Sweet story about a maid who falls in love with an upperclass man. But its not just about that. Its also about the life and feelings of the other characters. ( )

“Emma”, a graphic novel about a young maid in 19th century England, is prettily drawn and has an equally pretty story. When I first began reading it, I thought it was going to be somehow linked to Jane Austen’s “Emma,” but fans of Austen’s work should enjoy this light love story as well.

Kelly, the woman who took in Emma, serves as an adult role model and family member to the orphaned maid. She keeps an eye on Emma’s whereabouts and is cautious about William’s interest. She also shows concern about what will happen to Emma after her death, and wishes she would marry a responsible young man.

William, the wealthy young man who pursues Emma, comes off as being an overbearing, spoiled aristocrat in some scenes. For example, William presses Emma to accept a pair of spectacles, though she realizes the implications of receiving such a gift, and is hesitant to comply. When she eventually refuses, and instead suggests a lace handkerchief, William extravagantly suggests buying hundreds of them.

Emma herself is a difficult character to get a grasp on, partially because the reader is not given much insight into her thoughts, but is rather left to interpret her actions and sparse dialogue. However, it is obvious that she cares very much for Kelly, and shows restraint and responsibility.

This is a sweet story, but readers may find themselves frustrated trying to understand Emma. Junior highers will most likely enjoy it, although older high schoolers may find it too simplistic. ( )

In Victorian England, a wealthy young man falls in love with a shy housemaid. His family, however, has other plans...

I don’t read a whole lot of manga, so I had some trouble following the plot. It felt disjointed, but that may have just been me. Also, I had trouble telling some of the characters apart. The description sounds like something I should enjoy, but I think you have to be a fan of both manga and the Victorian era in order to fully appreciate this. I won’t be picking up additional volumes, but I wouldn’t discourage manga-reading Anglophiles from giving it a try. ( )

I picked this up at my local library a few years back- such a lovely GN. The equivalent of a cup of tea and a comfortable sofa (high praise from me; I like nothing so much as a cup of tea and a comfortable sofa!). My only sadness was that our library only has the first few volumes- I'll have to push for them to purchase the rest of the series. ( )

Emma is a romance novel with a Victorian London housemaid as its protagonist. In the first volume, Emma is working for a widowed former governess who receives an unexpected and long-overdue visit from one of her former charges, William Jones. The young man is smitten by Emma, but their difference in class doesn't provide him with many opportunities to see her. Then there's the problem of William's father, who has a suitable match already picked out for William.

This was my first experience with manga. I love historical fiction, and particularly fiction set in England, so this series seemed like a good fit for me. I love the detail in the drawings, which are clear and expressive. I didn't notice any problems with the English translation. I knew that I needed to read this volume from back to front (from my perspective) and left to right, but I was never quite sure what was the right order for reading the panels when two shorter images are stacked to the right of a longer image on the left. I turned the last page to find a diagram illustrating the order in which a page should be read. It was placed there for first-time readers who are used to reading from left to right. It would have been more useful to me if it was placed at the beginning of the book as well as at the end. Emma's story isn't complete in this volume. It's only the beginning. Emma's story continues in the next several volumes of the series. I don't know if manga on other subjects will appeal to me, but I did like this series debut well enough to seek out the rest of the volumes in order to find out what happens to Emma and William. ( )