Book of the month

The book of the month for the month of June is Emma by Jane Austen.

  Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively 'comedy of manners' among her characters. The wealthy and somewhat spoiled Emma Woodhouse finds pleasure in trying to make romantic matches for her friends. She takes a poor, farmer's daughter, Harriet, under her wing and makes her a "pet." Harriet falls in love with the right man, Mr. Collins, at first, but Mr. Collins is more interested in Emma. Throughout all the entangling relationships Emma has created, her old friend, Mr. Knightley watches over her shoulder and steps in when he think things are going too far. But Emma does not always listen to him, and thus suffers the consequences. The real trial comes when Harriet falls in love with Mr. Knightley, who is far above her in breeding, social status, and intelligence. By this time Emma realizes, seemingly too late, just how much she loves Mr. Knightley herself.   

  Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like."In the very first sentence she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." Emma, however, is also rather spoiled; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; and she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives and is often mistaken about the meanings of others' actions.
 Personally, I enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend it.

info courtesy of:  http://www.allreaders.com/topics/info_970.asp , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma