Emma Woodhouse had, for seventeen years and ten months, had pretty much everything in life her own way (if you overlook the death of her mother before she was out of nappies, and an unfortunate zit on her right cheek on the night of the South Downs Ball), and saw no reason at all why the situation should ever change.

She was of the opinion that if you wanted something enough, you simply applied all your energies to getting it.

She had no time for wimps, but she was also a caring and considerate sort of girl, well aware of her own good fortune and of her talent for getting the best out of other people.

Which was why, when she met someone with untapped potential, she put all her own interests to one side and set out to change their lives for them.

Whether they liked it or not.