JANE AUSTEN TEASED READERS with the idea of a `heroine whom no one but myself will mush 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 relation-ships 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.