PLAY GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT ATC 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY 2

SYNOPSIS 2

SONG LIST 3

MEET THE CHARACTERS 4

MEET THE CREATORS: PAUL GORDON AND JANE AUSTEN 5

INTERVIEW WITH PAUL GORDON 7

THE NOVEL IN THE MUSIC 9

POLLOCK’S TOY THEATRES 11

LITERARY CATEGORIZATION OF AUSTEN 12

LITERARY TIMELINE 13

THE AUSTEN INDUSTRY 14

AUSTEN IN POPULAR CULTURE 15

FEMINISM IN EMMA 16

THE EMMA DEDICATION 18

HISTORICAL CONTEXT 18

HISTORICAL TIMELINE 22

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES 23

Jane Austen’s Emma Play Guide written and compiled by Katherine Monberg, Literary Assistant, and R Elisabeth Burton, Artistic Intern Discussion questions and activities provided by April Jackson, Associate Education Manager, Amber Tibbitts and Bryanna Patrick, Education Associates

Support for ATC’s education and community programming has been provided by:

APSArizona Commission on the ArtsBank of America FoundationBlue Cross Blue Shield ArizonaBoeingCity Of GlendaleCommunity Foundation for Southern ArizonaCox CharitiesDowntown Tucson PartnershipEnterprise Holdings FoundationFord Motor Company FundFreeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Foundation

JPMorgan ChaseJohn and Helen Murphy FoundationNational Endowment for the ArtsPhoenix Office of Arts and CulturePICOR Charitable FoundationRosemont CopperStonewall FoundationTargetThe Boeing CompanyThe Donald Pitt Family FoundationThe Johnson Family Foundation, Inc The Lovell Foundation

The Marshall FoundationThe Maurice and Meta Gross FoundationThe Max and Victoria Dreyfus FoundationThe Stocker FoundationThe William L and Ruth T Pendleton Memorial FundTucson Medical CenterTucson Pima Arts CouncilWells Fargo

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ABOUT ATC

Arizona Theatre Company is a professional, not-for-profit theatre company This means all of our artists, administrators and production staff are paid professionals, and the income we receive from ticket sales and contributions goes right back into our budget to create our work, rather than to any particular person as a profit

Each season, ATC employs hundreds of actors, directors and designers from all over the country to create the work you see on stage In addition, ATC currently employs about 100 staff members in our production shops and administrative offices in Tucson and Phoenix during our season Among these people are carpenters, painters, marketing professionals, fundraisers, stage directors, computer specialists, sound and light board operators, tailors, costume designers, box office agents, stage crew – the list is endless – representing an amazing range of talents and skills

We are also supported by a Board of Trustees, a group of business and community leaders who volunteer their time and expertise to assist the theatre in financial and legal matters, advise in marketing and fundraising, and help represent the theatre in our community

Roughly 150,000 people attend our shows every year, and several thousands of those people support us with charitable contributions in addition to purchasing their tickets Businesses large and small, private foundations and the city and state governments also support our work financially

All of this is in support of our vision and mission:

Our vision is to touch lives through the power of theatre

Our mission is to create professional theatre that continually strives to reach new levels of artistic excellence and that reso-nates locally, in the state of Arizona and throughout the nation In order to fulfill our mission, the theatre produces a broad reper-toire ranging from classics to new works, engages artists of the highest caliber, and is committed to assuring access to the broadest spectrum of citizens

The Temple of Music and Art, the home of ATC shows in downtown Tucson.

The Herberger Theater Center, ATC’s performance venue in downtown Phoenix.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY

musical stage The young, aristocratic Emma Woodhouse embarks on a project of matchmaking that leads her through a series of tragically comic misunderstandings, layered over with the decorum and expectations of Regency England society Armed with wit, intelligence, and sincerity, Emma maneuvers her way through the social politics of Highbury to find her future, her love, and herself

SynopsisEmma Woodhouse, the “handsome, clever, and rich” heroine and title character of Jane Austen’s most critically regarded novel returns to literature nearly two centuries after her first incarnation Having recently witnessed the success of her matchmaking endeavors through the marriage of her governess, Miss Taylor, to Mr Weston, a good friend and neighbor, Emma takes it upon herself to set up her friend Harriet Smith, of unknown parentage but remarkably good character, with the new vicar, Mr Elton Blinded by her well-intentioned ambitions and supported by the universal assumption of her intelligence and impeccable character, Emma never questions her own convictions, despite kind warnings from her close family friend, Mr Knightley When it is unavoidably brought to Emma’s attention that Mr Elton’s affections are bestowed upon her and not Harriet Smith, Emma is outraged at his social grasping Mr Elton leaves Emma and the town of Highbury to seek a wife elsewhere, horrendously offended by Emma’s refusal Meanwhile, Emma continues her attempts to steer Harriet in positive social directions, politely dissuading her from a romance with the farmer, Robert Martin

Miss Bates, a neighbor of the Woodhouses, welcomes her niece, Jane Fairfax, into the home she shares with her mother as a last foray into society and relaxation before Jane is forced to become a governess to support herself Jane, a young woman of great accomplishment, is vexing to Emma who is jealous of her talents, and irritated by Jane’s refusal to gossip Highbury society continues to be stirred up by the arrival of Frank Churchill, Mr Weston’s son through a previous marriage and raised by an aunt, who has come to visit his new stepmother on the occasion of his father’s remarriage Frank and Emma seem to hit it off, and a new romance is predicted by Highbury society

To add to the town’s excitement, Jane Fairfax seems to have a secret admirer, who has sent her the gift of a pianoforte; public opinion suspects Mr Knightley Frank’s aunt falls ill and he is called home After much contemplation, Emma decides that she is less than thrilled by Frank’s clear affection for her Mr Elton returns to Highbury with his new wife, an intensely unlikeable social climber whom Emma finds extremely distasteful In her busybody ways, Mrs Elton asserts herself to “help” Jane find a position, and demands of Mr Knightley a group outing to his home, Donwell Abbey

Emma plans an elegant ball, which all of Highbury society attends Mr Elton snubs Harriet publicly, much to her humiliation, and she is saved by a dancing invitation from Mr Knightley, an adamant non-dancer Emma and Knightley share a dance and Knightley quietly acknowledges his unspoken love for her, leaving Emma unaware Frank Churchill returns to Highbury and rescues Harriet from an unfortunate encounter with gypsies; Emma designs to match Frank and Harriet as her next project Harriet reveals to Emma that she has feelings for a man above her station and Emma encourages her, believing her to mean Frank Churchill

The entirety of Highbury society attends a picnic at Box Hill, planned by Mrs Elton Emma and Frank behave badly, excluding others in their common cleverness Emma makes an unkind comment to Miss Bates, and Knightley chastises her for it which Emma takes to heart, repenting deeply

Mrs Weston receives a letter from Frank Churchill, revealing his aunt’s death – and his secret engagement to Jane Fairfax! She breaks the news to Emma, who readily admits that her own feelings are not injured, though his deceit is quite shocking Emma dreads informing Harriet, who is genuinely surprised – the gentleman she expressed feelings for was not Frank Churchill, but Mr Knightley! Emma is entirely undone, realizing, too late, that she herself is in love with Mr Knightley Knightley comes to Emma as a friend, believing her to have been hurt by Frank Churchill; Emma assures him that her heart is intact and Knightley tentatively reveals his love for her Emma returns the sentiment joyously, Harriet becomes engaged to Robert Martin, and weddings and happiness ensue

Actress Anneliese van der Pol, who plays Emma in ATC’s production.

Actor Shannon Stoeke, who plays Mr. Knightley in ATC’s production.

Actor Richert Easley, who plays Mr. Woodhouse in ATC’s production.

Actor Colin Hanlon, who plays Frank Churchill in ATC’s production.

Jane Austen’s EmmaBook and Music by Paul Gordon Co-Directed by Stephen Wrentmore and David Ira Goldstein

Jane Austen’s Emma, one of the most widely read novels by one of the most adored authors in British literature, returns, this time to the

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Actress Jill Van Velzer, who plays Mrs. Elton / Mrs. Bates in ATC’s production.

