《爱玛》是奥斯丁作品中艺术上、思想上最成熟的一部，也是一部匠心独具的天才喜剧之作。小说主人公爱玛是个聪明、漂亮、任性的地主小姐，她喜欢为别人做媒，并把邻近的一个孤女哈里特置于自己的保护之下，主观地安排她的恋爱。哈里特一次又一次地“爱”上爱玛给她选择的“求婚者”，却均以失败而告结束。终于在经历过一番戏剧性的小波折后她们都找到了与自己情投意合的人生伴侣。

批评家托·巴·麦考莱曾评价道：“作家当中其手法最接近于莎士比亚这位大师的，无疑就要数简·奥斯丁了，这位女性堪称是英国之骄傲。她为我们创造出了一大批的人物。”

Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, "Emma" is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.