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Emma Woodhouse - handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition - had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress her. Until the vampire attacks began.

Emma resided with her affectionate, indulgent father at their estate, Hartfield, in the village of Highbury. She had been the mistress of the house ever since her sister Isabella's marriage seven years past. Her mother had died too long ago for Emma to have had more than a vague remembrance of her caresses. In her mother's place, an excellent woman named Miss Taylor had served as governess.

Miss Taylor was less a governess than a friend - their relationship had more the intimacy of sisters. Miss Taylor imposed hardly any restraints on Emma, living together as mutual friends, and Emma doing just what she liked. The real evils, indeed, of Emma's situation were the power of getting too much her own way and a disposition to think a bit too well of herself.

These were disadvantages that would lead to dangers which were presently unperceived - everyone in Emma's village was pale, this being England, so the vampire gentlemen of Highbury blended in quite nicely. Emma was blithely unaware when she found herself in their presence. And especially when she found herself attracted to them.

A gentle sorrow came when Miss Taylor married. The wedding had every promise of happiness for Emma's former governess. Her new husband, Mr. Weston, was a vampire of exceptional character, easy fortune, appealing scent, and eternally suitable age. He had the pale blue-coloured eyes of a vegan who feasted only on animal blood. Emma thought it slightly odd that Mr. Weston requested the wedding be held at midnight. The guests struggled to stay awake, but since Mr. Weston never slept, he was quite alert throughout the ceremony.

How was Emma to bear the loss of Miss Taylor? With whom would she now share an intimate acquaintance? She dearly loved her father, but he was no companion for her. He could not equal her in conversation, and the disparity in their ages was much increased by his having been a hypochondriac all his life. And with the recent vampire attacks, he was quite fearful of leaving home.

Emma's sister Isabella, being settled in London sixteen miles off, was much too distant for daily contact. Many a long October and November evening must be endured at Hartfield before Christmas brought the next visit from Isabella, her husband, and their little children to fill the house and give her pleasant company again.

Highbury, the large and populous village in which Hartfield was located, afforded Emma no possibility of new friends. The Woodhouses were the grandest family in town. All looked up to them. She had many acquaintances, but not one among them who could be considered a replacement for Miss Taylor.

It was a melancholy change losing Miss Taylor, and Emma could only sigh over it. But she needed to act cheerful for her father. He was a nervous man, easily depressed, hating change of every kind. He was still not reconciled to his daughter Isabella's marrying, when he now had to part with Miss Taylor too.

"Poor Miss Taylor! I wish she were here again."

"But Papa, Mr. Weston is such a good-humoured, pleasant, and excellent man that he thoroughly deserves a good wife. We shall often visit with them. We must pay a dinner visit very soon."

"But - "

"What is it, Papa?"

"My dear, you know how I dread leaving the gates of Hartfield. I just heard of another young lady, a boarder at Mrs. Goddard's school, being murdered by a vampire as she walked home from the village, her blood sucked completely dry."

"Yes, Papa, that was tragic indeed. I hope in my heart she was not pretty - it would have been such a waste! That makes the third attack in just a few months. It seems no one is safe in Highbury any more. But we would take the carriage to visit the Westons. That would relieve your worry, would it not?"

"Yes, but - "

"What is it now, Papa?"

"It is just that Mr. Weston - he never eats. We shall arrive at dinner and there will be no food to sustain us."

Emma nodded at her father's wisdom. "Perhaps we ought to visit for tea."

Her father smiled, and Emma hoped that a game of backgammon might help him through the evening.

The backgammon table was set up, but before they could commence, Mr. George Knightley paid a call.

Mr. Knightley was a strikingly handsome vampire who claimed to be thirty-seven but was actually two hundred thirty-seven, with alabaster skin and thick brown hair combed back off his high aristocratic forehead. He had deep purple circles under his eyes from never sleeping.

A traditional vampire who favoured human blood, Mr. Knightley had not feasted for a great while and thus his eyes were black from need of sustenance. Being a gentleman, of course, he would never consider roaming about at night attacking young ladies to whom he had not been properly introduced.

