Emma: The Nature of a Lady

In book one of the Queering the Canon series (Gay Pride & Prejudice), Kate Christie posed a question: What if some among Jane Austen’s characters preferred the company of their own sex? In this new retelling of Emma, one of Austen’s most entertaining novels, Christie’s question once again applies. Only this time, her rainbow-hued pen revises the characters–and storylines–of Emma Woodhouse, Mr. Knightley, and certain other residents of Highbury.

As Austen herself wrote, “Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised or a little mistaken.” This was particularly true for queer characters and themes in Austen’s time. Fortunately, in the 21st century, LQBTQ+ storylines no longer have to hide in plain sight, as they were forced to do throughout Western history.

Queering the Canon advances the proposition that everyone deserves a happy ending–or, at least, to be included in the Western literary canon.