Emma

"'Better be without sense than misapply it as you do.'"

Emma Woodhouse— "rich, handsome and clever"— is every bit that rich and that handsome, but perhaps not as clever as she believes. Residing in the quietness of rural England at the turn of the 19th century, the young heiress has as yet no intention of marrying, but enjoys playing the matchmaker among her acquaintances. Supposing she arranged her governess's marriage, she then takes for a protégé Harriet, a simple-minded girl of humble and mysterious parentage, and proceeds to closely direct all her affairs so as to see her married well. Meanwhile, the honorable Mr. Knightley, a perceptive and steadfast friend, looks on with disapproval— but it would seem that for some youth, wisdom only comes through mistakes. 

From an authoress who has been held in high esteem by many of the great writers and intellectuals of the past two centuries, Jane Austen's Emma is a must-read for those who would immerse themselves in classic literature.