"I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like," declared Jane Austen when she wrote Emma. But it turns out that readers loved Emma Woodhouse, a "handsome, clever, and rich" young lady who enjoys meddling in others' lives—until she nearly makes a mess of her own. Austen's pointed look at romantic mishaps and matchmaking, social status in the Georgian age, and the importance of simple human kindness remains a joy to read.