Emma Woodhouse, “faultless in spite of all her faults,” turned 200 in December 2015. It was such fun to celebrate Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park on my blog in 2014 that I couldn’t resist the opportunity to host a similar party for her Emma.
We began on December 23rd with Nora Bartlett, who wrote about the snow that falls on the night of the Westons’ Christmas party. We didn’t even have to leave our own firesides to attend this winter party, so there was no need to fear being “snowed up a week at Randalls” (to borrow John Knightley’s phrase).
Contributors to the series included Sophie Andrews, Maggie Arnold, Deborah Barnum, Nora Bartlett, Diana Birchall, Carol Chernega, Kirk Companion, Gillian Dow, Susannah Fullerton, Margaret Horwitz, George Justice, Theresa Kenney, Cheryl Kinney, Deborah Knuth Klenck, Elisabeth Lenckos, Dan Macey, Emily Midorikawa, Catherine Morley, Mary C.M. Phillips, Paul Savidge, Kate Scarth, Cinthia Garcia Soria, Maggie Sullivan, Emma Claire Sweeney, Janet Todd, Kim Wilson, Sarah Woodberry, and Deborah Yaffe.
In the winter of 2015 we had more snow in Nova Scotia than I had ever seen before. It was certainly “weather which might fairly confine every body at home,” to quote from Emma (Chapter 16). I wrote about the March snowstorms when I was reading L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of the Island—scroll down for a picture of the snow mountains on the streets and sidewalks of Halifax. Happily, the winter of 2016 wasn’t nearly as bad. And I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating Emma with everyone who wrote, read, and commented on the guest posts here. Many of the contributors also sent photos of snow, or, in some cases, palm trees, depending on where they live.
Here’s a list of all the contributions to “Emma in the Snow.” I also collected Emma-related articles and images, including photos from all of these guest posts, on Pinterest.
Prelude to “Emma in the Snow”: “The Publishing History of Jane Austen’s Emma,” by Deborah Barnum of Jane Austen in Vermont, December 16, 2015
Part 1: “Emma in the Snow,” by Nora Bartlett
Part 2: “Emma’s Regency Christmas,” by Theresa Kenney
Part 3: “The Long and the Short of It,” by Deborah Knuth Klenck
Part 4: “The Challenge of Friendship,” by Emma Claire Sweeney and Emily Midorikawa
Part 5: “Discovering Mutton in Emma: The Quest to Please the Principals’ Palates,” by Dan Macey
Part 6: “Why Mr. Woodhouse Takes Care About What His Guests Eat,” by Catherine Morley
Part 7: “Emma Woodhouse as a Spiritual Director,” by Maggie Arnold
Part 8: “The Blinding Power of Pride,” by Mary C.M. Phillips
Part 9: “Mrs. Elton’s Donkey,” by Diana Birchall
Part 10: “The Gypsies in Emma,” by Susannah Fullerton
Part 11: “‘English verdure,'” by Janet Todd
Part 12: “A Small Piece of Court Plaster and an Old Pencil,” by Elisabeth Lenckos
Part 13: “The Many Matches of Emma,” by Sophie Andrews
Part 14: “Mr. Woodhouse and What Matters in the End,” by Cheryl Kinney
Part 15: “Mrs. Woodhouse,” by George Justice
Part 16: “Emma Abroad,” by Gillian Dow
Part 17: “Friendship, Transformation, and the Hope of Reconciliation,” by Margaret Horwitz
Part 18: “Highbury Heights; or, George and Emma Knightley, Suburban Developers,” by Kate Scarth
Part 19: “Why do readers object to the romance between Emma and Mr. Knightley?” by Kirk Companion
Part 20: “Miss Bates in Fairy-land,” by Margaret C. Sullivan
Part 21: “Jane Austen and her Emma in Spanish,” by Cinthia Garcia Soria
Part 22: “The Best Fruit in England,” by Carol Chernega
Part 23: “My Heart Belongs to Mr. Knightley,” by Sarah Woodberry
Part 24: “Emma the Imaginist,” by Deborah Yaffe
Part 25: “Emma’s Accomplishments and Mrs. Elton’s Resources,” by Kim Wilson
Part 26: “Frank Churchill Gets a Haircut,” by Paul Savidge
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