Reception history of Jane Austen a responsible land-owner taking care of his family's ancient estate and Emma Woodhouse symbolising wealth cut off from any sort of social role. David Kaufmann in his 1992 essay "Propriety and the Law" argued that Austen was a classical liberal in the mold of Adam Smith, who felt that virtue was best exercised in the private sphere of the family life rather than in the public sphere of politics. Kaufmann rejected the claim that Austen was influenced by Edmund Burke, arguing that for Austen, virtue was not something passed down from time immemorial from a landed elite as Burke would
Emma (1996 TV film) the servants. "Emma" was broadcast on 24 November 1996 on ITV, garnering an estimated 12 million viewers. "Emma" was also broadcast on the American channel A&E on 16 February 1997. It was released on DVD in 1999. The adaptation re-aired in 2007, as part of ITV's "Jane Austen Season", and as part of PBS "Masterpiece's" Jane Austen marathon on 23 March 2008. It was also aired on 27 December 2008, as a series of Christmas "specials" on BBC One. Many reviewers positively compared the TV drama to the 1996 feature film starring Paltrow. "People"s Tom Gliatto found it to be