A review by bexpendragon
The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film by Lindsay Doran, Clive Coote, Jane Austen, Emma Thompson

5.0

Do you ever look back at your past self and cringe? Because I cringed when I re-read my original review of Emma before starting my re-read in 2019. I'm a bit like Emma myself: I was younger and short-sighted and I didn't see the error of my ways until I had some time and distance and growth. But I'm 100% on board now. I loved this book. Emma isn't insufferable, she's just a young woman who hasn't seen much of the world, but she's still trying her best and she learns and grows from her mistakes. Maybe I didn't like Emma the character the first time around because she hit too close to home. But I get her now.

Original Review from 2010: I feel bad giving an Austen novel only three out of five. I've enjoyed the other three books I've read of hers, but this one didn't do it for me. The fault is not in the writing or the well-constructed plot and characters, but that I find the main character insufferably annoying. But I've also noticed I appreciated Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey twice as much the second time I read them, so hopefully I'll be able to say the same of Emma... someday.