The novel Emma by Jane Austen is first published.

Emma is a novel written by English author Jane Austen. It is set in the fictional country village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey, and involves the relationships among people from a small number of families. The novel was first published in December 1815, although the title page is dated 1816. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England. Emma is a comedy of manners.

Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century.