Emma is about a clever young woman in an English village who loves to match-make for her friends. Her plans go wrong, and along the way she learns to be kinder and to understand her own heart.

Emma realizes she loves Mr. Knightley, and he proposes to her. Harriet marries Robert Martin, Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill are free to be together, and Emma and Mr. Knightley marry and live at Hartfield with her father.

What is the moral of Emma?

The book teaches that we should not meddle in other people’s feelings, that we should treat everyone with kindness, and that it is brave to admit when we are wrong and try to do better.

What age is Emma appropriate for?

The original novel is best for teenagers and adults, roughly ages 13 and up, because it is long and quiet. An illustrated retelling like ours is a good fit for ages 6 to 9 as a read-aloud or first read.

Who is the main character in Emma?

Emma Woodhouse is the main character. She is a wealthy, clever and confident young woman who lives with her father at Hartfield in the village of Highbury.

How many chapters are in Emma?

The original novel by Jane Austen has 55 chapters, divided into three volumes of 18, 18 and 19 chapters.

Emma summary for kids

Emma is a funny, warm story about Emma Woodhouse, a clever, rich and very confident young woman in a small English village. Emma loves to play matchmaker, and she is sure she knows who should fall in love with whom. The trouble is that she is often wrong, and her plans cause muddles, hurt feelings and a few embarrassing surprises. Children still enjoy it because Emma is lively and makes mistakes just like everyone else, and because readers get to watch her learn to see people more kindly and more truly.

Written by: Jane Austen, 1815
Setting: Highbury, a village in Surrey, England, in the early 1800s
The original novel: 55 chapters in three volumes
Our retelling: Ages 6–9, an illustration on every page

The story, from beginning to end

Spoiler alert: this summary tells the whole story, including the ending.

Emma the matchmaker

Emma Woodhouse is twenty-one, pretty, clever and rich. She lives at Hartfield with her gentle, worried father, Mr. Woodhouse, who fusses about drafts, illness and anything new. As the story opens, Emma’s dear friend and former governess, Miss Taylor, has just married a neighbor, Mr. Weston. Emma feels lonely in the quiet house, but she is also pleased with herself, because she believes she arranged the match by suggesting it long before. This one success gives her a dangerous idea: that she is very good at knowing what is best for other people.

Her only regular visitor who tells her the truth is Mr. Knightley, an old family friend who owns the nearby Donwell Abbey. He is sensible and kind, and he is not afraid to disagree with her.

Harriet Smith and the vicar

Emma takes up a new friend, Harriet Smith, a sweet, simple seventeen-year-old who lives at a girls’ school and does not know who her parents are. Emma decides Harriet is meant for something grander than she is used to. When a respectable young farmer, Robert Martin, proposes to Harriet by letter, Emma talks her into saying no. Mr. Knightley is dismayed. He thinks Mr. Martin is a fine man and tells Emma she has done Harriet a poor turn.

Emma has a different plan: she wants Harriet to marry the handsome young vicar, Mr. Elton. She paints a portrait of Harriet and encourages Mr. Elton’s attention, certain he admires her friend.

A proposal in a carriage

At Christmas, Mr. Elton gets Emma alone in a carriage and declares his love, but it is for Emma, not for Harriet. He is offended that she could think he would marry someone so far below him. Emma is horrified, and she has to break the news to Harriet, who is heartbroken. Emma promises herself never to meddle again, though that promise does not last very long.

Harriet cries for days, and Emma feels guilty, since it was her own encouragement that raised her friend’s hopes. Mr. Elton soon leaves Highbury for the town of Bath, and when he returns he brings a new wife, the loud, showy and very pleased-with-herself Mrs. Elton, who quickly decides she is the most important woman in the village.

Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax

Two long-awaited visitors arrive. Frank Churchill is Mr. Weston’s son, raised by wealthy relatives, and he is charming and lively. Jane Fairfax is the quiet, talented niece of the chatty Miss Bates, who lives in Highbury with her elderly mother. Jane plays the piano beautifully, but she is poor and expects to become a governess. Emma admires Frank’s manner and finds Jane cool and hard to know.

Everyone in Highbury has long wanted to meet Frank, and he arrives late because his aunt, Mrs. Churchill, rarely lets him leave. Once he is there, he is cheerful with everyone. Frank and Emma flirt, and Emma half believes she may be falling in love, then decides she is not. She imagines that Frank and Harriet might suit one another. A mysterious gift of a pianoforte arrives for Jane, and Emma wrongly guesses who sent it.

The ball and the rescue

Mr. Weston holds a dance at the local inn. Mr. Elton cruelly refuses to dance with Harriet, and Mr. Knightley steps in and dances with her himself, which Emma sees as a great kindness. The next day, Harriet is frightened by a group of travelers on the road, and Frank Churchill happens to be there and carries her to safety.

Emma is delighted and sure that romance is in the air, since a handsome young man has just saved her friend. In fact, Harriet is falling for someone, and Emma does not suspect who it really is.

Box Hill

A group of friends goes on a picnic to Box Hill, a famous hill and beauty spot. The day goes badly. Frank is restless and rude, Emma is in a teasing mood, and the group plays a game in which everyone is asked to say something clever. Emma makes a joke at the expense of Miss Bates, who talks a great deal. Miss Bates is hurt, though she tries to hide it.

