4.5

This was not at all what I was expecting when I imagined what Emma would be like if told from Jane Fairfax’s POV. I was imaging the book being a romantic history of how she and Frank Churchill became secretly engaged. I imagined scenes from Emma with Frank and Jane, seen from afar, when it looked like nothing was going on, but there was. What were they saying in those scenes?
But this isn’t a romance, and it was a bit gloomier than I was expecting. Even so, I thought the author did a fantastic job of expanding on little details from the original book to portray Jane’s childhood in Highbury and her relationship with Emma, her life with the Campbells, and eventually, how she and Frank came to be engaged. It was much better than what I could imagine, and I was completely drawn in. I was surprised that the author portrayed Jane’s relationship with Matt Dixon as almost exactly how Emma imagined it. I thought that was a clever choice, since Emma got so much wrong in the original, and it was implied this was one of the things she got wrong. I felt bad for Rachel, though, even though she didn’t know everything that had passed between Jane and Matt. I really wanted it to be a love match from the beginning.
I was hoping to get a better angle on Frank, maybe think more highly of him, but while he was often sweet to Jane, he was so insensitive when he was working his ruse, I wanted to smack him. It was sad that, although she came to have feelings for him, Frank wasn’t her first choice, and she was kind of settling. Her actions made sense and were realistic, given her situation. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed there wasn’t more swooning.
The ending was super abrupt. I turned the page and couldn’t believe the book was done. It was a nice last scene, but I wish it had been longer and more hopeful about a friendship between Emma and Jane.
That quibble aside, I thought this was a great, well-imagined retelling. ( )

Jane Fairfax is a secondary character in Jane Austen’s Emma. Aiken imagines a back story for Jane, with only the last third of this novel occupying the same chronological space as Austen’s Emma. I found it entertaining, yet I couldn’t completely buy into Aiken’s characterization of Jane Fairfax. Aiken has Jane settling for Frank Churchill after forming an impossible attachment to Matt Dixon and after realizing that Mr. Knightley is out of her reach. The Jane I imagine never loved anyone but Frank. ( )

An entertaining revisit to Emma, from the point of view of Jane Fairfax. I thought all the characters were dealt with well, except for Frank Churchill who seemed to me a completely different person in the first half from the second. ( )

I enjoyed it. The book gives a backstory for Jane Fairfax and then runs parallel to Jane Austen's Emma. ( )

I never really liked Emma, it's my least favorite Austen novel, but Jane was one of the characters that I actually found tolerable. So when I saw this book I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did. Not only did it add a greater depth to her character, it also made Frank Churchill less annoying... surprisingly. A very enjoyable book. ( )