SONG LIST

ACT 1I Design the World Emma

I Made the Match Myself Emma and Knightley

Hartfield Ensemble

Gentleman’s Daughter Emma and Ensemble

The Portrait Mr Elton and Knightley

Should We Ever Meet Emma

The Argument Knightley and Emma

Hartfield (1st Reprise) Ensemble

Should We Ever Meet (Reprise) Emma and Ensemble

Not in a Thousand Years Emma and Harriet

Piece of Cake Mrs Bates, Jane Fairfax, Emma and Harriet

Mr Robert Martin Harriet and Emma

Home Frank Churchill and Emma

The Recital Emma, Jane Fairfax, Knightley, Frank and Harriet

ACT 2Pride and Sense Ensemble

So This is How Love Feels Emma

Mr Robert Martin (Reprise) Harriet and Robert Martin

I’ll Make the Match Myself (Reprise) Mrs Weston and Emma

The Conviction of My Indifference Emma

Humiliation Harriet

Emma Knightley

A Gentleman’s Daughter (Reprise) Emma

Stranger Things Have Happened Emma and Harriet

Box Hill Ensemble

Flirtation Ensemble

Badly Done Knightley

The Epiphany Emma and Harriet

Badly Done (Reprise) Emma

Humiliation (Reprise) Harriet

Emma (Reprise) Knightley

Finale Emma, Knightley and Ensemble

Actress Dani Marcus, who plays Harriet Smith in ATC’s production.

Actress Jamison Lingle, who plays Jane Fairfax in ATC’s production.

Actress Patty Nieman who plays Mrs. Weston in ATC’s production.

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MEET THE CHARACTERS

EMMA WOODHOUSE: Nearly 21 years old, the spirited and imaginative heroine of the story who fancies herself a great matchmaker Intelligent yet naïve, she is her father’s companion and runs his house She is initially described in the novel as “handsome, clever, and rich, with a pleasant disposition,” although she can be slightly haughty, self-righteous, and classist in her matchmaking endeavors

MR. WOODHOUSE: Emma’s middle-aged father, slightly negative in his perspective and a constant worrier, he is set in his routine and resistant to change

MR. KNIGHTLEY: An old family friend of the Woodhouses and a local landowner Calm, rational, attractive, and brutally honest, he is brother-in-law to Emma’s older sister He is straightforward but polite, sincere, and frequently described as the prime example of gentility

MR. ELTON: The new, young vicar of Highbury, Mr Elton is overly eager and sincere to the point of exaggeration As the story progresses, his agreeable nature becomes overshadowed by pride and conceit

MRS. ELTON: Mr Elton’s new wife and an example of “new” money, Mrs Elton strives for an elegance that is above her A bit distasteful, unthinking, and vaguely tacky, she leaves a slightly negative impression of one lacking “good breeding ”

HARRIET SMITH: The 17-year-old sweet and humble friend of Emma, Harriet is lovely but not very clever, and is slightly intimidated by the status of Emma and her home Of unknown heritage, Harriet is slightly looked down upon and feels the shame distinctly, but is somewhat protected by Emma’s conscious influence

MR. ROBERT MARTIN: A simple boyish farmer who rents his land from Mr Knightley, Robert Martin is sweet and somewhat shy, and a good friend of Harriet’s

MRS. WESTON: Emma’s dearest companion and former governess (neé Miss Taylor), Mrs Weston has just recently been married She is noted for her kind temperament, loyalty, and devotion, and is often sought for advice and social gatherings

MR. WESTON: The new husband of Mrs Weston and father to Frank Churchill through a previous marriage, Mr Weston is responsible, kind, loving, and extremely well-liked by the community He earned his living as a tradesman, rising in society through his first marriage

MISS BATES: The middle-aged eccentric neighbor of the Woodhouse family, Miss Bates is a harmless and kind woman described as “neither young, handsome, rich, nor married ”

MRS. BATES: The mother of Miss Bates, elderly and hard of hearing

JANE FAIRFAX: The young, orphaned niece of Miss Bates, whom Emma dislikes rather unfairly for reasons of jealousy Jane is accomplished, graceful, sweet, and beautiful, and intends to become a governess, her financial reality unable to support her social position

FRANK CHURCHILL: Mr Weston’s young, attractive, and clever son from a previous marriage, Frank Churchill was raised by his aunt and has come to Highbury to visit his new stepmother on the occasion of his father’s marriage

Actor Brian Herndon, who plays Mr. Elton in ATC’s production.

Actor Jon Eidson, who plays Mr. Robert Martin in ATC’s production.

Actor Andrés Alcalá, who plays Mr. Weston in ATC’s production.

Actress Suzanne Grodner, who plays Miss Bates in ATC’s production.

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MEET THE CREATORS

PAUL GORDON (Music, Book and Lyrics) premiered Jane Austen’s Emma at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto in September 2007 Gordon’s musical has since had successful regional productions at The Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and The Repertory Theatre of St Louis His work was last seen at ATC in Daddy Long Legs, written with John Caird, which had its world premiere at Rubicon Theatre Company in the fall of 2009 and has gone on to many productions around the country In 2001, Gordon was nominated for a Tony Award for composing the music and lyrics to the Broadway musical Jane Eyre directed by John Caird and Scott Schwartz His other works include Lucky Break, written with Jay Gruska and Seth Friedman, based on the 1976 film The Front, Death: The Musical, Analogue and Vinyl, Little Miss Scrooge which will premiere as a stage concert at The Rubicon Theatre this Christmas, and Being Earnest, written with Jay Gruska, which will premiere at TheatreWorks in April 2013 He has also written several hit popular songs, and is the recipient of nine awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)

JANE AUSTEN (Author), one of the most widely read and adored authors in English literature, was born on December 16, 1775 in Steventon, England Jane was the seventh of eight children born to the Reverend George Austen and his wife Cassandra Leigh Austen For the first twenty-five years of her life Jane lived at the rectory at Steventon where her older sister Cassandra was her closest friend and confidant Jane’s only formal education came when she and her sister Cassandra were sent to be taught by a relative first in Oxford and then in Southampton However, an outbreak of a contagious disease expedited the girls’ return home From 1785-1786, the two girls attended an Abbey boarding school in Reading; every other education that Jane received was at home through her family

The Austen family life seems to have been close and happy The family enjoyed both reading to themselves as well as reading aloud to each other, a popular amusement of the time The Austens also spent time producing family theatricals for the entertainment of the household The close-knit atmosphere of support and the encouragement that daughters seek education as well as sons led Jane to begin writing at an early age From 1787-1793, from ages twelve to eighteen, Jane composed her Juvenilia, a series of parodies of popular literature of the time

In her early adulthood, Jane was socially active and attended dances and parties regularly Her letters from this period reveal a delight in such interactions, but there is no mention of any serious courtships While there are gentlemen mentioned by Jane in her letters to her sister, none seem to engender a great passion on Jane’s

side From 1795-1799, Jane worked on the first drafts of what would be three of her most popular works: Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. In 1797, a London publisher rejected an early draft of Pride and Prejudice submitted by Jane’s father under the title First Impressions without actually reading the manuscript

Jane Austen, in pencil and watercolor, by her sister, Cassandra in 1810.

Paul Gordon, the bookwriter, lyricist, and composer of Jane Austen’s Emma.

The original titles of Northanger Abbey,

Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice

were Susan, Elinor and Marianne, and First Impressions,

respectively.

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In 1801 Jane’s father retired and the family re-located to Bath, a city that Jane did not particularly like During this period the family vacationed at the shore each summer and Jane had a mysterious romance of which little is known Supposedly, years after Jane’s death, the story of a suitor who had loved her very much was told by her sister to several nieces In theory, the gentleman had fallen in love with Jane and made it clear that, though there must be a separation between the two of them, they would meet again soon Shortly thereafter, Jane heard of his death The period marks a notable absence in literary productivity by Jane

In 1802 Jane received a marriage proposal from the brother of friends, Harris Bigg-Wither, who was six years younger than Jane; she accepted him However, the next day Jane decided that she would rather not marry the gentleman, whom

she clearly did not love, and she and Cassandra left their friends’ home At the time, such an event would have been rather socially embarrassing for her family, but it does not seem that it did any damage to Jane’s reputation Interestingly, none of Jane’s letters from this period have survived, and many have speculated about the tone in which these letters might have been penned

Jane’s father died in 1805, leaving the sisters and their mother to be cared for financially by the sons of the Austen family In 1806, Jane, Cassandra and their mother moved from Bath to Clifton and then to Southampton before moving to Chawton to live in a small house on one of the estates of her wealthy brother Edward Edward, who was born in 1767, had been adopted by Thomas and Catherine Knight in the 1780s and inherited their great estate of Godmersham in Kent Because of such a financial windfall, he, along with his other broth-ers, was able to provide financially for his mother and sisters following the death of George Austen

