Audiobook. I have come to believe that 19th century novelists are meant to be read aloud. To Edith Wharton and Henry James, I now add Jane Austen as a true delight to listen to. We know the story of Emma — after all, we all saw Clueless or one of the BBC productions. So there are no surprises.
I did grow weary of hearing Miss Bates (“very obliging of you, I’m sure,” she says over and over). A suggestion that she was an unbearable person would have been sufficient.
I chose this version because it was read by Nadia May, who also read Portrait of a Lady.