Mr. Knightley was not only an intimate friend of the Woodhouse family but an in-law as well - his younger brother John Knightley was married to Emma's sister Isabella. He lived about a mile from Highbury at his estate, Donwell Abbey. Mr. Knightley was a frequent visitor and always welcome at Hartfield - tonight more welcome than usual, having come directly from John and Isabella's house in London to say that everyone was well there.

His visit this evening cheered Mr. Woodhouse for some time. Mr. Knightley had a reserved but pleasant manner which always did him good. And since his eyes never blinked, he flattered everyone with an uninterrupted gaze. Mr. Woodhouse gratefully observed, "It is very kind of you, Mr. Knightley, to come out at this late hour to call upon us. I am afraid you must have had a shocking walk, with so much danger lurking about."

"Not at all, sir. It is my favourite time of day - a beautiful moonlit night. I now find myself so warm that I must draw back from your great fire." Lest, he thought, I should spontaneously combust into flames.

"But you must have found your walk very damp. I wish you may not catch cold."

"Damp, sir!" exclaimed Mr. Knightley. "I thrive in the dampness and cold. The sun quite disagrees with me. And by the by, I have not wished you joy about the wedding. I trust it all went off well. How did you all behave? Who cried the most?"

"Ah! Poor Miss Taylor!" said Mr. Woodhouse.

"I should think she would indeed be crying on her nuptial night," said Mr. Knightley, "from the anticipation of the coldness of her new husband's - uh, skin. Well, at any rate, Miss Taylor has been accustomed to having two persons to please, sir - you and Emma. She will now have but one - her husband. It must be better to have only one to please than two."

"Especially when one of us is such a fanciful, troublesome creature!" said Emma playfully. "That is what you have in your head, I know. Mr. Knightley loves to find fault with me, Papa - it is all a joke. We always say what we like to one another."

Mr. Knightley was one of the few people who could see faults in Emma Woodhouse. In fact, he seemed to possess a strange ability to look into her mind and discern what she was thinking. He was the only one who ever told Emma of her faults. This was not agreeable to Emma - she wanted to be thought of as perfect by everybody.

"Emma knows I never flatter her," said Mr. Knightley. But she also knew how much he cared. On his advice, Emma now carried a wooden stake under her skirt, tied to her leg with a fashionable pink ribbon. Moreover, he instructed her in its proper use, all the while on tenterhooks that she should ever have occasion to employ the weapon against him. "I know that Emma will miss such a companion as Miss Taylor," continued Mr. Knightley, "but she knows how much joy the marriage brings to her former governess."

One of the new wave of horror-minded mashups of Austen’s works; this one (by Wayne Josephson) brings fresh meaning to the notion of undying love.

Emma and the Vampires is a great young-adult read for those rainy and stormy nights. The original Emma tale scribed by Jane Austen’s wit takes a creative turn with Wayne Josephson’s creative imagining of vampires in Emma Woodhouse’s Highbury.

The world of Austen’s Emma has been invaded by vampires-some good and some savage. Keeping true to the latest fashion, Emma has hidden underneath her skirts the very weapon that could be her salvation- a wooden stake with which Mr. Knightley has kindly advised her to have at all times. And which, at a moment’s notice- she is prepared to use.

True to any Austen tale, love ensues among the conflict. Humor is present as flirty heroine Emma prepares several matches but is unaware she of her own—and with the latest vampire attacks she had better pay careful attention to the high-class men of society she has in mind for friends.

This book is a great read for any Austen fan, as well as anyone looking for a humorous love story with a copius dose of vampire gore.



Her [Emma] delightful and witty personality was a perfect match for the vampire situation. Her easy dismissal of dire circumstances was quite amusing and I found myself laughing often at her random remarks on the situation. Overall it was an easy and comical read.

Just a few pages in, I was giggling like crazy. By the time I put the book down to go to bed, I had forgotten the stress of the day. I’m a fan of the recent trend of paranormal and classic mashups. And Emma transfers perfectly into this version.

Shhh. I have never read a true Jane Austen novel. I know what you are thinking. What rock have I been hiding under? Well, I never have picked one up, but after reading this book I think I might have to change that.