Jane seems to have been happier in Chawton then she was previously and began revising Sense and Sensibility; the novel was accepted by a publisher in either 1810 or 1811 As customs of the day did not encourage women to be literary, the novel was credited only “By a Lady” and did not include Jane Austen by name as its author The first edition of Sense and Sensibility provided Jane with a profit of £140 Emboldened by the income from her novel, Jane was encouraged to spend time revising First Impressions, which would eventually evolve into Pride and Prejudice. In November of 1812, she sold the copyright outright, meaning she would never make any additional money off of the novel except for the £110 which she received as payment By 1813, people outside of the Austen family began to learn of Jane’s authorship A second edition of Sense and Sensibility was published that year, followed by Mansfield Park in 1814

Emma was published in December of 1814 and contained a dedication to the Prince Regent of Britain at his request, who was quite a fan of her work, though several of her letters mention a dislike for him In August of 1816 Jane finished Persuasion and in the early months of the next year she began work on what would be her last, unfinished novel titled Sanditon. By March of 1817 Jane had become extremely ill, though at the time the cause of her illness was unknown In late April she made out a will and had to be moved to the city of Winchester to be treated in late May Jane Austen died from what has since been diagnosed as Addison’s disease on July 18, 1817 at the age of forty-one and is buried at Winchester Cathedral The inscription on her grave curiously makes no mention of her great literary talents, full of wit and satire, but only references “the sweetness of her temper, and the extraordinary endowments of her mind ”

Jane Austen House in Chawton, Hampshire.

Jane Austen Memorial Gravestone, Winchester Cathedral. Credit: Antony McCallum, WyrdLight.com.

It was common in the day for families like Jane’s to allow richer, more established, childless couples to adopt their sons as heirs to their

estates, as Jane’s brother Edward was adopted by the Knight family.

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INTERVIEW WITH PAUL GORDON

Paul Gordon answered some questions from ATC’s Literary Assistant, Katherine Monberg, about Jane Austen’s Emma and the path from classic novel to musical stage production

KATHERINE MONBERG: Welcome back to Arizona Theatre Company! Jane Austen’s Emma is no small text to tackle – what about Emma inspired you to begin the journey toward the musical stage?

PAUL GORDON: I’ve always been intrigued by the story and Emma’s personal journey of self-discovery She goes from “clueless” to being self aware in a way that only Jane Austen could have invented Since this is her only truly comic novel, it seemed the perfect Austen story to musicalize

KM: You have a brilliant history of translating classic literature into musical terms, as you did with Jane Eyre and Daddy Long Legs, both written with John Caird What are some of the challenges you encounter when expanding a well-known story into the medium of music?

PG: Well, novels can be quite an undertaking You have to decide what NOT to include when transferring a novel to the stage The biggest challenge is knowing how to keep the story

constantly moving forward and still managing to include those beautiful detailed nuances that one loves about these novels You have to be willing to cut things that worked wonderfully on the page but might not translate to the stage

KM: Tell us a little bit about the musical style of Emma. Are there certain thematic elements that we should listen for?

PG: The music of Emma is rather light hearted In the way Jane Eyre was somewhat serious and melancholy (in a good way!) Emma is more playful and irreverent My overall feeling regarding the music to any of the shows I write is that I want the music to lift the scene and inform us of who the characters are I’m not trying to write “memorable” songs In truth, you play a mediocre song enough times and believe me, it will be “memorable ” But what I think is important in the theater is that the songs have a truth to them – you believe the character would say/sing these things That’s what I’ve tried to do in Emma.

KM: Emma is set in a particular space and time in British literature and history Are there reflections of the music of Jane Austen’s day in the score?

PG: Not really I’m not the kind of composer that tries to capture “an era” with the music I write With that said, I wouldn’t add electric guitars to the score – but I’m certainly using a harmonic signature that would not necessarily be found in the music of the time

KM: For Jane Austen’s Emma, you wrote the book, the music, and the lyrics – that’s a lot of facets to cover! What is different about the writing of the book versus the lyrics and the music, and how do you decide which medium to apply to different parts of the story?

PG: It’s a pretty wonderful challenge I like doing all three because it allows me enormous freedom creatively I always know where I’m going, I don’t have to check with my collaborators (except for Ms Austen, who states her case pretty clearly) and I don’t have an ego about which aspect of the writing is telling the story It always seems pretty obvious to me when a character should be singing and when a character should be speaking When I have the opportunity to write it all myself, the process feels very organic and I truly enjoy all three jobs With that said, I love my collaborations as well, as they always push me further than sometimes I’d be willing to go on my own

KM: With a work as well-read and well-loved as Jane Austen’s Emma, how do you go about deciding which parts to keep and which not to include when reshaping the tale?

First edition title page of Emma, 1815.

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PG: It’s critical to know which parts of a novel one should and should not include in the stage version As an example, in Emma, I did not include the very long chapters regarding Emma’s sister and Knightley’s brother Lots of good stuff there, but not necessarily good for keeping our story moving forward on stage There’s another great example in the novel where Mr Elton sends riddles to Emma and Harriet – as Emma mistakenly thinks they are for Harriet (Should I have said “spoiler alert?”) It would have made for a wonderful comic song, but I was able to cover the same ground in a few lines of dialogue – and the decision was made to keep the story moving forward – instead of stopping the momentum of the show dead in its tracks – to do a clever song But these decisions are purely subjective, of course An audience will always be the one who tells you the truth as to whether you have made the right decision

KM: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process? What are the steps you go through from the first time you read through the novel to the finished product up on the stage?

PG: I try to stop myself from writing music as I read the novel for the first time It’s a great temptation because one gets inspired so quickly by the genius of authors like Austen, Bronte and Webster But I FORCE myself to read the entire novel first I take good notes, I highlight all of the passages I want to refer back to and then, once the novel is read, I go back to the beginning and start reading again – and I begin to write I start with “the book” (the script) and I just go from there I try and figure out where the first song goes – then I move over to the

piano and start composing the music I usually have no idea what I’m doing, I just wait and see where the music takes me Often I’m inspired musically from a line in the novel I allow the lyrics to take a back seat in this early process, as my goal is to make the music the most important component of the scene Once I’m satisfied that the music is solid, then I will get to work on perfecting the lyric My feeling has always been: why listen to a great lyric that’s built on an “ok” piece of music? So I really try and make sure my musical foundation is strong (All subjective, of course ) Once I’ve written the song and I’m happy with it, I’ll record it in my home studio and usually come up with a rough orchestration as well After that, I’m ready to move on to the next scene and the process starts all over again

KM: Jane Austen’s Emma has had several regional productions around the country, including productions at The Old Globe, The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and The Repertory Theatre of St Louis Can you share a little with us about what you’ve learned from those productions?

PG: Each production has been a dream We started at TheatreWorks under the direction of Artistic Director Robert Kelley, who greatly helped in shaping the musical When we went to Cincinnati and St Louis we were able to really build on what we had achieved at TheatreWorks (And what I’ve learned from the actors is too much to fit into this small space, but I find that the actors, midway through rehearsal, understand the characters far better than I do They teach me so much ) By the time we went to San Diego, we had a new director, Jeff Calhoun, who helped usher the show into its next incarnation where more changes and improvements were made Now I’m looking forward to working with my two Arizona directors, David Ira Goldstein and Stephen Wrentmore I can’t wait to see what they have to offer It’s a very exciting process

KM: If you had one piece of advice for aspiring composers, lyricists, and/or writers, what would it be?

PG: Don’t give up Pay attention to the music Always ask yourself, “is this the best I can do?” Listen to Stephen Sondheim A lot He will teach you more than any class you will ever go to See as many musicals as you can What do you think works? What doesn’t? Why doesn’t it work? Why are you writing this musical? What about making it a musical improves or enhances the source material? Oh, wait, that’s more than one piece of advice But it’s one paragraph, so maybe that’s okay Perseverance is everything

Highbury, the fictional town of Emma’s home, is located 16 miles from London and 7 miles from Box Hill, placing it at one of the intersections of the two circles superimposed on this map of Surrey .

