This week for the Fiction Friday feature, I’m reviewing the Audible Original performance of Emma by Jane Austen and adapted by Anna Lea. It was released in 2018 and is 8 hours and 21 minutes in length. It is read/performed by Emma Thompson, Joanne Froggatt, Isabella Inchbald, Aisling Lettus, Joseph Milson, and Morgana Robinson. The following overview is provided from Audible: “Handsome, clever, and rich” (in Austen’s description), Emma Woodhouse prides herself on being a gifted matchmaker—even if she doesn’t always choose wisely for her friends and almost misses her own Mr. Right. The accomplished cast and sumptuous sound design bring the novel’s iconic characters (noble Mr. Knightley, sly Frank Churchill, gentle Miss Bates, and, of course, the delightful, exasperating Emma) and 19th-century British society to vivid life.
This is the first Jane Austen novel I have ever consumed. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Sometimes the dialogue would lose me, but I would soon fall back in love with the story being told. I see so much of myself in Emma. This story has a timeless nature to it. I can see how it inspired my favorite 90s rom-com, Clueless. I recommend this book to everyone but especially to young women.
I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
On Sunday for the Spotcast Sunday feature, I’m reviewing the true-crime podcast, Jensen & Holes: Murder Squad. Next week for the Fiction Friday feature, I’m reviewing the suspense novel, Roadwork by Richard Bachman/Stephen King. Until then read on; Nerd out!