Emma

Emma Woodhouse is sure she has a gift for matchmaking, and that confidence drives Jane Austen's Emma, a gentle village comedy read slowly for sleep.

Emma is young, clever, and comfortable, with little to occupy her days in the small village of Highbury. She decides her true skill lies in pairing off her friends, starting with Harriet Smith, a sweet but unremarkable young woman Emma takes under her wing. Emma steers Harriet away from a good, honest match and toward a man she thinks is a better fit — with results that go wrong almost immediately. Meanwhile, Emma's old friend Mr. Knightley watches her schemes with growing concern, willing to tell her plainly when she's made a mistake, even when no one else will.

As the village fills out with new arrivals, including the charming but unpredictable Frank Churchill and the quiet, accomplished Jane Fairfax, Emma's confidence in reading other people is tested again and again. She misjudges feelings, misses what's plain in front of her, and causes more than one awkward turn at Highbury's dinners and picnics before she starts to see her own blind spots clearly.

This is a comedy of manners and a gentle romance, set in the small, watchful world of English village society, where everyone has an opinion about everyone else's business. It's less about grand adventure than about growing up a little — learning to look past your own assumptions and really see the people around you. Fans of Pride and Prejudice and other Austen novels, or anyone who enjoys a slow-moving story of manners, misunderstandings, and quiet romance, will feel right at home here.

Elizabeth Grace's warm, unhurried reading suits a slow slide into sleep. Let the little dramas of Highbury turn over gently around you while Emma, in her own time, works out her heart.