Book excerpt: Manga Classics brings Emma to life with this beautiful manga adaptation of Jane Austen's classic tale of youthful folly and romantic exuberance. When her former governess finds happiness as the bride of a local widower, the brilliant and beautiful Emma Woodhouse — one of Jane Austen's immortal creations — flatters herself that she alone has secured the marriage and that she possesses a special talent for bringing lovers together. The young heiress next busies herself with finding a suitable husband for her friend and protégé, Harriet Smith, setting off an entertaining sequence of comic mishaps and misunderstanding in this sparkling comedy of English- village romance. Beneath its considerable wit, the novel is also the story of a young woman's progress toward self-understanding.