ( le rebondissement d'Harriett Smith excellent aussi tout comme ce qui arrive à John ^^) après je n'ai pas aimé la fin trop trop bonbon rose... (même si certains points sont discutables, surtout pour Frank Churchill)

Ce que j'ai aimé : Emma pour moi très bien retranscrite avec ses qualités et ses défauts. L'idée que son couple avec Knightley n'est pas parfait et qu'ils doivent apprendre à se connaitre et vivre ensemble. La relation de Frank et Emma très bien menée. La vérité sur les sentiments de Philoména. Rencontrer les Sucklings

Ce que je n'ai pas aimé : La fin trop "youpiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" tout s'arrange pour les "gentils personnages", plus douce amère pour d'autres, certes mais heureuse quand même. (par contre pour ce qui est de Knightley et Emma, en tant que couple, je n'ai rien à redire sur la conclusion). La fin de Frank Churchill, dommage parce que sur l'ensemble du personnage j'ai adhéré

En bref : Une très bonne sequel qui plaira aux personnes qui ne sont pas absolument convaincues par la fin de Knightley et Emma dans le roman de Jane Austen. On est sur ce point dans un vrai prolongement du roman, dans le sens où ça va au dela du "on se connait depuis toujours donc on s'aime", là ils apprennent à se connaitre en temps que mari et femme et c'est bien fait. Je ne suis cependant pas sûre que ce portrait assez peu flatteur du couple après un an de mariage plaise à tous... Et je tiens à souligner que j'ai vraiment retrouvé les personnages du roman original tels que je les voyais.

Ma note : 8/10

[Anna]

Emma & Knightley is a sequel to Emma, my favorite Jane Austen novel (at the moment, anyway), that catches up with Emma and Mr. Knightley about a year-and-a-half into their marriage. Mr. Knightley has settled into life at Hartfield, giving up his family home, Donwell Abbey, since the difficult Mr. Woodhouse could not bear to be parted from his daughter.

The novel opens with Emma learning of the death of Jane Churchill (née Fairfax) shortly after giving birth to a son, and Frank Churchill, overwhelmed with grief, is nowhere to be found. Despite Mr. Knightley’s intense dislike of Frank Churchill, he goes off to search for him in London on behalf of his father, Mr. Weston, but Emma stumbles upon Frank at Donwell Abbey — crazed, impassioned, and taking aim at Emma for marrying an “old” man who surely is not as passionate as himself. When Mr. Knightley returns, preoccupied with his brother’s troubles, he is quiet and distraught, and Emma just can’t bring herself to tell him she has seen Frank Churchill.

It’s soon obvious that the Knightleys are having some marital problems, with Mr. Knightley treating Emma with affection but not passion, and Emma increasingly frustrated with his daily excursions to the home of Robert and Harriet Martin and his unwillingness to share his troubles and plans with her. She worries that he is bored with her or regrets leaving Donwell Abbey, and she feels that he still views her as a child. Billington follows Emma and Mr. Knightley around Highbury and London (where Emma meets the exotic and exhuberant Philomena Tidmarsh and her scholarly vicar stepson, Dugobair), separate even when they are together, both knowing that something is wrong and unwilling to communicate.

Emma & Knightley was an enjoyable novel, but I must admit I was disappointed by Billington’s take on Austen’s characters. I’d wanted to see how Emma and Mr. Knightley fared in marriage given their age difference and past friendship, and while I didn’t expect their marriage to be perfect, I never imagined they’d tiptoe around each other for most of the book. Some passionate arguments and disagreements (like the one in Emma, when Mr. Knightley accuses her of influencing Harriet Smith’s rejection of Robert Martin) would have been more dramatic and exciting.

Even if marriage didn’t cure Emma of her arrogance (which it didn’t), I didn’t expect her to be whiny and insecure. And why was it so impossible for her to call her husband George instead of addressing him as “Knightley” — especially when she found Mrs. Elton calling her husband “Mr. E.” to be downright ridiculous? Meanwhile, Mr. Knightley seems to have lost some of his charm and confidence, and I thought it was out of character for him to exclude Emma from everything, given how anxious he was to discuss with her Robert Martin’s proposal and the possibility of something going on between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax in the original novel.

I didn’t mind seeing Frank become an even bigger scoundrel, but how Billington made Miss Bates — a woman who couldn’t stop rambling even if she tried — essentially speechless was also disappointing. However, I liked her original character, Mrs. Tidmarsh, and her take on some of the secondary characters, like the infamous Sucklings and Isabella Knightley.

While it didn’t completely satisfy my desire to revisit my favorite characters, I’m not sorry I read Emma & Knightley. There were plenty of flawed characters and misunderstandings, and I liked that Billington touched on more serious topics, like abandoned children, grief, and even financial troubles. I just wish I could’ve liked her Emma and Mr. Knightley as much as I’d hoped to.

Review posted on Diary of an Eccentric

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

***SOME SPOILERISHNESS***

Like my rating, I thought this was ok. I've never read Billington before, so I don't know if this is typical...it wasn't that it was so bad; it just was definitely no Jane Austen. Perhaps she was not trying to imitate Austen's style and perhaps I should not have expected her to. There was just none of the laugh-out-loud wit that I enjoy with Austen, merely a few chuckles here and there. Of course, the focus was more towards the "what happens after the happily-ever-after", which is never quite as dreamily happy once reality sets in. In the past, I have enjoyed that kind of realistic take on the fairy tale story, but maybe I just wasn't in the mood. So, since it gave off more of a serious tone than the lightheartedness I've grown to love in Austen, I felt slightly uncomfortable with their whole situation until the very, very end.

