Emma: A Modern Retelling

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. The summer after university, Emma Woodhouse returns home to the village of Highbury to prepare for the launch of her interior design business. As she cultivates grand plans for the future, she re-enters the household of her hypochondriac father, who has been living alone on a steady diet of vegetables and vitamin supplements. Soon Emma befriends Harriet Smith, the naive but charming young teacher's assistant at an English-language school run by the hippie-ish Mrs. Goddard. Harriet is Emma's inspiration to do the two things she does best: offer guidance to those less wise in the ways of the world and put her matchmaking skills to good use. Happily, this summer presents abundant opportunities for her to do just that, as many friends, both old and new, are drawn into the sphere of Emma's occasionally injudicious counsel: Frank Churchill, the attractive stepson of Emma's former governess; George Knightley, Emma's brother-in-law and dear friend; the charming yet self-important Philip Elton; and, of course, the perfect (and perfectly vexing) Jane Fairfax. Alexander McCall Smith's gentle satire and cozy, old-fashioned sensibility prove to be the perfect match for Jane Austen's wit and characters. Though carriages have been replaced by Mini Coopers and cups of tea with cappuccinos, Emma's story is wonderfully timeless.

About the Author :
ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH is the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, the 44 Scotland Street series, and the Corduroy Mansions series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served with many national and international organizations concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland.

Review :
"McCall Smith brings all the wit and deft characterization of his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series to this reimagining of Jane Austen's classic. . . . The lessons and pleasures of her tale are timeless." --People Magazine "With his fluent, soothing prose . . . [McCall Smith] takes Jane's characters and invites them warmly into our world. . . . We like his Emma, a contemporary small-town girl who worries over dinner parties, pours gin and tonics and drives a Mini Cooper--much to the delight of her friend Harriet. . . . Jane Austen is incomparable, but if she were still with us, I can see her hastily tucking away her handwritten notes and extending her hand to Mr. McCall Smith." --Brigitte Weeks, The Washington Post "The Jane Austen we know is delicious enough on her own, but Austen filtered through the mind of Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith could be the best of both possible worlds. . . . Certainly unmistakable is Emma, Austen's heroine, a born controller who believes (with unshakable certainty in both books) that other people's happiness can be arranged for them and that she is just the one to do it. . . . This rewarding read is a fascinating pastiche of two of the most enjoyable writers in the British tradition." --BookPage "[McCall Smith's] latter-day Emma possesses all the youth and beauty and a good deal of the wit of Jane Austen's heroine. . . . McCall Smith has written a delightfully droll, thoughtful novel that reflects on money's enduring role in relationships as well as on the nature of this meddlesome heroine's long-lived appeal. " --Kirkus Reviews McCall Smith brings all the wit and deft characterization of his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series to this reimagining of Jane Austen s classic. . . . The lessons and pleasures of her tale are timeless. People Magazine With his fluent, soothing prose . . . [McCall Smith] takes Jane s characters and invites them warmly into our world. . . . We like his Emma, a contemporary small-town girl who worries over dinner parties, pours gin and tonics and drives a Mini Cooper much to the delight of her friend Harriet. . . . Jane Austen is incomparable, but if she were still with us, I can see her hastily tucking away her handwritten notes and extending her hand to Mr. McCall Smith. Brigitte Weeks, The Washington Post The Jane Austen we know is delicious enough on her own, but Austen filtered through the mind of Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith could be the best of both possible worlds. . . . Certainly unmistakable is Emma, Austen s heroine, a born controller who believes (with unshakable certainty in both books) that other people s happiness can be arranged for them and that she is just the one to do it. . . . This rewarding read is a fascinating pastiche of two of the most enjoyable writers in the British tradition. BookPage [McCall Smith s] latter-day Emma possesses all the youth and beauty and a good deal of the wit of Jane Austen s heroine. . . . McCall Smith has written a delightfully droll, thoughtful novel that reflects on money s enduring role in relationships as well as on the nature of this meddlesome heroine s long-lived appeal. Kirkus Reviews" "Jane Austen is incomparable, but if she were still with us, I can see her hastily tucking away her handwritten notes and extending her hand to Mr. McCall Smith." "--The Washington Post" "McCall Smith's generous writing and dry humor, his gentleness and humanity, and his ability to evoke a place and a set of characters without caricature or condescension have endeared his books to readers." --"The New York Times" "A vivid observer and an elegant writer." --Cleveland "Plain Dealer" Praise for Alexander McCall Smith "McCall Smith's generous writing and dry humor, his gentleness and humanity, and his ability to evoke a place and a set of characters without caricature or condescension have endeared his books to readers." --"The New York Times" "A vivid observer and an elegant writer." --Cleveland "Plain Dealer"