Mr. Knightley scolds Emma afterward, telling her that Miss Bates is poor, kind and older, and that Emma should have been gentle with her. Emma is ashamed and cries all the way home. The next day she visits Miss Bates to make things right.

Secrets come out

Soon after, news arrives that Frank Churchill’s aunt, Mrs. Churchill, has died. Then a secret comes out: Frank and Jane Fairfax have been engaged for months. They had to hide it because Mrs. Churchill would never have approved. Frank’s flirting with Emma was a cover. Emma realizes she was wrong about nearly everyone, and she worries for Harriet.

Harriet, however, admits she has been in love with someone else entirely. Emma had encouraged her to look beyond Mr. Martin, and Harriet now says her heart belongs to Mr. Knightley, who rescued her at the ball. Emma is stunned to discover that she cannot bear the thought of Mr. Knightley marrying anyone else. She is in love with him herself.

A happy ending

Mr. Knightley comes to comfort Emma, thinking she is sad over Frank. When he learns she is not, he confesses that he has loved her for a long time. Emma accepts him. She worries about leaving her father, so Mr. Knightley offers to move into Hartfield rather than take her away.

Harriet goes away to visit friends in London, and when she returns she is gently reunited with Robert Martin, who proposes again. This time she says yes, and Emma is glad for her. It turns out that Harriet’s father was a tradesman, a respectable but ordinary man, so Emma’s grand plans for her were never needed. Jane and Frank are forgiven and plan their future, Mr. Woodhouse slowly gets used to the idea of the wedding, and Emma and Mr. Knightley marry quietly. The book ends with the happy couples, and with Emma having learned to listen, to be kind and to know her own heart.

Themes and big ideas

Meddling and matchmaking: Emma thinks she can arrange other people’s lives, and nearly every plan she makes goes wrong. She talks Harriet out of marrying Mr. Martin, and then pushes her toward Mr. Elton, who never wanted her. The story shows that other people’s hearts are not ours to steer.
Learning from mistakes: Emma starts out proud and sure of herself, but she is also honest enough to admit when she is wrong. After Box Hill, she feels deep shame, apologizes through her actions and tries to do better. Her growth is the heart of the book.
Kindness and class: In Highbury, people care a great deal about who is rich and who is poor. Emma at first looks down on farmers like Mr. Martin and laughs at Miss Bates. Mr. Knightley reminds her that true good manners mean treating everyone, especially those with less, with patience and care.
Friendship and honest advice: Mr. Knightley is the one person who tells Emma the truth, even when it makes her cross. Their long friendship shows how valuable a friend is who will speak honestly, and it slowly turns into love.
Appearances can mislead: Many people in the story are not what they seem. Mr. Elton is not being kind, Frank Churchill is hiding a secret, and quiet Jane Fairfax turns out to be in love. Emma learns to look more carefully before deciding what others think and feel.

Is Emma right for my child?

Emma is a gentle book with no violence and no deaths that happen on the page (a character’s aunt dies off-stage, and the family is sad but not shaken). There is some mild sadness and embarrassment, such as Harriet’s heartbreak and Emma’s unkind joke at Box Hill. There is also romance, though it is polite and mostly shown through talking, dancing and letters. The original is a long, quiet novel with plenty of conversation and not much action, so it suits teenagers and adults best, around ages 13 and up.

Our retelling for ages 6 to 9 keeps the big events: Emma’s matchmaking, the muddles with Harriet and Mr. Elton, Box Hill, the secret engagement and the happy ending. It simplifies the many side characters and the longer conversations, and it keeps the romance sweet and light. It works well as a read-aloud for ages 6 and up, and it is a fine first step toward the original when a child is older.

Questions to talk about

Emma likes to match people up. Why do you think her plans keep going wrong?
Mr. Knightley tells Emma when she is wrong. Do you have a friend who does that? How does it feel?
Why do you think Emma talked Harriet out of saying yes to Robert Martin?
What happened at Box Hill? What could Emma have said or done differently?
Why do you think Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax kept their engagement a secret?
How do you think Miss Bates felt after Emma’s joke? How did Emma try to make it right?
Emma stays near her father even after she gets married. What does that tell us about her?
What is one way Emma changes by the end of the book?

Questions about Emma

What is Emma about?: Emma is about a clever young woman in an English village who loves to match-make for her friends. Her plans go wrong, and along the way she learns to be kinder and to understand her own heart.
How does Emma end?: Emma realizes she loves Mr. Knightley, and he proposes to her. Harriet marries Robert Martin, Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill are free to be together, and Emma and Mr. Knightley marry and live at Hartfield with her father.
What is the moral of Emma?: The book teaches that we should not meddle in other people’s feelings, that we should treat everyone with kindness, and that it is brave to admit when we are wrong and try to do better.
What age is Emma appropriate for?: The original novel is best for teenagers and adults, roughly ages 13 and up, because it is long and quiet. An illustrated retelling like ours is a good fit for ages 6 to 9 as a read-aloud or first read.
Who is the main character in Emma?: Emma Woodhouse is the main character. She is a wealthy, clever and confident young woman who lives with her father at Hartfield in the village of Highbury.
How many chapters are in Emma?: The original novel by Jane Austen has 55 chapters, divided into three volumes of 18, 18 and 19 chapters.