Jane Austen teased readers with the idea of a ´heroine whom no one but myself will much like´, but Emma is irresistible. ´Handsome, clever, and rich´, Emma is also an ´imaginist´, ´on fire with speculation and foresight´. She sees the signs of romance all around her, but thinks she will never be married. Her matchmaking maps out relationships that Jane Austen ironically tweaks into a clearer perspective. Judgement and imagination are matched in games the reader too can enjoy, and the end is a triumph of understanding.