S04E01 Emma, Chapters 1 to 5

In this episode, we read chapters 42 to 45 of Emma. We talk about the dropping of clues about Jane and Frank, Donwell Abbey and Mr Knightley’s arrangements for the strawberry picking, how nobody is enjoying themselves at Box Hill, and the pressures on Jane.

The character we discuss is Emma, and in the historical section Ellen talks about watering places. In the popular culture section, Harriet reflects back on the screen adaptations of Emma, considering her favourite moments from each version, and then how they dealt with some of the major characters.

Things we mention:

General and character discussion:

• Richard Cronin and Dorothy McMillan [Editors], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Emma (2005)
• Pod and Prejudice podcast
• John Sutherland, Is Heathcliff a murderer?: Puzzles in 19th-century fiction (1996) and Who Betrays Elizabeth Bennet?: Further Puzzles in Classic Fiction (1999)
• ‘The Thing About the Irish Car Party‘, The Thing About Austen podcast, Episode 70 
• Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943) and More Talk of Jane Austen (1950)

Historical discussion:

• Dorothy L. Sayers, Have His Carcase (1932)
• Beau Nash (1674-1762), well-known dandy and Master of Ceremonies at Bath
• ‘The Thing About Weymouth‘, The Thing About Austen podcast, Episode 45
• Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons (1930)

Popular culture discussion:

• Adaptations:
  • BBC, Emma (1972) – starring Doran Godwin and John Carson
  • Miramax, Emma (1996) – starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam
  • ITV, Emma (1996) – starring Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong
  • BBC, Emma (2009) – starring Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller
  • Working Title Films, Emma (2020) – starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn
• Modernisations:
  • Paramount Pictures, Clueless (1995) – starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd
  • YouTube, Pemberley Digital, Emma Approved (2013) – starring Joanna Sotomura and Brent Bailey

  For a list of music used, see this episode on our website.     

In this episode, we read chapters 37 to 41 of Emma. We talk about the parallel narratives, the ball at the Crown, Emma’s awareness of Mr Knightley, the section from Mr Knightley’s point of view and the tension between Jane and Frank.

The character we discuss is Mr Knightley, and in the historical section Ellen talks about poverty and the labouring classes. In the popular culture section, Harriet talks about the 2017 YouTube series The Emma Agenda.

Things we mention:

General and character discussion:

• Pod and Prejudice podcast
• Tea with Cassiane YouTube videos about Regency dancing
• Somerset Maugham

Historical discussion:

• The Speenhamland system
• Anthony Trollope, The Warden (1855)
• Robert Raikes
• Hannah More

Popular culture discussion:

• Main version considered:
  • YouTube, Quip Modest Productions, The Emma Agenda (2017) – starring Selis Maria Vargas and Angela Wong Carbone
• Other references
  • YouTube, Pemberley Digital, Emma Approved (2013) – starring Joanna Sotomura and Brent Bailey
  • ITV, Emma (1996) – starring Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong
  • Working Title Films, Emma (2020) – starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn

Creative commons music used:

• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
• Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.
• Extract from George Frideric Handel, Suite I, No. 2 in F Major, ii. Allegro. File originally from Musopen.
• Extract from Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major. File originally from Musopen.

In this episode, we read chapters 32 to 36 of Emma. We talk about the civil society of Highbury, why Jane puts up with Mrs Elton, and Emma’s dinner party.

The character we discuss is Mrs Elton, and Ellen talks about governesses. In the popular culture section, Harriet talks about the 2013 YouTube series Emma Approved .

Things we mention:

Character discussion:

• Diana Birchall, In Defense of Mrs Elton (1999)
•  John Mullan [Editor], The Oxford World’s Classics Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Emma (2022) 
• Mary Deforest, ‘Mrs. Elton and the Slave Trade‘ Persuasions 9, 1987
• Lona Manning, ‘What is Austen saying with Mrs. Elton?‘, 9 February 2023
• John Sutherland, Can Jane Eyre be happy? (2000)
• Thomas Gray, ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard‘ (1751)

Historical discussion:

• Elizabeth Eastlake, ‘Vanity Fair and Jane Eyre‘, Quarterly Review 84, 1848
• Anna Jameson, The Diary of an Ennuyée (1826)
• William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1847)
• Maria Edgeworth, The Good French Governess (1801)
• Ellen Jordan, The Women’s Movement and Women’s Employment in Nineteenth Century Britain (1999)
• Graph showing percentages of governesses, female milliners and domestic servants in various age groups as shown in the census of 1851.

Popular culture discussion:

• Main version considered:
  • YouTube, Pemberley Digital, Emma Approved (2013) – starring Joanna Sotomura and Brent Bailey
• Other references
  • YouTube, Pemberley Digital, Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012) – starring Ashley Clements and Daniel Vincent Gordh
  • Paramount Pictures, Clueless (1995) – starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd

 For a list of music used, see this episode on our website.    

