I was excited to read this entry in the Austen Project, and see how McCall Smith had managed to modernise this story, particularly as it’s been done successfully before in the 90s film, Clueless.
Sadly, I don’t think this book did as good a job. Yes the English is modernised so it’s easy to read, and Emma now drives a mini, but she still lives in a 14 bedroom house and has a governess – even if they do comment how unusual it is for this day and age, why do it?!
I quite liked that Emma had been to Bath Uni, as that’s where I went, but it sounds more like she went to Bath Spa as she did a “decorative arts” course!
It was a fun book, the characters are generally exactly as they should be, but I just don’t think the modern day aspect came across which was a shame. If you were just reading it as a book with no blurb and no pre-conceptions then of course it was great!
I’m looking forward to seeing who they’re going to get to write the next one in this series now, I believe Pride and Prejudice is due next!
ineke.co.uk 
[…] watched so many adaptations of this book, but never got around to reading it (though I did read the Alexander McCall-Smith version for the Austen Project a few years ago). But under my new goal of reading one Austen a year (among […]