Write a review of EMMA? Well, as long as I am permitted to write three very dull things indeed, I should have no problem. Why, I am as sure to write three dull things the moment my fingers touch the keyboard, am I right?

Austen's best story, IMHO. The annotated edition from Harvard is as usual superb. I absolutely love how he makes frequent reference to both the excellent Gwyneth Paltrow 1990s movie version, as well as CLUELESS from the same decade, the latter being for sure my favorite Austen adaptation ever. I know there is a new 2019 movie adaptation as well which I must see for completeness' sake - somehow, as I don't stream and they don't seem to make DVD's anymore.

Two of my favorite quotes from this work:

"Oh, Miss Woodhouse, for the pleasure of sometimes being alone!"

And, "One half the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other half" - I had that on a t-shirt once. ( )

This beautiful large format hardcover edition of Emma has oversize pages which allow for the annotations from editor Bharat Tandon to appear alongside the principal text. There are relevant drawings and reproductions of paintings and even stills from filmic adaptations. But the text is never burdened at any point. The annotations tend to be clarificatory or informational, but sometimes also helpfully interpretative, especially where critical opinions diverge on the importance of key scenes.

Bharat Tandons’ introduction is worthy of special note. It is accessible yet erudite. It points up some of the key tools Austen deploys in writing Emma, such as her liberal use of free indirect style. And it is rightly conscious of the fact that no one would purchase such a heavy, large and somewhat expensive edition unless they were coming back to Emma, coming back with love. This is an edition of Emma almost designed, as it were, for rereaders.

No other novel, for me, has been so important over the many years that I have read and reread it. And this fine edition fully justifies the pleasure to be taken in reading it again, slowly. Highly recommended. ( )

Another annotated edition of Emma to add to my already overflowing shelves, requested and received as a beautiful and guilt-free Christmas present! I can't really compare this with The Annotated Emma by David Shapard, because the Kindle edition of the latter is naturally lacking in comparison with Bharat Tandon's gorgeous hardback, but both editors seem to cover much the same points in their annotations, from etiquette and etymology to recipes and literary references.

Tandon states in her introduction that she hopes her notes add to the experience of reading Emma, and that she 'didn't ever wish the genie back in the bottle' after researching Austen's novel so thoroughly. I can only agree. Even though Austen novices would perhaps start with a cheaper, smaller edition of the novel, there really is something for every level of reader in this magnificent annotated copy. So even though some of the definitions and explanations seemed unnecessary to me - the meaning of 'apprehension', for instance, and why Elton 'making violent love' to Emma isn't what it sounds like! - I was fascinated by Tandon's more in-depth side notes on apothecaries, recipes, and dentists, among other topics, and now know what a 'Tunbridge ware' box looks like. The illustrations are similarly informative and well-presented. I could have done without the editor's predilection for the 'American' adaptations of Emma - the 1996 Miramax film and Clueless with Alicia Silverstone, not to mention sneaking in Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility - but to each their own, I suppose.

Overall, Bharat Tandon has produced a sensual extravaganza for the hopelessly devoted aficionado of Emma. If your conscience can overlook such an 'investment', and your bookshelf can stand the weight, then I highly recommend this repackaged classic with 'extras' (even if you already own several other editions, like me!) ( )

Not uninteresting, but a very heavy book (4 pounds) with annotations rendered in grey not black, and some pages imperfectly printed (despite the quality of the paper). Many notes - particularly the explanations of the meanings of words - are patronising and unnecessary. Others serve simply to display the impressive learning of the editor. The Everyman paperback is more serviceable. The author does not need an interpreter. Nothing is sharpened by finding out that a court plaister adheres with the aid of isinglass, which comes from a fish. But certainly, that is something I did not know! ( )