《艾瑪》是英國十九世紀女性文學作家珍．奧斯汀晚期的創作，也是作者個人特別喜愛的作品。

珍．奧斯汀有一個有名的建言，她跟姪女建議說：三、四個鄉間村落的家庭，是小說的最佳題材。而這也正是《艾瑪》的故事架構。這部小說的背景設定在英國南方的小村落，描述村落中一小群人的關係，艾瑪則是書中主人翁的名字。故事中，艾瑪以為有幾個角色彼此鍾愛，但她卻總是猜錯。她憑藉個人的想像力，以為愛情就像當時代的羅曼史小說所描繪的那樣。

在珍．奧斯汀的時代，年輕女子的志向就是盡可能嫁個好人家，但故事的女主角艾瑪卻決心不結婚。這種人物設定本身就不尋常，因為在當時候女人的職責就是嫁人。

《艾瑪》的道德主題是社會秩序的存在，故事中違反社會規範的角色，最後落得的下場不是生病，就是不幸。小說鼓勵人應該要誠實面對人際關係，並且融入自己生活的社群之中，不然不會有幸福的生活。此外，在社會地位、教育程度和外表上，結婚的選擇對象都要門當戶對，才有真愛和良緣可言。

Jane Austen began writing Emma in January 1814 and she finished it in March 1815. Emma was then published in December 1815 by John Murray, who also published the works of the poet Lord Byron. The novel was published in three volumes.

Jane Austen famously advised her niece that, three or four families in a country village are the perfect subject for a novel, and this is exactly what she wrote about. Emma is set in the small village of Highbury in the south of England, and it follows the relationships of a small group of people in the village: Emma and Mr Knightley, Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax and their friends and families.

At that time, a young woman’s aim was to marry as well as she could. The main character, Emma, decides not to marry. This is unusual. It’s a woman’s duty to marry. But because Emma is rich, she doesn’t have to marry.

The moral theme in Emma, is that there is a social order. If the characters break the rules of their society, the result is illness or unhappiness. People must be honest about their relationships. If they are not, they’ll be unhappy. To be happy you must fit into the community you live in, and you must be polite and kind to everybody in that community.

We’re told in the novel that true love and a good marriage can only happen if you choose someone of an equal position in society, equal education and equal good looks.

Emma thinks that several of the characters are in love with each other, but she is always wrong. She relies on her imagination. She sees love as it is in the romantic novels of the time, which Jane Austen disliked.

【Helbling文學讀本（Helbling Readers）簡介】

● Helbling Classics（經典英文文學改寫）
● Helbling Fiction（當代原創英文小說）

《Helbling文學讀本》為一套最優質的英文分級閱讀讀本，英語難易度由初級銜接到中級。在各項英語認證考試中，本系列書培養的英語能力級數如下：
 

全系列皆隨書附贈全文朗讀MP3。

內文編排精美，採用彩色印刷，全文穿插精美插圖，單元設計豐富。

除了精彩的小說之外，另編寫有：

1. About the Author（作者簡介）：介紹作者，幫助認識創作背景。
2.About the Book（本書簡介）：介紹故事內容概要，幫助了解故事的背景與旨意。
3.Before Reading（閱前活動）：設計各種問題和活動，幫助暖身，啟發各種探討與學習。
4.After Reading（閱後練習）：設計各種深入的問題和題目練習，幫助復習內容，加深英語的學習印象。
5.Test（測驗）：有些讀本在閱畢之後，設計有各種測驗題目，包括文意測驗和英語練習等。
6.隨文討論：在故事行文中，另設計有針對內文情節的問題探討，幫助做啟發性的思考。

【本書錄音採用英式發音】