Published in 1815, Emma — the final novel released during Jane Austen's lifetime — is the work of a writer at the very height of her powers. Following on from Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Mansfield Park in the Austen canon, Emma has become one of the author's best-loved novels — perhaps even one of the best-loved in British literature. The novel has provided millions of readers with untold joy in the two centuries since its publication — a fitting testament to the lasting power of Austen’s tragically short career. A comedy of manners in that inimitable early 19th-century style and also a classic romance, Emma provides much more beneath the elegant surface of its prose. The book manages to achieve a broader scope, tackling both political and feminist issues within its pages. As such, the novel has become an inspiration for generations of women — and men — over the last 200 years. With each new generation, Austen's Emma asserts its strength — and, crucially, its relevance — once again.