In this episode, we read chapters 27 to 31 of Emma. We talk about the entwined group of people who visit one another, how so many scenes read differently the second time through, Miss Bates’s monologues, Jane and the piano, reactions to the plan of having a ball, and Emma encouraging Harriet to stop thinking about Mr Elton. 

The character we discuss is Harriet Smith, and Ellen talks about illegitimacy. In the popular culture section, Harriet talks about the 1995 modernisation Clueless.

Also, we are now on Instagram, at reading_jane_austen.

Things we mention:

General discussion:

• John Mullan, What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved (2012)

Character discussion:

• Edith Lank, ‘“The word was blunder”: Who was Harriet Smith’s Mother?‘ Persuasions 7, 1985: 14-15
• Helena Kelly, Jane Austen, the Secret Radical (2016)

Historical discussion:

• Max Weber (1864-1920)
• Claire Tomalin, Charles Dickens (2011)
• Christine Kenyon Jones, ‘Ambiguous Cousinship: Mansfield Park and the Mansfield Family‘ Persuasions On-line 31 (1), 2010
• BBC, Olivia Colman episode of Who Do You Think You Are (2018), Season 15, Episode 2

Popular culture discussion:

• Main version considered:
  • Paramount Pictures, Clueless (1995) – starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd
• Other 1990s/2000s high school films based on classic literature
  • 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), based on The Taming of the Shrew
  • Cruel Intentions(1999), based on Les Liaisons dangereuses
  • She’s All That (1999), based on Pygmalion / My Fair Lady
  • O (2001), based on Othello
  • She’s the Man(2006), based on Twelfth Night
  • Easy A (2010), based on The Scarlet Letter

 For a list of music used, see this episode on our website.   

In this episode, we read chapters 22 to 26 of Emma. We talk about Frank’s arrival, the dinner at the Coles, and the way so much looks different in a second reading, 

The characters we discuss are Mr and Mrs Weston, including a consideration of what we know of Mrs Weston’s pregnancy. Ellen talks about social customs, including calling and dinner parties. In the popular culture section, Harriet talks about the 2020 Working Title Films adaptation of Emma.

Things we mention:

General discussion:

• Richard Cronin and Dorothy McMillan [Editor], The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Emma (2005)

Character discussion:

• Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943) and More Talk of Jane Austen (1950)

Historical discussion:

• ‘Regency Dinner Parties and Etiquette‘, The Jane Austen Centre (2011) 

Popular culture discussion:

• Main version considered:
  • Working Title Films, Emma (2020) – starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn
• Videos and web pages about costuming
  • YouTube, Bernadette Banner, ‘5 Historical Films That Got the Costumes RIGHT‘ (2020)
  • YouTube, Karolina Żebrowska, ‘Are “Emma.” (2020) Costumes Historically Accurate? aka What Makes Good Period Drama Costumes‘ (2020)
  • ‘Emma (2020)‘, Frock Flicks (2020)
• Filming locations:
  • Firle Place
  • Wilton House

Creative commons music used:

• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
• Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.
• Extract from George Frideric Handel, Suite I, No. 2 in F Major, ii. Allegro. File originally from Musopen.
• Extract from Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major. File originally from Musopen.

In this episode, we are joined by Harriet’s partner, Michael, and read chapters 16 to 21 of Emma. We talk about the mystery plots, Emma’s fantasies, Emma and Mr Knightley’s interactions, and Harriet’s encounter with Mr Martin (which had us revisiting the map of Highbury).

The character we discuss is Miss Bates, and then Michael talks about army widows and orphans. In the popular culture section, Harriet talks about the 2009 BBC adaptation of Emma.

Things we mention:

General discussion:

• John Mullan, What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved (2012)
• Map of Highbury, created by Professor Penny Gay of the University of Sydney, and reproduced with her permission. The map was drawn in the 1980s and published in Penny Gay’s work Jane Austen’s Emma (Horizon Studies in Literature) Sydney University Press, 1995. More information about it is available in ‘A Hypothetical Map of Highbury‘, Persuasions Online, Volume 36, No. 1, Winter 2015.

Character discussion:

• Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford (1853)
• Agatha Christie’s books and stories featuring Miss Marple
• Lucy F. March Phillipps, My life and what shall I do with it? By an old maid (1918)
• Mary Russell Mitford, Letter to W.W. Ogbourn (April 3, 1815) – read the extract about Jane Austen
• Dorothy L. Sayers, Gaudy Night (1935)

Popular culture discussion:

• Main version considered:
  • BBC, Emma (2009) – starring Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller
• Other versions mentioned
  • BBC, Emma (1972) – starring Doran Godwin and John Carson
  • Miramax, Emma (1996) – starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam
  • ITV, Emma (1996) – starring Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong

 For a list of music used, see this episode on our website.  

In this episode, we read chapters 11 to 15 of Emma. We talk about the introduction of John and Isabella Knightley, how Emma really doesn’t understand the social world, the clash between Isabella and Mr Woodhouse about health – and how Emma and Mr Knightley are running interference – and the way in which the Frank/Jane plot is beginning to be introduced before the Harriet/Mr Elton plot is resolved.