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THE NOVEL IN THE MUSIC

Below is a comparison of some of Paul Gordon’s musical phrases, and a descriptive paragraph from the Austen novel that inspired each moment

Song: “Should We Ever Meet”

EMMA: The esteemed Frank Churchill! I have dreamed Frank Churchill And yes I have sworn against marriage but frankly, for him, I could alter my plan And though we’ve never met, my world is at his feet I’m likely to like him; he’s likely to like me; we’re likely to be happy should we ever meet

Now, it so happened that in spite of Emma’s resolution of never marrying, there was something in the name, in the idea of Mr. Frank Churchill, which always interested her. She had frequently thought – especially since his father’s marriage with Miss Taylor – that if she were to marry, he was the very person to suit her in age, character and condition. He seemed by this connexion between the families, quite to belong to her. She could not but suppose it to be a match that every body who knew them must think of. That Mr. and Mrs. Weston did think of it, she was very strongly persuaded; and though not meaning to be induced by him, or by any body else, to give up a situation which she believed more replete with good than any she could change it for, she had a great curiosity to see him, a decided intention of finding him pleasant, of being liked by him to a certain degree, and a sort of pleasure in the idea of their being coupled in their friends’ imaginations.

Song: “The Argument”

KNIGHTLEY: You are so naïve, impossibly misguided, and even worse – immune to common sense I know you, Emma And if you dare perceive [that Harriet will] marry Mr Elton, then you are more deranged than I believe He will not be in love with someone unendowed with relations, rank, or property, to say nothing of some sense

“Your views for Harriet are best known to yourself; but as you make no secret of your love of match-making, it is fair to suppose that views, and plans, and projects you have; – and as a friend I shall just hint to you that if Elton is the man, I think it will be all labour in vain.”

Emma laughed and disclaimed. He continued,

“Depend upon it, Elton will not do. Elton is a very good sort of man, and a very respectable vicar of Highbury, but not at all likely to make an imprudent match. He knows the value of a good income as well as any body. Elton may talk sentimentally, but he will act rationally. He is as well acquainted with his own claims, as you can be with Harriet’s. He knows that he is a very handsome young man, and a great favourite wherever he goes; and from his general way of talking in unreserved moments, when there are only men present, I am convinced that he does not mean to throw himself away.”

Illustration from the Richard Bentley edition of Pride and Prejudice, 1833.

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Song: “Not in a Thousand Years”

EMMA: It may be my fault but you’re to blame for the way you behaved Not in a thousand years would I ever do her harm Not in a million, not in a thousand years And yes I own my small part of the rue but I’m the injured party too, though it’s through her tears we see what’s true Mr Elton, it may be my fault but I blame you

“If I had not persuaded Harriet into liking the man, I could have borne any thing. He might have doubled his presumption to me – but poor Harriet!”

How she could have been so deceived! – He protested that he had never thought seriously of Harriet – never! She looked back as well as she could; but it was all confusion. She had taken up the idea, she supposed, and made every thing bend to it. His manners, however, must have been unmarked, wavering, dubious, or she could not have been so misled.

Song: “So This is How Love Feels”

EMMA: So this is how love feels: even-tempered quietude There is nothing unusual stirring in me I didn’t think it would feel like that

Emma continued to entertain no doubt of her being in love. Her ideas only varied as to how much. At first, she thought it was a good deal; and afterwards, but little. She had great pleasure in hearing Frank Churchill talked of;…she was very often thinking of him, and quite impatient for a letter, that she might know how he was, how were his spirits, how was his aunt, and what was the chance of his coming to Randalls again this spring.

Song: “The Conviction of My Indifference”

EMMA: I don’t feel any wonder at the news of his return He has barely crossed my mind or been of much concern His presence wasn’t missed, I’m more detached at every turn as I hold the conviction of my indifference

But, on the other hand, she could not admit herself to be unhappy, nor, after the first morning, to be less disposed for employment than usual; she was still busy and cheerful; and, pleasing as [Frank Churchill] was, she could yet imagine him to have faults; and farther, though thinking of him so much, and, as she sat drawing or working, forming a thousand amusing schemes for the progress and close of their attachment, fancying interesting dialogues, and inventing elegant letters; the conclusion of every imaginary declaration on his side was that she refused him…it struck her that she could not be very much in love; for in spite of her previous and fixed determination never to quit her father, never to marry, a strong attachment certainly must produce more of a struggle than she could foresee in her own feelings.

Song: “The Epiphany”

EMMA: Mr Knightley Impossible and strange, yet as obvious as daybreak: conclusive, indisputable, and clear My heart is now set free and he must not pursue [Harriet] when it’s plain that he should marry me!”

She touched – she admitted – she acknowledged the whole truth. Why was it so much worse that Harriet should be in love with Mr. Knightley, than with Frank Churchill? Why was the evil so dreadfully increased by Harriet’s having some hope of a return? It darted through her, with the speed of an arrow, that Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!

A photo of the scale model of the set for Jane Austen’s Emma, by Bill Forrester.

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Popular entertainments in the early 1800s greatly relied upon self-creation and the ability of people to entertain themselves at home One popular form of home entertainment for children during Jane Austen’s time was the toy theatre, a miniature elaborate stage upon which plays could be “acted” by the manipulation of characters on the tiny set

Popular throughout Europe, toy theatres consisted of intricate sets printed on paper, then glued to cardboard and mounted on wooden frames, modeled after some of the world’s grandest stages The repertoire usually came with scenery, cut-out characters with specific gestures and attitudes, and a script that contained dialogue and stage directions, providing all of the information for a complete production in miniature scale There were nearly 300 Juvenile Dramas printed in England between 1811 and 1860, which consisted of a variety of tales adapted from novels, pantomimes, melodramas, operas, and works from famous playwrights and musicians including Shakespeare, Beethoven, Cervantes, and Mozart

The ability to mass produce printed materials was integral to the popularity of the toy theatre Publishers were able to produce sheets of characters, backdrops, and set pieces that could be cut out and utilized on the miniature stage, offering a variety of staging opportunities to the toy theatre “director ” These pieces could even mimic actual stage productions – in 1811 William West produced a sheet of characters for Mother Goose that was based on the first London stage production The mid-1800s brought with it the innovation of color lithography, which provided a cost-effective method to mass produce intricate, detailed, colorful prints which enhanced the grandeur and beauty of the Toy Theatre production

The greatest surge in toy theatre popularity occurred mostly between 1815 and 1835, and interest in them began to wane as illustrated books came into being in the mid-1800s By the 1850s the English toy theatre market had been overtaken by the innovation of German toy theatre designers, whose products were sought as more ‘artistic’ examples of Juvenile Dramas However, in the 1880s, a British man by the name of Benjamin Pollock inherited his father-in-law’s Theatrical Print Warehouse, and abandoned his previous employment to undertake the continued creation of the toy theatre in Britain Known as “the last of the toy theatre makers,” Pollock continued to keep alive the history of the toy theatre, and today is noted as one of the greatest toy theatre designers for his painstakingly detailed and beautifully colored creations

In the 1880s Robert Louis Stevenson, a toy theatre artist in his youth, travelled to London to seek out additional materials He met and quarreled with a Mr Webb, a rival toy theatre maker, and later published an essay that encouraged “If you love art, folly, or the bright eyes of children, speed to Pollock’s!” By the 1920s Pollock’s Toy Theatre shop was a destination for many prominent actors of the London stage, and enthusiasm for the miniature theatres rebounded, encouraged by increasing academic and historical regard that lent legitimacy to the toy theatre as an art form

Benjamin Pollock continued to run his toy theatre business until his death in 1934 The business soon fell out of practical use with the onset of World War II, and its assets were purchased by ambitious and reckless entrepreneur Alan Keen, who drove the business into the ground The enterprise fell into disuse until 1954 when a woman by the name of Marguerite Fawdry went in search of Pollock’s to acquire some pieces for her son’s toy theatre Upon her inquiry, she was informed that while the items she was seeking undoubtedly still exist, there was no one to facilitate the business for her – unless she would care to buy the business herself That is precisely what she did, opening an attic shop in 1955 for the sale of Pollock’s Toy Theatres and creating a museum in which to display some of Pollock’s original wares Marguerite Fawdry continued the business until her death in 1995, but Pollock’s Toy Theatres Limited and Pollock’s Toy Museum live on into the present day, still carrying the legacy of Benjamin Pollock and the toy theatre into the future

POLLOCK’S TOY THEATRES

The imagery of Pollock’s Toy Theatres was integral to Bill Forrester’s set design for

ATC’s production of Jane Austen’s Emma, which incorporates the grandeur, beauty, and

intricacy of detail of the miniaturized inspirations.

