Classics Vlog #2: Emma 💛 | The Book Castle | 2022 

Love your rating breakdown! I pretty much agree with all of your ratings and reasons. So glad you enjoyed it 😊 my top Austen changes all the time but it's always only ever between P&P, Emma and Persuasion. The other 3 I find pretty dull in comparison. Loved the recent movie, but I also really loved the BBC miniseries which stretches the story out a bit more. Romola Garai is a fab Emma.

The BBC adaptation of Emma is very good. Being 4-episode long, it covers the book better than the recent movie. The 2020 movie is visually stunning though, no one will deny that. All thanks to Autumn de Wilde

Hello Alice ! It's great you enjoyed Emma. I agree with you for Mr Knightley. I also think he is less developped than other Jane Austen's heroes. He spends a lot of the books scolding Emma and we get to know only a little of him. They did a really good job with the adaptation. The colors in the movie are stunning. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Lolita !

I'm so happy someone else feels the same way about the pacing! My mom and I did a buddy read of this book and we were so bored for like half of the book. She could have eliminated like 200 pages and come out with same story. Some of the interactions were so dull and didn't aid anything to character development or to the story as a whole. I know Jane Austen is always praised for her dialogue in her novels but this one was so hard to get through because of the constant dialogue that would go on for multiple pages. I really enjoyed Pride and Prejudice so much more.

The glasses look great on you! ❤️👓👓👓❤️

Omigosh I loved this! I read Emma for the first time last year. If I had described it while reading it I would have said similar things as you. I love your classic vlogs. Don’t stop! I’m thinking your next one could be The Scarlett Letter although I’d hate to put you through it.

Lovely vlog! I love Emma and I adore the movie. I have watched it several times so far. I like it even more than the book. I love Emma and Mr Knightly in the movie, he is so dreamy😍

To a certain degree, I feel that all Austens male characters are a bit onedimensional. Her stories are definitely about women and their concerns, so men kinda play second fiddle. In Emma, there aren't really any circumstances where mr. Knightley can show his worth/do something: no mr. Wickhams to be tracked down etc. But I do love Knightleys patience, compassion, loyalty and determination to make Emma happy.

I'm so glad you enjoyed Emma! I loved it and the movie has quickly become a favorite.

I'd like to watch that adaptation. Clueless is actually a great adaptation of Emma if you watch it knowing the book. There's also a 90s film with Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma. My favourite Austen is Sense and Sensibility, Colonel Brandon for ever! 😁

So happy you enjoyed it. I love both the book and the movie so much.

Hi! Emma is my fav Jane Austen book. I would also recommand the 1996 adaptation, I can't tell you how many times I have watched that one :)

Totally agree with you about the pacing - I remember when I was reading the part about them plannng a party or something I felt like it went on foreeever. Glad you enjoyed it so much :D Yes I loved that adaptation too - think you have inspired me to give it a re-watch! (Although Clueless will always be my favourite movie :P)

Great vlog and review! I’ve had a copy of this book for years but haven’t read it because the length is intimidating. But now I’m adding it to my immediate TBR! I wonder if you’ve already read Persuasion. That’s also a great Austen novel. :)

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I really want to watch the movie for Emma as well! It looks so good! Emma is probably my third favourite Austen … though it’s so hard to rank Jane Austen Novels except for Pride & Prejudice which is just a Masterpiece and with every reread I just love it more!

I recently read this too and I agree with all you say, the onedimensional Knightley and the pacing. I gave Emma 4 stars aswell. My favourite Austen has long been Sense and Sensibilty but Emma is close, I have to say. I saw the movie just after reading the novel aswell, but I didn’t like it that much.

I read it in February and first 350 pages or so was really good that i was surprised because I thought it would be the otherwise, then didn't have any desire to pick it up again. When I finally did, I was incredibly bored and couldn't keep up with the characters, and it never became an enjoyable read again. I gave it 2 stars in the end. I now think maybe i was a bit too harsh with my rating but it gave me the biggest reading slump I have ever experienced and disappointed me because not only I had great expectations from other readers but also its beginning was fun to read which I didn't expect at all because it was my first Jane Austen. Admittedly I related to Emma sometimes even when I didn't want to and thought I would gain a different insights on some of the things I've been going through but nah :D But this video was great ;if I were to film a video summarising it from time to time I would mention the same events from the book, so in a way it felt like I was talking to a friend about this book :D I've always wanted to read Pride & Prejudice, nd I would have if I hadn't found a copy of Emma out of the blue, but now I am really wary about that.

omg I have been wanting to know what you think about this book! It was one of my favorite classics I read in 2021! I’ll check back when I’m done watching the video 🥰

Finished reading Emma just in time to watch your vlog; perfect timing :-) I really enjoyed it, though it did take me a bit of time to get into it because of the language. You are completely right about the weaker portrayal of the male characters vs the female characters in the novel. I also found the pacing uneven but for me it was actually the first part of the book which I had to struggle through a bit: I found the sole focus on Mr Eliot vs Harriet a bit tiresome and slow and only started really enjoying the novel once Austen focused on the broader social environment and characters and not just on the 'love/couple' aspect. So fun that you also watched the movies! I haven't seen any of them yet but would like to see the 2009 BBC series and the 2020 movie - from what I could gather from trailers it looks like the 2009 series presents the novel more as a love story while the 2020 movie focuses more on the comedic aspect of the novel. So it would be fun to compare both I think.

Will we get a book purge for 2022?

I hated the 2020 adaptation 💔. I didn’t like the filming and actors. I feel like they were “too modern.” I would recommend the mini series in 2009!!! My favorite adaptation of all time. I loved Emma and Mr.Knightly in that adaptation 👍🏼😭❤️❤️ Also the dancing scenes?? Oh Lord! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT ❤️.

Emma the only Austen I don't like, I dispute that it's considered her best. My favourites are pride and prejudice and the more serious Persuasion. Ihave year to read sense and sensibility. I prefer Miss Marjoribanks by Margaret Oliphant, it has a similar story but with a much more sympathetic character, who never considers her self or other people above others, although she is a busybody.