The text of the Fourth Edition of the Norton Critical Edition of Emma is based on the 1816 edition published by John Murray. George Justice has lightly and judiciously emended the text for faithfulness and clarity. The novel is accompanied by detailed explanatory annotations as well as facsimiles of the 1816 title and dedication pages.

“Backgrounds” collects a wealth of source material, much of it new to the Fourth Edition. New material includes Austen’s correspondence with her publisher about the business of writing, revealing Austen’s view of her own writing and career. In addition, there are two sets of verses—“Kitty, A Fair But Frozen Maid” and “Robin Adair”—referenced in Emma as well as responses (1815–1950) to Austen and her writing from, among others, Charlotte Brontë, Juliet Pollock, Virginia Woolf, D. W. Harding, and Edmund Wilson.

“Reviews and Criticism” includes twelve major interpretations of the novel, nine of them new to the Fourth Edition. New contributors include Jan Fergus, Patricia Meyer Spacks, Tony Tanner, Maaja Stewart, D. A. Miller, Emily Auerbach, Gabrielle D. V. White, Richard Jenkyns, and David Monaghan.

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.