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LITERARY CATEGORIZATION OF AUSTEN

The time frame in which Jane Austen lived and produced her enduring works was a time of massive change in Britain, the world, and the society in which Jane Austen lived It was an age of revolution – the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution among the most obvious examples Correlating to the change that was transform-ing British life and politics, literature of the era transformed as well to contain, reflect, or comment on the changing world The fluid and at times contradictory characteristics of writing of the time can make literary classification a difficult process, and Jane Austen’s works are no exception While chronologically speaking she falls into multiple categories of literary and textual criticism, no one term describes the entirety of her voice and her work The following are terms used to classify literature of the time, and all can be applied to Jane Austen’s works in some form or another:

GEORGIAN: A British political history term, “Georgian” technically refers to the period of time during which England was ruled by a monarch named George: there were four Georges, whose combined reign stretched from 1712-1830 However, the common usage of the term seems to refer to general 18th century trends in British culture, politics, and society

REGENCY: Officially, the term “Regency” refers to the period of time after King George III was deemed insane and unfit to rule England and his son George IV governed under the title of Prince Regent, beginning in 1811, although he did not become king until his father died in 1820 The term is often used, however, to describe an “Extended Regency” period that is less clear, generally accepted to mean the period from around 1788 when George IV first rose to governmental prominence and ending in 1830 when his reign as king ended with his death

VICTORIAN: The official Victorian Era as referred to by historians spans the years that Queen Victoria ruled as monarch of the United Kingdom, 1837-1901 In social and literary terms, “Victorian” is used to describe a style of writing and behavior that placed great importance on propriety and formality Politically, the Victorian Era is recognized as an age of British imperialism, and has specific trends in art, architecture, and fashion

18TH CENTURY: A broad term referring to the years 1700-1799, 18th century is used to encompass many of the other terms described here Three major literary movements meet in the 18th century, making the term particularly useful to describe works where the movements seem to blend – like those of Jane Austen The designation also implicitly includes the progressions of political and social change inherent to the era without specifying just one

NEOCLASSICAL: A literary movement that generally encompasses the years 1660-1785, neoclassical writing emphasizes the importance of order and reason, restraint, common sense, and conservative attitudes in politics and economics

ENLIGHTENMENT/AGE OF REASON: A literary and philosophical movement that generally encompasses the 18th century, Enlightenment literature promotes societal reform based on reason rather than traditional dependence on faith and religion, and was especially prominent in America from 1750-1800

ROMANTIC: The Romantic Period, 1785-1830, is a literary movement in reaction to the objective reasoning of the neoclassicist, emphasizing imagination, invention, and experimentation

First edition title page of Sense and Sensibility, 1815.

Queen Victoria in her coronation robes from 1837, though this painting wasn’t created by George Hayter until 1860.

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A TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT LITERARY EVENTS

1689 – John Locke publishes A Letter Concerning Toleration and Two Treatises of Government.

1750 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s essay Discourse on the Arts and Sciences is published

1755 – A Dictionary of the English Language is published by Samuel Johnson

1756 – William Burke’s A Vindication of Natural Society is published

1758 – Voltaire publishes Candide.

1761 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau publishes the novel Julie, or the new Heloise.

1766 – The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith is published

1771 – Publication of the first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica completed

1773 – She Stoops to Conquer by William Goldsmith is first performed

1777 – Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s play The School for Scandal is first performed

1782 – The novel Les Liasons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos is published

1784 – Immanuel Kant publishes Critique of Pure Reason.

1788 – First edition of The Times is published

1789 – Songs of Innocence by William Blake is published

– Former slave Olaudah Equiano publishes his autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.

1790 – Ann Radcliffe’s A Sicilian Romance is published

– The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake is published

1791 – Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Rights of Man is published

1792 – Mary Wollstonecraft publishes A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

1795 – Marquis de Sade publishes the erotic book Philosophy in the Bedroom.

1798 – Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge is published, including the poems “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “Tintern Abbey ”

1800 – Fanny Burney’s satiric play The Woman Hater is published

– Maria Edgeworth’s satiric novel about Anglo-Irish landlords, Castle Rackrent, is published anonymously It is regarded as the first novel to employ an unreliable, observing narrator

1807 – William Wordsworth’s Poems, in Two Volumes is published

1808 – Faust Part One by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is published

1810 – William Blake’s epic poem “Milton” is finished

1811 – Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility is published anonymously

1812 – Byron’s narrative poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” is published

1813 – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is published

1814 – The Wanderer: Or, Female Difficulties by Fanny Burney is published

– Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott is published

– Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park is published

John Locke

Front page of The Times from December 4, 1788.

Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797.

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1815 – Jane Austen’s Emma is published

1816 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khlan” is published

1817 – John Keats’s “Endymion: A Poetic Romance” is published

– Bryon’s epic poem “Manfred” is published

– Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott is published

1818 – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is published

– Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are published posthumously

– “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley is published

1819 – John Keats’s Odes is published

– John Polidori’s The Vampyre is published

1820 – Percey Shelley’s play Prometheus Unbound is published

– William Blake’s prophetic book Jerusalem is finished

1825 – William’s Hazlitt’s collection of retrospective essays on the Romantic period, The Spirit of the Age, is published

Frontispiece of 1831 edition of Frankenstein.

THE AUSTEN INDUSTRY

Scholars of literary criticism have argued about the “correct” classification of Jane Austen and her writings for the better part of two centuries – her novels seem Neoclassical in their structure, Romantic in their appreciation of simplicity and the natural, and Victorian in their propriety Chronologically, Jane Austen’s novels appear in a time of transition from the Neoclassical ideals to the Romantic: so where does her Victorian influence come from, when Jane Austen died before Queen Victoria was even born?

Was Jane Austen simply a writer and a social philosopher ahead of her time? Perhaps But one answer posited by scholars of literary criticism offers a surprisingly practical alternative Jane Austen’s works enjoyed little readership in her lifetime; it wasn’t until after her death that they began to garner the critical and literary attention that propelled her into the canon of British literature It was Jane Austen’s nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, who nudged her work to the literary forefront, and it is from his book entitled A Memoir of Jane Austen, published in 1869, that most of the biographical and personality information about Jane Austen came to be known It is through her nephew, writing in a Victorian age that valued propriety and proper behavior, that Jane Austen is thought to have acquired her Victorian image as

“dear Aunt Jane” – he may have colored his unconventional aunt with his own Victorian values, boosting her image for the audience to which he hoped to advertise her writings

It has been argued that the melding of movements and ideals that we are subsequently able to find in Jane Austen is part of the reason that her works have proved to be so adaptable Austen-Leigh’s book became the very first example of what we recognize today as the “Austen Industry” – the slew of adaptations, retellings, and “stuff” surrounding Jane Austen that exploded in the late 1800s and continues to add to her legacy in contemporary culture

Victorianized portrait of Jane Austen by James Andrews of Maidenhead, used to illustrate James Edward Austen-Leigh’s A Memoir of Jane Austen.

The Austen coat of arms: a shield with three lions’ paws beneath a sitting stag crest. Stags traditionally represent peace and harmony, while lions signify strength and courage.

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AUSTEN IN POPULAR CULTURE

The examples of Jane Austen’s direct influence on popular culture are many and varied Some, perhaps familiar, are listed below:

Emma and the Vampires by Jane Austen and Wayne Josephson – In this adaptation, Emma is a highly skilled vanquisher of vampires in addition to her usual matchmaking abilities There are competing camps of vampires: the good, aristocratic vampires (like Mr and Mrs Weston, Mr Knightley and the other original Austen characters) against the bad, troublesome, bloodthirsty version transplanted from the horror genre

Jane and the Damned by Janet Mullany – Jane Austen, the recently turned vampire, is sent to Bath by her father to seek a cure for her new taste for blood, just as the French begin invading England In the midst of all this, Jane falls in love with Luke, a vampire helping her with her transition from human to vampire

“The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” – A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, with the technological twist of a video blog format Lizzie Bennet, a graduate student, explains her life alongside sisters Jane, Lydia, and best friend Charlotte Lu

Clueless – A 1995 retelling of Emma, starring Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz (Emma Woodhouse) and Paul Rudd as Josh (George Knightley), Clueless swaps the Regency-era England backdrop for a sunnier Beverly Hills high school setting

Emma – The 1996 period film starring Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma Woodhouse, Ewan McGregor as Frank Churchill, Alan Cumming as Mr Elton, and Toni Collette as Harriet Smith

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters – Large, mythic creatures of the sea battle against mankind during the Regency Era The Dashwood sisters move to an archipelago with a high concentration of sea monsters, where they befriend half-squid half-man mutants and mermen, and are obliged to do battle with giant lobsters, sea serpents, narwhals, and a swarm of octopi

Bride and Prejudice – A 2004 romantic Bollywood musical film retells the famous Jane Austen story in a contemporary setting, complete with Bollywood-esque music and dance numbers

