爱玛是一位出身高贵、漂亮而又性格开朗的姑娘，母亲去世与姐姐的出嫁使她过早地成了家里的女主人，她喜欢撮合别人的婚姻和恋爱，因为她自认为自己是个有主见的女子。

她刚把家庭女教师介绍给了韦斯顿，又极力主张新交的朋友哈丽叶特拒绝农夫马丁的求爱。但这位姑娘显然没有什么主见，被煞有介事当红娘的爱玛说服去嫁给牧师埃尔顿先生。但是，在一次行车途中，牧师埃尔顿向爱玛热烈地求爱，被爱玛当场拒绝。

在老姑娘贝茨小姐的家中，爱玛碰上了她的侄女简和韦斯顿的儿子弗兰克，于是爱玛极力想增进与弗兰克的关系。不久，埃尔顿与一个虚荣、势利的女人结了婚，爱玛也感到自己对弗兰克并不是真情，便回头极力撮合哈丽叶特与弗兰克的关系。终于，在一次野餐会上，爱玛懊恼地得知弗兰克早已与简秘密订婚，只是由于害怕遭到舅母的反对才一直秘而不宣。让爱玛更加心烦意乱的是哈丽叶特竟爱上了自己的朋友奈特利先生，直到此时，爱玛才发现奈特利早已闯入了自己的心中。一连串的误会后，奈特利赢得了爱玛的芳心，弗兰克娶了简；而哈丽叶特也终于从马丁那里找到了称心如意的归宿。

The Third Norton Critical Edition of Jane Austen's popular comedic novel is based on the 1816 first edi tion text, which has been carefully collated by the editor. "Backgrounds' includes an abundance of source material that sheds light on Austen's life and reveals some of her private attitudes toward her writing. Readers will enjoy comparing real events in Austen's life with her fictionalized accounts in Emma. Included is a selection of Austen's letters to her sister, Cassandra; an excerpt from The Watsons (a novel fragment) describing that most Austenian of social events, a country ball; Virginia Woolf's commentary on The Watsons; and two biographical sketches by family members. The editor has also included Austen's "Plan of a Novel" and relevant correspondence between Austen and J. S. Clark (chaplain to the Prince Regent).

"Reviews and Criticism" includes sixteen wide-ranging assessments of the novel, three of them new to the Norton Critical Edition. Sir Walter Scott, George Henry Lewes, Henry James, A. C. Bradley, Reginald Farrer, E. M. Forster, A. Walton Litz, Robert Alan Donovan, Marilyn Butler, Mary Poovey, Claudia L. Johnson, Ian Watt, Maggie Lane, Suzanne Juhasz, and John Wiltshire provide critical overviews. The selection culminates with Suzanne Ferriss's account of the recent popular film versions of Emma.

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are included.

Preface to the Third Edition

The Text of Emma

Backgrounds

 JANE AUSTEN'S LIFE AND HER FICTION

 Henry Thomas Austen · Biographical Notice

 James E. Austen-Leigh · Memoir of Jane Austen

 Jane Austen · Letters to Her Sister, Cassandra

 [An Account of a Ball, 1800]

 [The Events of a Day, 1805]

 [The Events of Two Days, 1813]

 · From The Watsons

 [An Account of a Ball, 1803 or Later]

 Virginia Woolf · [The Watsons]

 Maggie Lane · Daily Life in Jane Austen's England

 Meals and Manners

 Rich and Poor

 JANE AUSTEN ON HER OWN ART

 Jane Austen's Correspondence with J. S. Clarke

 J. S. Clarke to Jane Austen [asking her to write a novel about a clergyman]

 Jane Austen to J. S. Clarke [explaining why she cannot]

 J. S. Clarke to Jane Austen [asking again]

 J. S. Clarke to Jane Austen [proposing a historical romance]

 Jane Austen to J. S. Clarke [decisively refusing]

 Jane Austen · Plan of a Novel, According to Hints from Various Quarters

Reviews and Criticism

 Sir Walter Scott · [Review of Emma]

 George Henry Lewes · The Lady Novelists

 Henry James · The Lesson of Balzac

 A. C. Bradley · Jane Austen: A Lecture

 Reginald Farrer · Jane Austen, ob. July 18, 1917

 E. M. Forster · Jane Austen

 A. Walton Litz · The Limits of Freedom: Emma

 Robert Alan Donovan · The Mind of Jane Austen

 Marilyn Butler · "Emma"

 Mary Poovey · The True English Style

 Claudia L. Johnson · Emma: "Woman, lovely woman reigns alone."

 Ian Watt · Jane Austen and the Traditions of Comic Aggression

 Suzanne Juhasz · Bonnets and Balls: Reading Jane Austen's Letters

 John Wiltshire · Emma

 Suzanne Ferriss · Emma Becomes Clueless

Jane Austen: A Chronology

Selected Bibliography