Wow, what a lot of effort Austen put into her annoying characters in this one! Just to make sure I'm clear, I'm not saying I didn't like
Emma because of this. I mean there are two or three characters that are intentionally annoying and Austen spent a lot of time constructing each, offering up plenty of examples for the reader. Miss Bates is incessantly chatty, okay. Mrs. Elton is bossy, I get it. It's important to establish these traits, but there's a difference between planting seeds and burying them six feet under. The love stories and triangles are nearly as good as Austen's
Pride and Prejudice and
Sense and Sensibility, but she piles on so much patience-testing dialogue that the reader eventually becomes entombed in boredom. I did enjoy the love-triangle and the education of Emma herself. Those qualities, as well as Austen's exceptional writing ability, saved this one for me in the end.
