As I have also said about Captain Wentworth’s Diary, I believe that Mr Knightley’s Diary is Emma the way that Emma should have been told in the first place.
My main problem with Emma was the huge amounts of doing absolutely nothing, the irritating heroine (who did grow on me, eventually, a bit), and the fact that after a lot of pages all the characters ended up pretty much where they began – for example, Harriet and Robert Martin.
Mr Knightley’s Diary fixes all of these problems. To be honest, Mr Knightley is a character far more enjoyable to read about than the stuck up and interfering Emma. Knightley is kind and proud, and if he interferes it is only for the good of others, not for his own entertainment or gratification. The Diary was also shorter, cut out some of the unnecessary details, and we got to see a lot more of Mr Knightley’s inner self. Therefore we were able to see a progression throughout the story, which was the progression of his feelings towards Emma, and other women around him.
The amusing tendency that Amanda Grange’s heroes have to never realize that they are in love is even more amusingly prominent in this story than in Grange’s others. I mean, really. Knightley is trying to find a wife to settle down with, but every woman he meets lacks some quality the dear Emma has. Put the pieces together, man! It can’t be that hard!
Knightley isn’t a saint, of course he isn’t; he has his moments. He is exceedingly angry at Frank Churchill throughout most of the book, and though his anger is partly justified, mostly it is only because he sees how much Emma is excited by the idea of him, and then by the reality. It irritates him exceedingly, which again is amusing to watch. And we get to see his inner thoughts towards both Harriet Smith and Jane Fairfax, which was also very interesting. But one of the most touching moments in the Diary is, like in Emma, the moment where Knightley valiantly, kindly and indignantly rescues Harriet from the shame of being passed over and left without a partner, as well as the sorrow of being spurned. But while that was my favorite moment in Emma, it was only part of a collection of favorite moments in the Diary – which is why I like the Diary so much. But it is sweet how Knightley is constantly looking out for others, and kindly repairing any damage that Emma has done to the feelings of others, whether it be Jane Fairfax, Ms Bates ("It was badly done Emma! Badly done indeed!), or Harriet Smith.
The end of Mr Knightley's Diary is as satisfying as that of any well-ending Austen romance, and will please everyone. Though at that point, for me Mr Woodhouse became rather irritating, rather than cute – which is what I thought of him as through some of the Diary and most of Emma. Anyway, back to the point, the Diary well measures up to the other books in the series, the description as always beautiful, and the writing style easy yet still capturing the essence of the original essence.
As with all the other Diaries, Mr Knightley’s Diary is very much recommended to any who admire Jane Austen’s work. A beautiful story.