''Emma'' is the title of a manuscript by

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature. She enlisted i ...

, left incomplete when she died in 1855. A

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...

of it was written by Clare Boylan and published as ''Emma Brown'' in 2003.

Original manuscript

Brontë began work on ''Emma'' in 1853. Her marriage in 1854 and the lukewarm enthusiasm of her husband for the project may have contributed to her slow progress towards completion. The manuscript was left unfinished at her death in 1855. The original twenty-page manuscript consists of two chapters describing the arrival of an apparently wealthy young girl, "Matilda Fitzgibbon", at an expensive private school. It transpires that her identity is fake, and that her school fees will not be paid. The child is unable to answer any questions as to her true identity.

Savery's completion

Constance Savery Constance Winifred Savery (31 October 1897 – 2 March 1999) was a British writer of fifty novels and children's books, as well as many short stories and articles. She was selected for the initial issue of the long-running series entitled ' ...

published a completion in 1980.

Boylan's completion

Boylan "steeped herself in letters and writings" and acknowledged the assistance of several notable Brontë scholars in her afterword to the novel. Boylan developed the story as a mystery novel, using two characters from Brontë's original chapters who work together to solve the puzzle of the eponymous girl's identity: Mrs. Chalfont, a widow introduced as a narrator in the manuscript, and Mr. Ellin, a lawyer who accepts the challenge the girl represents.

Reception

Boylan's version was favourably reviewed but was not regarded as a faithful continuation of the style and voice of Brontë. Boylan's ''Telegraph'' obituary concluded that she "conveyed little of the deep moral and theological framework that underpinned Charlotte Brontë's writing."

References

External links

* {{librivox book , dtitle=Emma: A Fragment of a Story , stitle=Emma , author=Charlotte BRONTË 2003 novels Works originally published in The Cornhill Magazine