Mariah Aubrey lives in an abandoned gatehouse on a distant relative's estate, where she supports herself and her servant by writing novels in secret, and when Captain Matthew Bryant leases the estate, she is attracted to him.

Occasionally thoughtless, always headstrong, and constantly meddling in the affairs of her friends, Emma is a character for the ages. Hers is a story that has seamlessly translated to contemporary life. Sparkling with rare literary energy, Emma is a comedy of manners, depicting the self-contained world of 19th-century English life.