Tuesday, July 27, 2010

My Emma Project

So, I must admit I've sort of come back to Jane Austen. I've decided I'm going to read every Emma sequel, retelling, or modernization ever published. There aren't so many of these as there are spin-offs of Pride and Prejudice, so it doesn't seem too unreasonable a venture. I confess some of my motive in this is to prolong my enjoyment of the romance, but I also want to see how many ways it is possible to spin Emma. It's a story I love thinking critically about, so it's interesting to see how other people have thought about it, what they've highlighted, and so on.

So far my reading list for this project includes these books:
  • Mr. Knightley's Diary by Amanda Grange - A retelling of the book from Mr. Knightley's point of view.
  • Old Friends and New Fancies by Sybil Brinton - A sequel to all six Jane Austen novels, including Emma, the very first Jane Austen fanfiction, written in 1913.
  • Perfect Happiness by Rachel Billington - A sequel.
  • Amanda by Debra White Smith - A modernized retelling.
  • George Knightley, Esquire: Charity Envieth Not by Barbara Cornthwaite - The first of what I assume is a trilogy, Emma retold from Mr. Knightley's point of view. These are associated with the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman books, which were wonderful, though not by the same author.
  • The Importance of Being Emma by Juliet Archer - Another modern retelling.
I've got rather a nice even collection, having two alternate POV retellings, two modern retellings, and two sequels. I imagine there must be more such books out there which I've not heard of, so if you know any please do tell me.

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