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith – The troublesome nuisance of zombies plague the English countryside and the home of the Bennet girls Mr Darcy, a fearsome monster-hunter, and Elizabeth Bennet battle zombies throughout their otherwise classic courtship

Sense and Sensibility – A 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel starring Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman, directed by Ang Lee with an Oscar-winning screenplay by Emma Thompson

Becoming Jane – A 2007 British film about Jane Austen’s supposed relationship with Thomas Lanfroy starring Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, and Maggie Smith

Pride and Prejudice – A 1995 six-episode BBC miniseries starring Colin Firth as Mr Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet

Pride and Prejudice – A 2005 adaptation directed by Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet

Emma and the Vampires

Jane and the Damned

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Miss Austen Regrets – A 2008 BBC drama about the last few years of Jane Austen’s life and her quest to find her niece, Fanny, a husband

Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding – The 1996 novel about Bridget Jones and her various adventures in her love life in London is loosely based on Pride and Prejudice. It was adapted into a film in 2001, starring Renee Zellwegger, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant

Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure – A 2007 novel that combines Jane Austen’s beloved characters and stories with the thrill and adventure of choosing your own plot, and subsequent consequences

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Serie James – The 2007 international best-selling novel that offers a fictional, though possible, scenario providing the inspiration for all of the great writer’s romantic plots, written in a style imitative of Jane Austen herself

Lost in Austen – A four-part BBC miniseries from 2008, written by Guy Andrews, that func-tions as a fantasy adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. A young modern girl finds herself transported across time and space to enter the world of Lizzie Bennet, with all of her contem-porary ideals still firmly in place

Lost in Austen: Choose Your Own Adventure

FEMINISM IN EMMA

At first glance the story of Emma Woodhouse appears to fit safely within the patriarchal hierarchy of Regency England: Emma primarily concerns herself with love, weddings, and the practical actions of running her father’s home, all stereotypical female roles of the era However, upon closer inspection, the words that Jane Austen chose can arguably represent some underlying feminist philosophies

AUTHORITY AND MARRIAGE

Emma as a female character explicitly wields influence over her social sphere, and thus possesses power In addition to the possession of it, Emma is fully conscious of her influence, and enjoys the intellectual dilemma of when and over whom to use it Her presence then as an authority figure, albeit it in typical “women’s roles” conveys a whiff of feminist reform However, even in the conventional realm of womanhood that is expressed in her ardent interest in marriage and weddings, Austen and Emma provide a new contextualization where marriage is not simply a romantic affair (as the Romantics of Austen’s day would likely have portrayed it) but also a tactical decision Emma consciously dissects the social and financial gains and losses that each party would experience in the result of a marriage, and she offers the radical idea of not marrying as a positive: “I am not only not going to be married, at present, but have very little intention of ever marrying at all ” She states that there would be little benefit for her in marriage – she is settled comfortably in terms of money, authority, and social status, and marriage for her would likely result in a loss of some of those privileges she already enjoys

MONEY

Emma is quite frank about her own consciousness of money Though Harriet Smith exclaims it is “odd to hear a woman talk so,” Emma’s discussion reveals her decision to forego marriage as a rational and logical decision, transferring the negativity associated with the “Old Maid” from the supposed absence of charm and romance to the concrete absence of money: “I shall not be a poor old maid; and it is poverty only which makes celibacy contemptible to a generous public!” She is then able to comment upon the social state of women as necessary dependents on their husbands – the historical “battle of the sexes” – without actually perpetuating it, offering a solution deviant from the patriarchal expectations of the day

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THE PASSIVE FEMALE

In a time when the virtue of a woman was largely determined by her passivity – for example, her acceptance of marriage rather than an offer, her focus on women’s work and ignorance of money, strategy, and practicality – both Emma and Knightley challenge that image of the “perfect woman ” The perfect woman, presented in the character of Jane Fairfax as accomplished, beautiful, reserved, and adored by all, is rejected by Emma and quite notably by Knightley, himself the image of the perfect man: “[Jane] is reserved…And I love an open temper ” By Knightley’s preference of Emma, Austen is able to offer a perspective that is not exactly radical (which might alienate her readership), but provides a rather cool and objective view about the limited options available to women and how those limitations may be surmountable

HEROINES

Jane Austen’s heroines, including Emma, are largely alone in their confidences – they do not confide in anyone in particular to help them make their decisions Thus by asserting themselves in their own decision-making, they take on a moral autonomy not common for the real women of their time This moral autonomy is particularly clear in Emma’s thought processes as we are able to witness her private inner thoughts and the mask of public decorum which they must be hidden behind

WRITING STYLE

Jane Austen’s voice itself can be seen as a manifestation of feminist ideology Though chronologically she fits into the Romantic Era, her novels are more moderate, reasoned, and coolly objective than her Romantic counterparts who wrote of freedom, passion, and intensity That emotional Romantic sphere was primarily populated by male writers, whose voices had already predetermined “proper” emotional expression In addition, the Romantics’ quest for adventure and exploration (often vaguely sexual) was not a world that a respectable woman could readily engage in without facing societal scorn So instead of engaging with the Romantic literature of the day, where there was no real freedom for the female writer or being but only the illusion of it, Jane Austen chose instead to objectively demonstrate an authentic female voice, complete with the ironies and reasoning that a woman of the day would bring to her own romantic dealings

INTELLECTUAL DEBATE

Emma, by all accounts a fiercely intelligent woman, is constantly caught by the flaws in her own intuition Thus it is the realm of womanhood – female intuition – that is proved false time and again, forcing Emma into the realm of intelligent reasoning – and thus the realm of the masculine – before she actually appears as the intelligent person she is described to be Additionally, it has been posited by feminist scholars that her own happy ending may have a shade of the ironic to it – what do you think?

James Gillray’s Playing in Parts, 1801. Gillray was a famous caricaturist of the time, and this image was used as part of the inspiration for the set of ATC’s Emma, designed by Bill Forrester.

Thomas Rowlandson’s Miseries Personal, another visual inspiration for Bill Forrester’s scenic design for ATC’s Emma.

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Jane Austen published all of her works anonymously, wishing to avoid the aura of scandal that a female novelist might incite, but her identity was known to a select circle of individuals While Jane Austen was writing Emma between January, 1814 and March, 1815, her brother fell ill and was treated by a Doctor Baillie, the same physician used by the Prince Regent Somehow among those connections Jane Austen’s identity was revealed to the Prince Regent, who was a fan of her writings, and she was “invited” to dedicate her next novel to him Her trepidation is clear in the wording of the dedication, but dedicate Emma she did, sending the Prince Regent an expensively bound pre-publication copy that is still located in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle

THE DEDICATIONTo His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, this work is, by his Royal Highness’s permission, most respectfully dedicated, by his Royal Highness’s dutiful and obedient humble servant.

– The Author

THE EMMA DEDICATION

Prince Regent George IV, 1816, by Sir Thomas Laurence.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The period in British history from which Jane Austen emerged as an author was one heavily influenced by the changing politics and altered social attitudes brought about by a nearly continuous state of war for Great Britain, and much of the rest of the world While her novels rarely comment explicitly on the political, the transitions of thought and philosophy that inform her writing have roots in the political, and the portraits of daily life painted by her words would certainly have been affected as well

WAR

The American Revolution began in 1775 and resulted in the Thirteen American colonies wresting their autonomy from the rule of King George III, forcing Britain to reassess its place in the world hierarchy Their absolute power as the largest military might in the world was brought into question, and the tenuous ability of King George III to lead Britain was thrust into the spotlight Having suffered from bouts of mental illness for most of his life, he was seen as an unstable leader and a potential threat to the stability of Britain as a European and world power

The French Revolution erupted in 1789 with the storming of the Bastille as a result of a long-simmering discontent among the general populace of France The absolute monarchy that relied on tradition and the authority of the aristocracy was overthrown for the principles of “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” introduced by Enlightenment thinking Upon the outbreak of the revolution, the general reaction of the people of Great Britain was one of support: support for the discomfort of a government with whom Britain had conflicted for centuries, most recently over the French aid to the colonies during the American Revolution However, the complete overthrow of the French system struck fear into the British monarchy and aristocracy, who saw their own model of government violently abolished in their French counterparts

