Emma: A Modern Retelling

By Alexander McCall Smith

Emma: A Modern Retelling - Alexander McCall Smith
  • Release Date: 2015-04-07
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4
4
From 83 Ratings

Description

The best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series deftly escorts Jane Austen’s beloved, meddlesome heroine into the twenty-first century in this delightfully inventive retelling.

"[McCall Smith] takes Jane’s characters and invites them warmly into our world.” —The Washington Post

The summer after university, Emma Woodhouse returns home to live with her widowed father and launch her interior design business. Apart from cultivating grand career plans and managing her father’s hypochondria, Emma busies herself with the two things she does best: matchmaking and offering advice on everything from texting etiquette to first date destinations.

Happily, this summer presents abundant opportunities for both, as old and new friends are drawn into the sphere of Emma’s counsel: George Knightley, her principled brother-in-law; Frank Churchill, the attractive stepson of her former governess; Harriet Smith, a naïve but enchanting young teacher’s assistant at the local language school; and the perfect (and perfectly vexing) Jane Fairfax. Carriages have been replaced by Mini Coopers and cups of tea by cappuccinos, but Alexander McCall Smith’s sparkling satire and cozy sensibility are the perfect match for Jane Austen’s beloved tale.

Reviews

  • Not Austen!!

    5
    By Kaytonah
    Not Austen but not meant to be. This is a good book with great reworkings of the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the mix of new and old twists. I don't want to give it away, but I loved the hints of gaiety in it!! Definitely worth reading.
  • Not so good this time

    1
    By Debbie6754
    I usually love all of his books. Not this one. There are a lot of unlikeable characters. It is a drag to read.