Emma and the Vampires was a fun read. Emma was so naive in this book that it was comical. She thinks she is a great matchmaker in the book, and at times her heart is bigger than her brain. The way this book was written, it just fits in the parody category of the genre’s. I don’t know much about Austen novels, so I can’t say if it reminds me of them, but I will say if they are as fun and exciting as this one I will have to give one a try. With everyone scrambling to read vampire novels and trying to figure out which ones are worth the money, I say pick up a copy of this one next!

If you are a fan of fun loving romance with a paranormal twist, sink your teeth in Emma’s funny, yet sometimes disastrous matchmaking skills! You won’t be disappointed!



This mash-up is written in the air and flair of Jane Austen, and follows the ever-charming Emma Woodhouse on her endless endeavors of matchmaking. She’s confident, witty, and just as bright as in Ms. Austen’s original telling of the tale. But here, the author adds the electric spice of vampire slayer to Emma’s personal bio. Her outer strength carries her through wild and vicious vampire attacks where she gracefully lifts her dress—not too high of course—tugs on the satin ribbon securing her wooden stack to her inner thigh, and kills the beasts. She’s also quite good with a sword. However, as in the original story, Emma is blinded by her desire to make things as she’d like them. She not only blithely misses Mr. Knightly’s love for her but also the fact that he’s a member of the undead.

For those who’ve never read Jane Austen’s EMMA, the original account lends to a smorgeboard of colorful characters. In this mash-up, the author keeps the persona of the characters relatively intact, with the exception of most of the males being vampires, of course.

The immortal zest of gentlemanly vampires and Emma’s obliviousness to their existence is quite funny and is another detail used to point out Emma’s internal struggles. Even funnier is when she incorporates the help of her poor friend, Harriet—the girl whose life Emma foolishly misdirects.


I would recommend giving this book to your teen as an introduction to Jane Austen. It has the paranormal flare of today’s literature, while keeping in tact the beauty and poise of yesterday’s storytelling.


I enjoyed this novel for what it was. This book certainly has a different take on vampires. If it is true that it is geared toward a younger audience, then it has found its niche. While it would not appeal to die-hard fans of True Blood and Ann Rice novels, it does have a charm of its own.

A lot has changed in the almost 200 years since Emma, by Jane Austen, was first published. I don’t imagine that she ever considered that vampires would invade her idyllic setting of Hartfield Estate, in Highbury, the home of Emma Woodhouse.

Author Wayne Josephson has transformed that peaceful village to one stalked by terror and blood lust. While staying faithful to the matchmaking efforts of Emma, he has introduced vampires at every level of society, from gentleman, to farmers, to vagrants. When out walking, Emma has taken to carrying weapons to protect herself from vampire attacks.

It’s been years since I first read Emma, though recollections of its events came flooding back as I read this ’mash up’. I remember loving the original and I equally loved this version. There were a number of times I roared with laughter at the turn of events. I can just picture this very proper and gentile English woman jamming a sharpened stake into the heart of a decapitated vampire, and then calming reclaiming the stake and tieing back upon her thigh under her voluminous petticoat while maintaining her strict modesty. I would have thought she might have been dismayed by the blood splatter on her gown, but no, she is so calm and cool and collected at all times. Mr. Josephson managed to keep Emma in perfect character no matter the gore and mutilation.

I absolutely loved this book. I can’t wait to read more of this genre.


The trend of taking classics and enlivening them with the (un)dead is strong in Emma and the Vampires. As can be guessed from the title, Wayne Josephson has taken Jane Austen’s classic Emma and added in vampires. Now, I have never read Emma, even though Clueless is one of my favorite movies, but Emma and the Vampires takes what seems to be a highly palpable classic and adds more humor than gore.

Emma Woodhouse is determined to set up all her single acquaintances with the eligible bachelors of Highbury. While Emma does know that vampires roam the countryside feasting on the blood of vulnerable young women, what she does not know is that almost all the men in Highbury are vampires. It seems there a few different types of vampires – those of the classic horror variety who want human blood; those more refined ones who will wait for the right woman to marry and then take her blood and turn her; and others referred to as vegan-vampires who do not take human blood but only those of small animals.

The refined gentlemen of Highbury fall into one of these later two categories, which is how they get past Emma undetected, although she often wonders why they never eat and have empty hearths in the cold winter. While Emma has the perfect man for everyone else, she cannot see who is perfect for her, leading to plenty of humor with or without vampires.

For the most part, Josephson’s inclusion of vampires into Emma fits well and adds quite a few chuckles. The thing that got me the most were the references to vegan-vampires. I think this was a misnomer as, if they were true vegans, they would not take the blood of anything, but rather drain vegetables of their essence, a la Bunnicula. But other than that, Emma and the Vampires is a highly enjoyable romp if you are looking for entertainment, not the depth of classic literature.

I was smitten with Emma and the Vampires. Mr. Knightley as a vampire is most swoon-worthy and the heart of the story remains intact. The writing is also quite good, and stays true to form of the work.

In the annual glut of summer beach reads, Jane Austen’s novels likely still hold a respectable place on many readers’ lists. Austen’s fictional recountings of the doings of her era’s English society and classes make for a pleasant option for whiling away a few hours. Emma and the Vampires weds Austen to the contemporary preoccupation with horror for a result that is no less entertaining.
The original Emma featured the eponymous heroine’s attempts at matchmaking, simultaneously winsome and comedic. Less than a busybody but something more than an observer, Emma wishes to bring romantic happiness to those around her who are still young enough to appreciate it. Her family’s wealth and status in the village of Highbury is well established, and Emma seems to think that this should give her carte blanche in affairs of the heart. Her lifelong friend and conversational foil Mr. George Knightley chides her for her interference in others’ lives, but Emma sees it as her duty to her friends to assist them in finding wedded bliss.
Then the vampires appear, courtesy of Wayne Josephson, and shenanigans ensue. Emma finds a new calling, and a different viewpoint on her own romantic future.
Austen’s works were among the popular books of her day, delivering common-sense commentary with the events described therein. Many readers undoubtedly compare Austen’s stories to their own lives, and perhaps learn useful things thereby. Josephson adds a soupçon of the paranormal to spice up Austen’s tale of romances gone awry, and achieves a work that is eminently readable and more than apt to produce laughter.
Josephson has had an interesting career trajectory, moving from Wall Street research analyst to screenwriter to novelist. “My retelling of Emma, aside from the vampire humor,” he writes in the acknowledgements, “is an attempt to make this delightful novel accessible to modern readers, especially young adults.” His method of upping the ante when rogue vampires attack Emma and her friends is both silly and satisfying: a little silliness is a good thing, after all.
A delightful romp that fits neatly into the recent craze of parodying the Austen canon via the supernatural world, Emma and the Vampires is light but engaging reading for anyone interested in Austen or her work seen from a slightly paranormal angle.


"Emma Woodhouse — handsome, clever, and rich with a comfortable home and happy disposition — had lived nearly 21 years in the world with very little to distress her. Until the vampire attacks began."

Wayne Josephson’s Emma is perfectly comfortable arranging tea with Highbury village society or whipping out a stake to dispatch rabid wild vampires. Her proclivity for fostering romance among her acquaintances is matched only by the depth of her failures, as couple after couple fails to fall in line with her plans. Josephson’s verbal sketches of the members of this suffocatingly close upper-class Regency-era village are written with tongue firmly in cheek. Their interactions on the public level contrast hilariously with the underlying subtleties of their true feelings toward one another.

The wit of Jane Austen is turned up several notches with this delightfully offbeat tale of matchmaking among the country set, the remarkable physical preservation of several eligible gentlemen who never seem to eat at dinner parties, and the rabid, feral menace who can’t wait to dine on the blue blood of the Ton.

EMMA AND THE VAMPIRES is Wayne Josephson’s first novel and an engaging froth of a read. It never takes itself too seriously and is entertaining in the same way as a good long gossip with a clever and cutting maiden aunt. It’s the perfect book to pair with hot tea and biscuits on a rainy afternoon. I hope there are plenty more of Josephson’s books to come!


