Jane Austen teased readers with the idea of a `heroine whom no one but myself will much like`: but Emma is irresistible. `Handsome, clever, and rich`, Emma is also an `imaginist`, `on fire with speculation and foresight.` She sees the signs of romance all around her, but thinks she will never be married. Her matchmaking maps out relationships that Jane Austen ironically tweaks into a clearer perspective. Judgement and imagination are matched in games the reader too can enjoy, and the end is a triumph of understanding.