Jane Fairfax: A Companion to Jane Austen's Emma

Jane Austen's Emma has been a favorite novel for Austenites since 1816. In the mid-1990s it became a favorite movie for millions of new admirers. A key reason for Emma's success is that the story has two heroines-Emma Woodhouse and Jane Fairfax. In Austen's novel, Jane's backgound is left obscure, and the turmoil underlying her current reduced circumstances in mysterious. At last we learn her whole story in Joan Aiken's superb retelling of Emma- this time from Jane Fairfax's point of view. When Jane Fairfax was published in hardcover, Aiken's wit, style, and skill prompted Booklist to say, "Brilliant...extraordinarily will done and highly recommended." This worthy companion to the great original is for the first time now available in paperback. This is an original novel and not a pastiche by Joan Aiken, exploring the possible history of spoiled, rich, Emma Woodhouse and her contemporary, young orphan Jane Fairfax. Both are pretty, clever and talented children, although the disparity in their fortunes and station in life will necessity place Emma in the role of patroness, and Jane that of patronized. The book takes us past the childhood of our two heroines and through the events of Austen's novel, but with clear-eyed and independent Jane as the narrator (of course, the reader never does get a satisfactory explanation of how she winds up with that insufferable jackass Frank Churchill. Jane could do much better). Aiken's mastery of 19th century language and mores makes this a particularly enjoyable book. A favourite game of the rich and beautiful Emma Woodhouse is dabbling in the marriage market, where she plays with everyone's hearts except her own. But, for Jane Fairfax, the other heroine of Jane Austen's Emma , marriage is not a game. Orphaned and without a dowry to attract a husband, she must rely on her charms to secure an engagement, or find work as a governess. In a superb companion novel to Austen's romance, Joan Aiken reveals another world unknown to Emma - this is Jane's secret story of love and heartache. The marriage of Miss Jane Bates to Lieutenant Fairfax was accompanied by the usual good omens: church bells rang, the sun shone, and many handkerchiefs were waved.