Rating: 
Summary: Well done, Joan Aiken
Review: A lovely, plausible extension of Jane Austen's vision. It not only gives access to Jane Fairfax's motives and feelings, but dares to speculate on the forces which shaped Emma's character. My only wish might be that Frank Churchill is made to pay more painfully for his cavalier treatment of Jane, who too thoroughly exemplifies the feminine virtues of Austen's era, and is all forgiveness.
Rating:
Summary: A new view of a familiar story...
Review: Emma is one of my favorite books, so I was naturally drawn to this re-interpretation of the story told through the eyes of Jane Fairfax, about whom we learn very little in the original. On the other hand, I was somewhat wary given how much I love Emma and Austen in general and was afraid that I would find it lacking in both style and substance. In the end, I was terribly impressed by Aiken's work and enjoyed this version tremendously.Joan Aiken explores the events in Jane Fairfax's life that take place outside of Highbury and the sphere of Emma. What we once saw only through Emma and the others thus takes on a completely different dimension, particularly the circumstances that appear such a surprise in Austen's novel. The new characters are very well-rounded, realistic and fascinating while the 'old' ones remain very much true to their roles Emma, even down to their language, mannerisms, dress and so forth. Despite how well-written and fascinating I found the book - and how good the descriptions, characterizations and scenery are - I never felt quite like I was reading Austen. But I was so impressed by how close Aiken did get to the original, and here her extraordinary skill as a writer is obvious, I believe it is more a matter of my degree of familiarity with Emma and with Austen's work in general than any inherent flaw in the book. Although I do believe Jane Fairfax is good enough to stand on its own, I think that in order to enjoy Jane Fairfax fully a reader must be relatively familiar with Emma, for having seen the story before from another perspective is an enormous part of the appeal. I would recommend this book to any fans of Emma or Austen - or really anyone interested in a well-told and excellently written story - with the caveat that the book be appreciated for what it is and not compared to minutely to the original.
Rating:
Summary: A new view of a familiar story...
Review: Emma is one of my favorite books, so I was naturally drawn to this re-interpretation of the story told through the eyes of Jane Fairfax, about whom we learn very little in the original. On the other hand, I was somewhat wary given how much I love Emma and Austen in general and was afraid that I would find it lacking in both style and substance. In the end, I was terribly impressed by Aiken's work and enjoyed this version tremendously. Joan Aiken explores the events in Jane Fairfax's life that take place outside of Highbury and the sphere of Emma. What we once saw only through Emma and the others thus takes on a completely different dimension, particularly the circumstances that appear such a surprise in Austen's novel. The new characters are very well-rounded, realistic and fascinating while the 'old' ones remain very much true to their roles Emma, even down to their language, mannerisms, dress and so forth. Despite how well-written and fascinating I found the book - and how good the descriptions, characterizations and scenery are - I never felt quite like I was reading Austen. But I was so impressed by how close Aiken did get to the original, and here her extraordinary skill as a writer is obvious, I believe it is more a matter of my degree of familiarity with Emma and with Austen's work in general than any inherent flaw in the book. Although I do believe Jane Fairfax is good enough to stand on its own, I think that in order to enjoy Jane Fairfax fully a reader must be relatively familiar with Emma, for having seen the story before from another perspective is an enormous part of the appeal. I would recommend this book to any fans of Emma or Austen - or really anyone interested in a well-told and excellently written story - with the caveat that the book be appreciated for what it is and not compared to minutely to the original.
Rating: 
Summary: Quite a feat!
Review: I am a fan of Jane Austen's Emma, and really enjoyed Hollywood's rendition of the novel, and came away from both sharing a bit of Emma's resentment towards Jane Fairfax. So it is quite an accomplishment to write a novel that so quickly and deftly turned my sympathies and interests towards a previously unliked character. Aiken's Jane Fairfax fleshes out the childhood histories of both leading ladies (Emma and Jane), and fills in the back story of their relationship and temperaments. It is fascinating to read the story that takes place prior to the time period where 'Emma' is focused, but even more interesting to read the shifted perspective once the two storylines sync up. Finally, the book is so well-written, so closely adhering to Jane Austen's own style, that you can convince yourself you are reading a long lost manuscript from Austen herself. And as the tale unfolds, and Jane's perspective reveals more of Emma's character than we even knew before, Austen's 'Emma' becomes an even better realized, more ironic, and wryer look at social folly. I definitely recommend this novel to any Austen fan, particularly those familiar with 'Emma.'
Rating:
Summary: Austen lovers won't be disappointed...
Review: I read all the Jane Austen pre-quels, sequels, updates, etc. because I want to linger a little longer in the whole Austen world. With JANE FAIRFAX, I don't have to endure terrible writing and trite plots in order to revisit Highbury. Joan Aiken has written a delightful and insightful novel that stands very well on its own. I enjoyed the speculations into Jane's background, reasons behind her strained releationship with Emma Woodhouse, and events that lead to her engagement with Frank Churchill.
