《愛瑪》是奧斯丁作品中藝術上、思想上最成熟的一部，也是一部匠心獨具的天纔喜劇之作。小說主人公愛瑪是個聰明、漂亮、任性的地主小姐，她喜歡為彆人做媒，並把鄰近的一個孤女哈裏特置於自己的保護之下，主觀地安排她的戀愛。哈裏特一次又一次地“愛”上愛瑪給她選擇的“求婚者”，卻均以失敗而告結束。終於在經曆過一番戲劇性的小波摺後她們都找到瞭與自己情投意閤的人生伴侶。

批評傢托·巴·麥考萊曾評價道：“作傢當中其手法最接近於莎士比亞這位大師的，無疑就要數簡·奧斯丁瞭，這位女性堪稱是英國之驕傲。她為我們創造齣瞭一大批的人物。”

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.