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There followed the French Revolutionary Wars during which the new French Republic attempted, and largely succeeded, to further their dominion over Europe, and executed the former monarch, King Louis XVI The War of the First Coalition erupted in 1793 when an alliance of nations, including Great Britain, attempted and failed to overthrow the French Republic Meanwhile, within France, political battles waged between rival radical factions The Jacobins, lead by Maximilien Robespierre, rose to power, resulting in the Reign of Terror – a period from 1793-1794 in which “enemies of the revolution” were executed by guillotine in masses to control the threat of civil war from discontented, hungry, and war-wearied citizens Robespierre and his bloody, radical policies were overthrown in 1794 and power passed to the Directory, a body of five executive directors The War of the Second Coalition, once more including Great Britain, was waged against the French republic in 1798, and France suffered severe losses until Napoleon Bonaparte, hero of the War of the First Coalition, returned to France in 1799 Napoleon seized control of the French government, replacing the Directory with the Consulate, and defeating the Coalition in 1802

Somewhere during this period the French Revolutionary Wars blend into the Napoleonic Wars, during which Napoleon led France on a brutal and ambitious quest for world domination

Spurred by a French breach of a treaty with the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain and the Third Coalition declared war on France in 1803, first in an effort to restore the French monarchy and later in a more desperate struggle to halt the imperialistic advances of Napoleon Britain and France would remain in a state of war until 1815 when Napoleon was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo

The War of 1812 was a conflict fought for many reasons between the United States and Britain, including trade restrictions caused by the Britain-France conflict and the impressment of American merchant sailors into the British navy Not technically part of the Naploeonic Wars but a simultaneous conflict, when Napoleon was defeated in 1815, several of the main causes of the War of 1812 were eliminated and Britain and the U S made peace in the Treaty of Ghent

PROGRESS

Eighteenth century England is also known as the Age of Reason or the Enlightenment, and it is just as Britain is emerging from this philosophical era that Jane Austen was producing her works The Enlightenment was a period of cultural shift that attempted to reform society through reason rather than the traditional dependence on faith, religion, and revelation While the precise time span is debatable, enlightenment thinking first emerged between 1650 and 1700, and it is generally agreed to have ended around 1800, many scholars choosing either the French Revolution (1789) or the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1804) as a stopping point England’s John Locke was one of Britain’s most influential enlightenment thinkers, and reflections of his liberal political theory represented by the phrase “Life, Liberty, and Property” can be seen in the French and American politics of the time as well In terms of social and cultural politics, the Enlightenment emphasized the importance and presence of the public sphere and inclusivity, egalitarianism, and a focus on the “common concerns” among a populace

The Industrial Revolution took place roughly 1750-1850, and its emergence would also have played a role in the lives of Jane Austen and her fictional characters Beginning in Great Britain, there was a shift in the economy from dependence on manual labor and farming to dependence on machine-based manufacturing, namely in the textile industry, iron-making, and the use of refined coal The concepts of interchangeable parts and the steam engine as they moved into the 19th century along with the development of a stronger transport infrastructure allowed Britain to catapult into a period of advanced development and financial success

INDUSTRY, MONEY, AND SOCIAL CLASS

In addition to the massive social, philosophical, and political transitions brought about by numerous wars and nearly continuous fighting, the onset of the Industrial Revolution brought with it massive changes in the fabric of British existence

King George III, 1762. Portrait by Allan Ramsay.

Maximilien Robespierre, 1790. Artist unknown.

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The established class system of Great Britain relied upon the tradition and the authority of its nobility, followed by the landed gentry or aristocracy, then the majority of citizens as part of the working class which consisted mostly of farmers and laborers, followed by a severely impover-ished “under class ” Land ownership was a voting requirement, thus voice in government was a privilege of only the upper classes Additionally, in what had been a mostly agricultural society, the only real entities with excess money were those receiving interest (typically 5%) from their investments in land, further isolating the landowning upper class from the rest of the masses

The Industrial Revolution and the great demand for industry brought on by a lengthy wartime economy brought with it a significant shift in the class organization that Britain’s aristocracy depended upon for their power and authority For the first time, investors in industry could make enough money to enable them, at least financially, to enter into a higher class than the one they had been born into A middle class of merchants, tradesmen, and captains of industry began to emerge between the aristocracy and the laborers Power and financial security were available through means other than a long line of familial inheritance, and the traditions of the wealthy aristocratic families of England were threatened A new distinction became important: “new” vs “old” money, and the concept of social class as not necessarily synonymous with wealth

In Emma, there are numerous contemplations surrounding socially and financially based distinctions among people Characters that come from “good breeding” but lack financial backing, like Jane Fairfax, are respected and pitied while characters that have money but lack the generational authority of an aristocratic family, like Mrs Elton, are grudgingly admitted to society with a healthy dose of judgment Jane Fairfax is deemed to be Emma’s social equal, but unfortunately lacking in the funds that would allow her to act as such Mrs Elton, on the other hand, is designated as Emma’s social inferior but can pay her way through the actions of the aristocracy There then becomes a kind of class system within the upper class: those with money and breeding grace the very top while those lacking one or the other file in behind

MARRIAGE, INHERITANCE, AND THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN

During the time frame in which Emma is set and Jane Austen lived, the opportunities for women were limited, in terms of both personal and financial autonomy Upon a woman’s marriage, all

of her property (and money) became the property of her husband, and her legal identity became merged with his A woman from a wealthy family often came to her marriage with an “income” or a dowry that guaranteed her an annual sum from her father’s estate, to be distrib-uted to her through her father and then through her father’s heir – the eldest son or, if there were no sons, the closest male relation An income in this manner was almost the sole means through which a woman of a high social background could possess money, and even in this case her income was merged with her husband’s Emma is a particularly attractive prospect as a bride because in addition to her admirable social status she brings with her an income of £30,000 This means she is entitled to £30,000 of her father’s estate which functions mostly as land investments His tenants farm the land and return to him interest, approximately 5%, which is immediately available as ready money Therefore, Emma is annually provided for with 5% of £30,000 – a total of £1,500 to spend each year

For those with capital, namely the aristocracy, only the eldest son could inherit an estate, meaning the wealth, title, and land owned by a family He was then responsible to distribute annual allowances to cover living expenses to his siblings and any women remaining in the family who no longer had a provider For example, if an eldest son inherited and his mother was still living, he would be expected to provide for her living expenses, often based upon a legal agreement called a “settlement ” A settlement is a financial prenuptial agreement that specifies a sum of an estate to be set aside for a woman and/or her children who cannot inherit, guaranteeing them some sort of security, although they do not technically “own” any of the family’s wealth Because the financial status of the rest of a woman’s life depended solely on the income of her husband, an acceptance of a marriage proposal was a highly tactical, mathematical, and financial decision, (hopefully) in addition to the romantic ideals we attribute to it Emma frequently discusses both the social and

Napoleon Bonaparte, 1812. Portrait by Jacques-Louis David.

£1500 in 1814 had the purchasing power of £81,800 in 2010, which is equal to $131,955 USD.

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financial situations that would arise from her matchmaking, and explicitly discusses the gain or loss to each party For example, when Mr Elton proposes to her she is outraged: while they belong to a similar social set, her financial security makes her a great match for him, while his modest income as a vicar makes him a relatively insecure one for her

The privileges given to young men to help them survive in the world were considerably greater than those given to women Even younger sons who would not inherit had some options: they could go to university and become a professional, though the only truly respectable positions for a man of birth were the church, the law, or the army Women, whose sole decision in life revolved around who they would marry, were denied the education necessary to enter any of those fields, even if it had been socially acceptable Women’s education was undertaken at home, likely by a governess, and focused on the basic skills and accomplishments necessary to attract a husband: music, drawing, etiquette, and perhaps modern languages like French or Italian

Even more weight was added to the decision of whom to marry when one takes into account the extreme difficulty of divorce, and the inequality of the sexes involved in the process Divorce was an expensive process, and no matter the grounds of divorce, the husband was given complete authority over the children For a husband, adultery was an adequate reason to divorce his wife, but for a woman only extreme cruelty could be a consideration: adultery on the husband’s part was not enough In addition, if a petition for divorce due to a wife’s adultery was taken to court, the proceedings took place between her husband and her accused lover, leaving the wife a bystander in the entire affair

Replica of a guillotine, which came to be known as a symbol of the French Revolution.

Jane Austen as a literary figure also has some interesting implications for the financial status of women in the early 19th century.

While her novels did not gain much critical acclaim or readership during her lifetime, authorship was one of the very few ways

that a woman could actually earn money, although it wasn’t very much – she never earned enough from her writing to live on.

Mary Wollstonecrafts’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman emerged as an indictment of the unequal status of the female being in 1792, around the time that Emma was written. While the

radicalism of the essay was far from common, the ideals of feminist philosophy had now been officially broached in a social and literary forum. Little would change, however, until the

Married Women’s Property Act was passed in 1884.

