REVIEW: The Watsons and Emma Watson by Jane Austen, completed by Joan Aiken
Review by MJ Ryan
When tackling the continuation of another author’s unfinished story, the new author must decide whether to try to divine from the available text which direction the original author was going or whether to take the characters in a new direction. I’m not sure it can be easily determined where Jane intended the characters in The Watsons to go. Maybe that’s why it remained during Austen’s lifetime a mere fragment, and maybe that’s why Aiken decided that the latter avenue would be best. Since it would be difficult to completely review the book without giving away a spoiler or two I will give a succinct two sentence review for those who don’t want to be spoiled: as a historical drama the book mostly works. As a continuation of what Jane Austen started, it falls short. For those not worried about being slightly spoiled, read on.
To criticize Emma Watson as a continuation might be a bit unfair. As noted earlier, I think it’s almost impossible to know where Austen was going based on the fragment, which read to me very much like an unedited first draft. However, I do believe that the major players in the romantic storyline had been introduced by the time Austen put it aside. As such, Aiken’s introduction to a new potential romantic partner for Emma, well into the continuation and with very little development of the character or relationship, frankly makes no sense at all. I suppose Aiken had painted herself into a corner by making all of the other potential suitors unappealing and unworthy of our heroine and decided to quickly insert a Gary Stu to achieve the inevitable, necessarily happy, ending. The problem is that, to remain true to Austen, the characters need to grow and change to earn their “happily ever after.” Austen’s characters as written by Aiken do not. The one character that does manage a transformation only has his burgeoning racing stables to comfort him at the end.
While the book fails to retain the Austen spirit, Aiken writes a passably entertaining historical novel. While the plot was rather loose and meandering for my taste, Aiken was able to insert a couple of shocking turn of events that kept me interested. Emma Watson as a character remained appealing enough throughout the novel for me to be invested in the attainment of her happily ever after, no matter how underdeveloped it was.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
“I think it’s almost impossible to know where Austen was going…”
Whaaaat? But we know where she was going with it! She told us, see? (Well, ok, she told Cassandra, who told other relatives, who told us, but still.)
I mean, if we were talking about Sanditon, yeah, sure. But the Watsons? No way. Even if we only had the fragment and not the information about how it ends, what she wrote still gives a fairly good idea of where she was going.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Warning:This is full of spoilers.:(
There were too many sensational events in this book to make it
“Jane-ish” or even enjoyable for me. Emma’s father dies suddenly and Emma is blamed. Mrs. Blake is suddenly killed, leaving a young family behind. Even Fido is killed! Married Margaret runs off with the building contractor. Emma marries someone who only is mentioned in a few sentences of the entire book. (It seems to me that Mr. Howard was the man that Austen had planned for Emma.)
I liked John Coates’ completion more- although it wasn’t exactly “right” either.
I really liked Another Lady’s completion of “Sanditon”, but it is the only completion that has been truly satisfying IMHO.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
So agree with all of you! I recently bought and read this book, and it’s disappointing as a JA continuation. I thought what Baja Janeite does–the plot is very nonJane.
[spoilers] I was very disappointed in the author when she made Mrs. Blake and little Charles, and Emma’s father die (like, this is JA, not Elizabeth Gaskell [who I love, don't worry--it's just that character killings are definitely more up her alley]). Aiken also changed Mr. Howard’s character a lot. He was not the type of man to be swayed by money–that bit between him and Lady Osbourne was off. Austen had set him up as an ideal–like Mr. Knightley, though in a different way–and Aiken departed into her own characterization of him. Elizabeth, Emma’s sister, too, was changed from a witty characterization of a plain, past-her-prime, somewhat peevish old maid. I thought it was out of character to make her and Emma become close friends. I thought the point of Jane’s premise was that Emma had to leave her aunt, a kindred spirit who appreciated her company, to go to her father’s home, where Emma really had no one of her taste or intellectual ability with whom she could have close sympathy–except the Blakes and Mr. Howard.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Diana - I was probably remiss in not scouring the internet - or at least look on Molland’s - for information about The Watsons after I finished reading it. But, I still stand behind the statement that, based on the text, we had very little idea where Austen was going. At least, I never got the idea of a love triangle. I saw a preference for Mr. Howard and that Lord Osborne was not very comfortable in society and was intrigued by Emma. My larger point was that it was obvious by some characterizations and events that Aiken basically threw out what Austen had written and had just commandeered the characters for her own story.
Baja Janite - I couldn’t believe how Emma’s family blamed her for her father’s death. Elizabeth only forgives her when her happiness is secured.
Chantal - I didn’t like what she did with Mr. Howard, either. Count me shocked by the event surrounding Mrs. Blake and Charles. It was very Victorian to kill off so many people.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:20 am
I’d forgotten that little Charle died in the accident, and I just remembered that Captain O’Brien “put a bullet through his head.”
It is a bit much…