Reception history of Jane Austen their class, instead of their moral failures being presented as a product of the social system. Writing about the work of Johnson, Irvine wrote that for her, Austen was a radical because it is women like Emma Woodhouse, Mrs. Elton and Mrs. Churchill who really run Highbury society, undercutting traditional gender roles, but Irvine questioned whether this really made Austen into radical, noting it was the wealth and status of the gentry women of Highbury that gave them their power. Irvine argued it was just as possible to see "Emma" as a conservative novel that upholds the superiority of the
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