MY JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB: IN A WEEK IT'LL BE EMMA DISCUSSION!

Saturday 22 May 2010

IN A WEEK IT'LL BE EMMA DISCUSSION!

Emma was written between January 1814 and March 1815. The setting of the narrative's action would appear to be recent: 1813-14. By this period, Austen was a known and successful writer. Like Sense and Sensibility, the work was published on commission by the distinguished house of John Murray. It was published ('by the author of Pride and Prejudice, etc.') in December 1815 (dated 1816 on the title page). The novel was dedicated to the Prince Regent, at the request of the Carlton House Librarian, the Revd James Stanier Clarke.

As usual, here are some questions from John Sutherland and Deirdre Le Faye, SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW JANE AUSTEN! Quizbook 2005

I usually choose the easiest ones, that is level one, brass tacks. Do you think they are easy?

I / I The first sentence of Emma—as of all Jane Austen's novels—is epigrammatic and memorable. The first epithet ascribed to Emma in it is 'handsome'. What is the overtone of the term?

1/2 How long has Isabella been married? Where does she live, and what do we deduce from these facts?

1/3 What game do Mr Woodhouse and Emma play of an evening, at Hartfield?

1/4 How old is Mr Knightley?

1/5 How old is Mr Elton?

1/6 How often does Frank see his father?

1/7 Who was the widowed Mrs Bates's husband?

1/8 How old is Harriet, what distinguishes her from the other

forty pupils at Mrs Goddard's, and who are her parents?

1/9 What colour (precisely) are Emma's eyes?

1/10 How many children does Isabella have, and what are their names?

1/11 What do we deduce from the fact that, in twenty-one years, Emma has not met the Martin family?

1/12 Who did Miss Nash's sister marry (very advantageously)?

1/13 Who is the best whist player in Highbury?

1/14 How large a contingent of servants and cattle does it take to get the five-strong Woodhouse party three-quarters of a mile to Randalls, on Christmas Eve?

1/15 What piece of land separates Randalls from Hartfield?

1/16 How long is it since Jane Fairfax was in Highbury?

1/17 Who was Jane Fairfax's father?

1/18 How much money did Miss Campbell bring to her marriage, by way of dowry? And how much are the other eligible ladies in the novel worth?

1/19 What is Mr Elton's first name? And Mr Knightley's? And Mrs Weston's? And Mr Woodhouse's?

1/20 What does Mr Knightley do with his last stored apples of the year?

1/21 With whom did Augusta Hawkins principally reside at Bath?

1/22 What is the name of Mrs Elton's cook?

1/23 Who is whose caro sposo and who is whose caro sposa?

1/24 What is Mrs Weston doing when she breaks the news of Frank's duplicity to Emma?

1/25 How long has Mr Knightley been in love with Emma?

Enjoy your reading or re-reading and , if you feel like and are interested in, have a look at these posts of mine about EMMA and its several adaptations: