Jane Austen's 'Emma'

Jane Austen described Emma as 'A heroine whom no-one but myself will much like' but we loved her despite her foibles. Selvedge contributor Sarah Jane Downing explains that in Emma's era it was considered poor taste to discuss clothes, so in the novel it's left to the disagreeable Mrs. Elton who snobbishly observes that Emma's wedding was "very inferior to her own" with "little white satin, very few lace veils; a most pitiful business!" An Austen version of the horrible Four Weddings? [caption id="attachment_685" align="alignnone" width="285" caption="Fashion in the time of Jane Austen"][/caption]