[Nikii · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I had imagined what the plotlines of a sequel to Emma might include, I would not in a million years have dreamed up any of these. The unexpected works in this novel, wherein Emma and her Mr. Knightley travel the hard road to Austen's promised "perfect happiness" in their second year of marriage. The characters are well-drawn and true to Austen, though they are changed by their experiences, which is exactly as it should be.
The ending felt a bit rushed, as if the author had thrown all she could at our protagonists and wished to simply wrap a ribbon around it all. But, that one quibble aside, it was a very satisfying read.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally LOVED this book. It takes place after the events of Emma, who has just been married to Mr. Knightley

Pros
-Mr. Knightley is even more charming in this book than he is in Emma.
-Great new plots that are well thought out and full of drama.
-Loved the plot surrounding Mr. Churchill

Cons
-Emma is kind of annoying in this book. She never manages to really do anything, and just complains and wonders why things are happening.

I did really love this book though. I always wondered whether things would work out for Emma and Mr. Knightley. This book has so many great scenes and brings up things I never thought about. Like the fact that she never called him George, despite how close they are. Great book!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened upon this book while browsing at the library. I want to buy this book and place it on my bookshelf right next to my copy of Emma.

This book was very much in the style of Jane Austen herself. The major theme of the book was Emma's view of herself and how she assumes Knightley views her. With such an age difference between the 2, how can happily ever after work? Emma wants to be a strong woman and to be seen as a woman, not the child that Knightley watched grow up. She meets a Mrs. Tidmarsh who introduces Emma to the world of feminism. Emma holds a secret about Frank Churchill that just might put an end to her marriage.

I loved this sequel and can see many good reads to come!!

[Cissy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not brilliant, a little tedious, but I think I will finish.

Now finished, still not brilliant. The whole plot so depended on Emma's selfishness and self-centeredness, that I'm afraid to read the "old" Emma. I remembered her having enough redeeming qualities to balance the snobbishness. Also, the characters came off so melodramatically that I could hardly stand reading their actions and reactions. Honestly, does Austen's Emma read that way? I can't remember. (I'm assuming here that the author of this novel based her characters on the originals.)

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a rollercoaster for me: I wasn't quite sure, I liked it, I was bored, I loved it. But that is also how I felt about the character of Emma: I wasn't quite sure about her, I liked her, I was bored by her, I love parts of her character. She's selfish, she's rude, she is impulsive- traits I don't identify with. Yet, she has endearing qualities. Rachel did an amazing job bringing Austen's Emma qualities to life again. I felt the book upheld the Austen feel and trueness of Emma. Overall, this book was great.

[LeOta · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is billed as PERFECT HAPPINESS IN HIGHBURY, but it seemed pretty depressing to me.

Emma and Kightley go through a great deal of unhappiness for most of the book. Both Frank Chruchill and John Knightley were also very unhappy. The author took two other Austen beloved characters developed into different characters with the same names.

Bottom line, I didn't enjoy this book and am not able to recommend it.

[Mirah W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a good continuation of Emma and Knightley's story. I thought the growth experienced by Emma in Jane Austen's novel was completely forgotten about by the author. I don't recall Emma feeling such distaste for certain characters and nd there seemed to be too much of a disconnect between Emma and Knightley. Although, I do have to admit, I love the path the author chose for Ms. Bates...for some odd reason I think it actually worked.

[Janine Urban · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...when reading a sequel to Jane Austen you need to suspend belief and go with the authors interpretation. Do not expect Austen cannon. That being said, I like this book. I could totally see all these characters follow each of their story lines. And boy did Mr. Churchill pull a Wickham. It also bears mentioning that the language and writing was the closest to Austen that I have read. The ending for Miss. Bates; perfect.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The character of Emma is well done. She still has lessons to learn about her haphazard snobbery. New and interesting characters are introduced, and familiar friends like Mrs Elton and Miss Bates do not disappoint. But it seems that Billington did not know what to do with Jane and Frank Churchill. That particular subplot is bizarre and distracting.

[Nina Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a confirmed fan of Emma, this was a satisfying read. Who hasn't wondered about favorite characters after the book ends? Not all is wonderful in Emma's life after marrying her Mr. Knightley. A year after their marriage, unexpected events in Highbury and environs lead the loving couple to have doubts about each other. How will they fare in the face of change and tragedy?

[Charity U · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine, but I had a few problems. Nothing bad or objectionable. But there were some editing errors (Selina Suckling called Serena multiple times) and a lot of quotation marks were dropped. The writing wasn't that great, and I won't be keeping the book. Good if you love Jane Austen's "Emma" but otherwise...

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good sequel. But I had one big problem, tons of editing errors, typos, you name it, it just needed to be looked through a second or third time. I don't think the Westons are the Westerns......just one example. But all in all the story is good if you can look past the typos.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out so promising but went nowhere quickly. Every character was weepy and melodramatic. I'm a pretty dramatic person who is very emotional, and it was too much for ME. There wasn't anything to look forward to anyway, so it wasn't worth enduring it.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the best sequel to a classic novel. Each story line I can see the characters follow. I keep reading to find Knightly every time.

[Jenny Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sequel to Emma. I thought the author did a good job building on Jane Austen's characters. I did not want it to end and I hope she writes another one!

[Babs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book and could not put it down. It was nice to see how things might have turnd out. This is a year later after Emma and Mr. Knightly are married.

[Kami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Billington continues the story in a fun believable way. Emma grows up a bit, which I love and she needed. Billington stays close to Austen's style too. Fun read.

[Francesca Blom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Godawful. 0 stars. While not poorly written, it reads like a personal vendetta against the original book and characters by an author who didn't seem to understand it.