Emma and the Vampires might be the perfect book to use to introduce your teenage daughters to Jane Austen. Your teens might already be somewhat aware of Emma because the movie Clueless was based on it. Most teenage girls are very into vampires whether because of Twilight or The Vampire Diaries, so they might be very open to trying this book, which has been made somewhat easier to read. However, fear not, the basic language, plot and settings of Emma have all been retained. Emma and the Vampires would be a great book for mothers and daughters to share and connect over.


Some people call this kind of book a "mash-up" (a very overused and lazy term, in my humble opinion), some call it the destruction of a classic. My friend Melissa calls this type of book "classic/paranormal combos" and I’m leaning toward "classic with a paranormal twist." Whatever floats your boat. In this case, Emma Woodhouse is surrounded by vampires. Many of the gentlemen, including Mr. Knightley, are vegan vampires. Wives meet an unfortunate fate - bitten and turned. There are also wild vampires who prey on the local populace. It’s a bit of a mess, that combination of wild and gentlemanly vampires, but I loved reading Emma and the Vampires because Mr. Josephson used the paranormal twist in a humorous way. A fun read and a great excuse to revisit Emma, my new favorite Austen character.



It had me laughing at a lot of sections where Emma says and does the oddest things. She has this unique ability to stay completely clueless yet manages to get things done.

Emma and the Vampires (5/5)

This book is probably the best written of all the classics combined with paranormal books I’ve read so far. This book took my favorite Jane Austen novel (Emma) and gave it a new twist with one of my favorite genres (paranormal), and did it in a great way. In this book, Mr. Knightly and Mr. Elton are good vampires, there are bad vampires, Emma slays the bad vampires and she still takes time to play matchmaker for her friend Harriet.This book stays true to Austen’s style while modernizing it with the current love of paranormal reads.

A great read and I loved the author’s note about how he wanted young adult readers to like this book—as a teacher, I think this is a great way to get students to read some of the classics that they otherwise might be hesitant to read. I enjoyed this book greatly.



Jane Austen’s Emma remains the same in Emma and the Vampires aside from the vampires and the vampire slaying, of course. Emma Woodhouse is still our matchmaking heroine but she wears a stake under her skirts and is ready to slay a rogue vampire at a moments notice. Mr. Knightley is the same scolding hero but he is allergic to sunlight and has a very special diet. Nothing much has changed but yet everything kinda has and it is mindbogglingly awesome.


I was amazed by how much I liked this book. I avoid these paranormal adaptations of Jane Austen and other classics more stubbornly than I have ever avoided anything in my life.I have even had a couple in my hand to buy at the bookstore but turned around and changed my mind. In my mind, they could never make any sense because “Jane would never do that” and “it would never work.” This is from the person who reads Austen adaptations compulsively. It makes no sense but these books seemed to be where I drew the line. I am beginning to think that I may have been completely wrong. Emma and the Vampires was preposterous and ridiculous but it was fun and it did give me a good hour or two of good old reading fun as well as immense amounts of laughter and snickering.

The one thing that kept going through my mind while I was reading was “Is everyone in this book a moron?” They were all so oblivious. How did Emma not realize that Mr. Elton was a vampire? I’m not even sure that she realized that any of the men in her circle were vampires. Really…I mean it…I’m not sure. I mean she obviously knew what vampires were and how they acted but it seemed to escape her comprehension that people in her circle could be vampires too. I think it illustrated very well the point that Emma is very unable to see beyond her own perceptions. Emma herself is where most of the funny comes from. Emma was such a blockhead most of the time (in both this book and in the novel) that it is hard not to laugh at her.

Overall, this book surprised me on a level that I was not expecting. I was giggling throughout and found myself really engrossed. It might be enough to make me go out and buy other adaptations like it (except for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters…that’s beyond me).


Nice :) Mr Josephson has done a totally rocking job with this story. Definitely not your everyday vampire read and I have to say that I was happy that I am the one who got to read it :)

I was pleasantly surprised with this retelling, as so many before have just left me wanting. Mr Josephson put a definite spin and freshness to an old story and made it really pop for me. Wonderful job sir, my hats off to you :)