There is certainly value in classics and I can very much appreciate the writing talent in the plot and character development, but I did not enjoy this as much as the other Austen novels I have read. The language is definitely a bit stiff and flowery -- to be expected from a 200+ year-old novel -- and that does make it a bit more difficult to become involved in the story as much as something with a more modern feel.

Perhaps my biggest issue though, lay within Emma herself. I did not particularly like her. In fact, I found her to be a bit of a (to borrow the term) flibberty-gibbet: flighty, immature, and meddlesome. The constantly changing relationships were a bit of a whirlwind and I frequently felt sorry for poor Harriet.

There were definitely some well-constructed quirky characters and Austen's society is very well put together. Her writing talent is definitely not in question. I just found the overall theme to be less interesting.