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HISTORICAL TIMELINE: REVOLUTION AND REGENCY ENGLAND

Louis XVI, 1776.

1771 – Richard Arkwright opens the first cotton mill in Cromford, Derbyshire, England

1773 – The Boston Tea Party

1774 – Louis XVI is coronated King of France, at age 19

1775 – The Revolutionary War begins with the Battle of Lexington

1779 – First steam powered mills open; the weaving process becomes fully automated

1781 – Revolutionary War ends USA declared independent nation with Treaty of Paris in 1783

1785 – Edmund Cartwright invents the power loom, marking the start of the mechanized textile industry

1788 – George III has a fit of madness, bringing George IV to governmental prominence; beginning of unofficial Extended Regency Period

1789 – The French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille in Paris

1792 – French Revolutionaries arrest Louis XVI and his family; monarchy abolished and France declared a Republic

– William Murdoch invents gas light to replace oil-produced light

1793 – Eli Whitney develops the cotton gin

– Execution of Louis XVI

– Republic of France declares war on Britain (War of the First Coalition)

– The Reign of Terror begins as competing factions within the French Republic execute thousands of “enemies of the revolution” for 11 months

1796 – Edward Jenner invents the smallpox vaccination

1798 – War of the Second Coalition as European nations attack France

1799 – Income tax is introduced in Britain as a way to pay for the war against France

– Napoleon is established as emperor of France

1800 – Count Alessandro Volta invents an early electric battery; William Cruickshank modifies the design to make it easily mass produced

1801 – Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and Ireland joined to create the United Kingdom

1803 – The Napoleonic Wars begin, a series of wars against Napoleon’s French Empire by opposing coalitions

1807 – Robert Fulton’s Clermont is the first successful steamboat

– British slave trade abolished

Siege of the Bastille by Claude Cholat, 1789.

Map of Great Britain, formed in 1801.

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1811 – George III declared insane; George IV rules England as Prince Regent beginning the official Regency Period

1812 – The War of 1812 begins; America declares war on Britain largely due to complications in trade and travel imposed by the British-French conflict

1813 – Industrial employment overtakes agricultural employment in England for the first time

1815 – Napoleon defeated at Waterloo

1820 – George III dies and George IV becomes King of England, ending the official Regency Period

1821 – Michael Faraday demonstrates electro-magnetic rotation, the main principle of the electric motor and electricity as an energy source

1825 – The world’s first steam locomotive passenger service begins in Britain

1829 – W A Burt invents the typewriter

1830 – King George IV dies William IV becomes King of England, ending the unofficial “Extended Regency” period

1831 – Cyrus McCormick invents the first commercially successful reaper, reducing the amount of work needed to harvest crops

1837 – King William IV dies with no surviving legitimate children He is succeeded by his niece, Victoria

Queen Victoria, 1882, wearing her trademark small diamond crown, created specifically for her use after the death of her husband, Albert, to better accommodate her widow’s veil.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1 The novel Emma was written by Jane Austen nearly two hundred years ago, and has been recreated in popular culture many times over, in many different genres What is it about the story of Emma that captures the imagination? What about the novel makes it appealing for the genre of musical theatre? How did the style of music support the telling of this story?

2 Most of the characters in this play like and admire Emma for her charm, wit, and generous nature Do you think Emma is a likeable character? Why or why not? Does her likeability change over the course of the play? How so?

3 What are some of Emma’s positive characteristics? What are some of her negative characteristics? Is she aware of her negative traits?

4 Jane Austen often wrote about the different class divisions in British society What different social or economic classes are portrayed in this play? Which characters belong in which classes? How do those characters act toward one another?

5 Does this sort of class divide still exist today? If you were to retell Emma to fit modern day society, would the story still work? What would you change about the characters and setting?

6 Do you think the character of Emma was progressive for her time? Why or why not? Were there any other progressive characters in the play?

7 What was your favorite technical element of the show? (Set, lights, costumes, sound, props)

8 How did the designers portray multiple location settings on one stage? Was this effective?

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9 What types of movement and gestures did the actors use to portray characters from a different time period? How did their costumes contribute to the style of their movement?

10 At the beginning of Jane Austen’s career, she wasn’t encouraged to take credit for her work, and her first novel was originally published without her name – the author was simply listed as “A Lady” What do you think it would have been like to write under a pseudonym? Have you ever been in a situation where you did something you were proud of but weren’t given any recognition? Is there anything you’ve dreamed about doing in your life that you think society would frown on you doing because of your gender?

LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES

• Come up with a list of books you would like to see turned into a musical Pick your favorite(s) and create a list of song titles that could be in this musical Write out song lyrics for these songs or work together to write a song Choose a theme or music style that fits the book Put new lyrics to an already existing piece of music or create your own melody and lyrics from scratch

• Choose a character from the show and write a letter to another character from their point of view

• Imagine you lived in Emma’s time period Write a daily journal of your activities and thoughts as if you were living the life of someone in a Jane Austen novel

THEATRE ARTS ACTIVITIES

Activity: Social Hierarchy

Materials needed: standard deck of playing cards

Goal – This game is an effective way to demonstrate how social hierarchy worked in the world of Emma It allows students to explore how it feels to be a part of this hierarchy and how behavior changes depending on where in the hierarchy you are

Activity – Have the class sit in a circle Give them each a card placed face down in front of them They are not allowed to look at what card they have until the game is over. Explain that the value of the card represents a social standing in the world of Emma Kings and Queens are the top tier socialites, and aces and twos are the lowest servants Have them close their eyes and imagine they are in the world of Emma. Then have the students hold their cards, face out, to their foreheads without opening their eyes or looking at their own card Once the cards are on their foreheads, have them open their eyes and look at everyone else’s card and what social level they are Then have them stand up and interact as characters from the world of Emma at a social event (like a dance or party) While acting out their characters, have them treat others like the social level they see on their forehead As the party continues each student begins to adapt their character to what number they think they are based on the way they are being treated by others Once all the students are acting out exactly what level they think they have drawn from the deck, have them freeze Ask them who they are and what number they think they are When everyone has guessed have them look at their number (Another option is to have students place themselves in a line ranging from lowest status – aces and twos – up to highest status – Kings and Queens – without looking at their own cards; when the line is complete they look at their cards and see how well they interpreted everyone else’s behavior towards them and their social status ) Play multiple times allowing students to get different numbers and see how that changes how they interact

Discussion:

How did you feel when you were a lower class number? How did you feel when you were a higher class number? How did you treat people? How did people treat you? How would this have affected the way people were treated in the world of Emma? What would it have been like to not be able to change your social status? What would it have been like to marry for social reasons instead of love?

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THEATRE ARTS ACTIVITIES

Activity: Secret Matchmaker

Materials needed: A pre-made list of secret quirks or traits written out on slips of paper Each quirk must be written on two separate pieces of paper There need to be enough pairs for everyone in the game to get one of a pair Be as creative as you want with these quirks Examples: “has a wooden leg”, “is completely in love with the matchmaker but afraid to tell them,” “Thinks they actually have eyes in the back of their head,” “Is terrified of knees,” “Thinks they are a superhero,” “Thinks they are hosting a game show” etc

Goal – To explore subtext in performing and the role of a matchmaker in the world of Emma.

Activity – Choose one student to be the matchmaker If the remaining number of students playing is not even you can have multiple match makers Take an even number of students and hand out the pre-made secret quirks on small slips of paper No one can see what anyone else’s quirk is; they are kept secret until the game is finished The students then imagine they are attending a party in the world of Emma hosted by the Matchmaker(s) They can come into the party one at time or in groups, but cannot leave until they have been matched up by the Matchmaker It is the Matchmaker’s job then to figure out what all their guests’ quirks are and find the guest with the matching quirk Once two guests are matched up they can leave the party Once all the guests have been matched up the party ends and all the students reveal their matching quirks and see if they were matched up correctly

Additional versions: If the students become comfortable with matching quirks you can change them to specific characters instead of quirks so more layers need to be added For example, if you gave them the character Harry Potter you would have to match up the two students both playing their version of Harry Potter You can also make the game more difficult by creating different characters or quirks that go together but are not the same For example, you could give them two different Sesame Street characters (like Bert and Ernie) and you have to match the similar pairs

Discussion:

What techniques did the Matchmaker use to discover who should be paired up? What worked best? What didn’t work? How were these techniques similar to what Emma used to decide who should be matched with whom? Do you think she was effective in what she did?