The character we discuss is Mr Elton, and then Ellen talks about apothecaries. In the popular culture section, Harriet talks about the 1996 ITV telemovie adaptation of Emma.

Things we mention:

General discussion:

• Google Map of Emma locations

Character discussion:

• John Mullan, What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved (2012)

Historical discussion:

• Irvine Loudon. 1986. Medical Care and the General Practitioner, 1750-1850. (1986)
• S W F Holloway, ‘The Apothecaries’ Act of 1815: A Reinterpretation.’ Medical History 10, 1966: 107-29, 221-36

Popular culture discussion:

• Main version considered:
  • ITV, Emma (1996) – starring Kate Beckinsale and Mark Strong
• Other versions mentioned
  • BBC, Emma (1972) – starring Doran Godwin and John Carson
  • Miramax, Emma (1996) – starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam

Creative commons music used:

• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 12 in F Major, ii. Adagio.
• Extract from Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 38. Performance by Ivan Ilić, recorded in Manchester in December, 2006. File originally from IMSLP.
• Extract from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata No. 13 in B-Flat Major, iii. Allegretto Grazioso. File originally from Musopen.
• Extract from George Frideric Handel, Suite I, No. 2 in F Major, ii. Allegro. File originally from Musopen.
• Extract from Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major. File originally from Musopen.

In this episode, we read chapters 6 to 10 of Emma. We talk about the hints Jane Austen gives us about Emma’s blunders, Emma’s manipulation of Harriet after Mr Martin’s proposal, the argument between Emma and Mr Knightley, Harriet’s riddle book, Emma’s and Mr Elton’s respective views of his place in the social hierarchy, and Emma’s lack of need to get married. (There was also a lengthy discussion of ‘Kitty, a fair but frozen maid’, which we ended up editing out, and just pointing to Lona Manning’s article and blog posts on the subject.) 

We discuss the Martin family (specifically, Mr Martin and his mother), and in the historical section Ellen talks about vicars and parish business. Harriet talks about the 1996 Miramax film adaptation of Emma.

For a list of references, see this episode on our website. 

In this episode, we read the first five chapters of Emma. We give a brief publishing history, and talk about how much we learn about the occupants of Highbury, the introduction of the relationship between Emma and Mr Knightley, Emma’s manipulation of Harriet, and Emma’s personality (and how our views of her are changing on this readthrough).

The character we discuss is Mr Woodhouse, and in the historical section Ellen talks about boarding schools. Harriet gives an overview of all of the popular culture versions of Emma, and explains that due to the number of adaptations there have been, she will talk about one version each episode, rather than trying to cover all of them. For this episode, she talks about the 1972 BBC adaptation.

 For a list of references, see this episode on our website.    

• Margaret Drabble,  “Introduction”,  Mansfield Park (1996 – Signet Classics edition)
• Anthony Powell, Casanova’s Chinese Restaurant [volume 5 of A Dance to the Music of Time] (1960)
• William Shakespeare, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2
• Sheila Kaye-Smith and G.B. Stern, Talking of Jane Austen (1943) and More Talk of Jane Austen (1950)
• Tony Tanner, various works including “Introduction”, Mansfield Park (1966 – Penguin Books edition)
• Marvin Mudrick, Jane Austen; irony as defense and discovery (1952)
• Mary Brunton, Self-Control (1810)
• Linda V Troost and Sayre N Greenfield, “A History of the Fanny Wars”, Persuasions 36 (1), 2014, pp. 15–33.
• D W Harding, ‘Regulated Hatred: An aspect of the work of Jane Austen’, Scrutiny, 8 (4), 1940, pp. 346–362.
• C S Lewis, ‘A Note on Jane Austen’, Essays in Criticism, IV (4), October 1954, pp. 359–371.
• Lionel Trilling, “Mansfield Park“, Partisan Review 21 (September-October 1954): 492-511. Also published in Encounter, September 1954: 9-19.
• Kingsley Amis, “What Became of Jane Austen?”, The Spectator, 4 October 1957 – republished in What Became of Jane Austen? And Other Questions (1970)

• Maria Edgeworth, Moral Tales: Angelina; Or L’amie Inconnue. the Good French Governess. Mademoiselle Panache. the Knapsack (1801)

• Adaptations:
  • BBC, Mansfield Park (1983) – starring Sylvestra Le Touzel and Nicholas Farrell (6 episodes)
  • Miramax, Mansfield Park (1999) – starring Frances O’Connor and Jonny Lee Miller
  • ITV, Mansfield Park (2007) – starring Billie Piper and Blake Ritson
• Modernisations:
  • YouTube, Foot in the Door Theatre, From Mansfield With Love (2014-2015)
  • D.E. Stevenson, Celia’s House (1943)

For a list of music used, see this episode on our website.