Rating:
Summary: Well done "behind the scenes" story of Jane Fairfax
Review: If you enjoyed Emma, and wondered at all abouthow Jane Fairfax ended up in her situation thenyou'll enjoy this book. Aiken gives a clever story that covers all the reasons that Jane F and Frank Churchill act the way they do. And it is written in a true Jane Austen style. I really enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: plausible and enjoyable pov-variant on the classic 'Emma'
Review: Joan Aiken is a gifted writer, and she has chosen as her subject a wonderfully interesting incidental character from one of the best-loved novels in literature, Jane Austen's 'Emma'. The characters and plot are flawless; it was very enjoyable to have these beloved characters rounded out and delved into more, and Aiken accomplishes her most difficult task -- making Frank Churchill sympathetic and therefore worthy of Miss Fairfax's regard. I was thrilled by the time I got to part two, which begins and ends on the same timeline as 'Emma' -- for instance, do you remember when Jane accompanies her aunt, Miss Bates, to Hartfield in order to thank Emma and her father for the quarter-section of pork, and they bring the news that Mr. Elton has become engaged to someone in Bath? Well, here you are in the room when Jane and her aunt first get the news as they are leaving for Hartfield -- it is delicious! There are many such overlaps, and all are delightful. There are also lots of commas and semi-colons and other such idiosyncracies found in the works of Austen and her contemporaries, and the style rings true. I would say it comes very close to being an Austen novel, and is one of the best of the Austen homages, but the humor of Austen is not here. Also, the novel is so well-done that I would have enjoyed an account of events after the original timeline. One does want to know that Jane is happy and Frank is true and Emma's friendship continues.... Still, a very satisfying read, and I will definitely read more works by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: So far it seems dreadful
Review: OK, I'm not done with reading this, and it's good enough for me to continue. Rather, the reading is easy enough. But so far I haven't found that the writing is. ... The ages of the characters are wrong. Mr. Knightley is made out to be too old (he should be 16 years older than Emma), there is a Miss Bickerton who is also too old, Miss Taylor comes to Hartfield at the wrong time (she should arrive when Emma is five), etc., etc. Moreover, the characters themselves are wrong ... where is the talkiness of Miss Bates? How can Col Campbell be so dreadful to his daughter? How can Jane Fairfax make such bold statements to everyone around her, when later she seems to be so retiring? So as a companion book to Emma, which is what is intended, for me at least it is a failure. And -- at least so far -- I have not found it interesting enough to stay on its own. I'm giving it two stars, because it is an interesting idea, and because I agree that the story of Jane Fairfax deserves to be told. Simply not like this.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent re-telling of an excellent story
Review: This book is one of the few books that I have read through from start to finish in one sitting, which might say something either about my Austen obsession, or my reading habits (I tend to skip from book to book, never finishing some). Joan Aiken (now Joan Aiken Hodge, I believe) has written several books that are prequels, sequels, or alternate takes on several of Jane Austen's novels. Unlike most people, I saw an early BBC adaptation of EMMA long before the more famous Gwyneth Paltrow version. Therefore, I cannot help remembering the Emma as portrayed in that version whenever I think of the book. The Jane Fairfax in that adaptation was more faithful, I thought, to the way she is portrayed by Joan Aiken. And how is she portrayed? Very differently from the way she is seen by Emma. In the novel, we learn very little about her - she is an orphan, the daughter of a low-ranking officer who is taken in by his commanding officer to be trained as a governess (one of the few respectable alternatives to marriage for ladies in the Regency period). Her aunt and grandmother (the relict, or widow, of a country vicar) live in reduced circumstances. All we know about Jane Fairfax is what others say of her; in the novel she has relatively little to say, even though she is secretly engaged to a major (or important secondary) character.
Emma dislikes her, in part because Jane Fairfax is so much more accomplished and in part because Jane Fairfax will not confide in Emma (who sees herself as the fount of advice, not to mention match-making, for all). In Joan Aiken's version, we hear more about Jane Fairfax's inner voice. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. In Austen's version, although we know little about Jane Fairfax (or many of the secondary characters), we are allowed by that very lack of knowledge to speculate about their circumstances, their motives, and their inner thoughts. In Joan Aiken's version, Jane Fairfax's thoughts are made explicit and those of her secret lover almost as explicit. If you like inner conversations spelled out, you will enjoy this novel. If you sometimes want a little veil maintained over the minds of the characters, you might find this a little irritating, as I frankly did. Although the book is well-written there are several minor errors. By page 46 (or so), the Christian name of Jane's grandfather the late Reverend Bates changes. A Lord Osbert becomes Sir Osbert midway. A son of a viscount is elevated in his courtesy title. These are the minor errors I spotted; tehre may be others. Although this is an excellent Austen adaptation or continuation (or whatever is the literary term) it is not therefore perfect. However, it is the strongest one I have seen, and almost completely faithful to the original novel. Read this, instead of the dreadful stuff produced by Emma Tennant and others**, if you are looking for something more akin to Austen. In conclusion, I awarded this novel about 4.4, taking off some points for those minor errors, and for excessive intrusion into the heroine's head (not to mention Emma's head). ** Not all the other sequels, prequels or continuations are truly dreadful. I am however criticizing only the ones that deviate completely from the original plot, as well as from the spirit of Regency England. For recommendations, check out the Republic of Pemberley site.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Austen spin-off
Review: This is one of the better Aiken-Austen novels. Jane Fairfax is very good on its own, but really fascinating when viewed as another side of Emma's story. In EMMA, Jane seems like such a mysterious and threatening person; it's cool to see her fully developed. Aiken gets Emma's character just right; the reader can see how Jane might not be so charmed by Emma, who is of course a beloved protagonist in her own story. It's cleverly done, and well-reconciled at the end.
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