Mansfield Park

Written by Jane Austen

Narrated by Geoffrey Giuliano and The Ark

Taken from the poverty of her parent's home in Portsmouth, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with her cousin Edmund as her sole ally. During her uncle's absence in Antigua, the Crawfords arrive in the neighborhood bringing with them the glamour of London life and a reckless taste for flirtation. Mansfield Park is considered Jane Austen's first mature work, with its quiet subtle examination of social position and moral integrity.

Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpreted, critiqued, and commented upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Icon Audio Arts
• Release date: Oct 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887675046

Jane Austen

Jane Austen nació en 1775 en Steventon (Hampshire), séptima de los ocho hijos del rector de la parroquia. Educada principalmente por su padre, empezó a escribir de muy joven, para recreo de la familia, y a los veintitrés años envió a los editores el manuscrito de La abadía de Northanger, que fue rechazado. Trece años después, en 1811, conseguiría publicar Juicio y sentimiento, a la que pronto seguirían Orgullo y prejuicio (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) y Emma (1816), que obtuvieron un gran éxito. Después de su muerte, acaecida prematuramente en 1817, y que le impidió concluir su novela SanditonLa abadía de Northanger, Persuasión (1818). Satírica, antirromántica, profunda y tan primorosa como mordaz, la obra de Jane Austen nace toda ella de una inquieta observación de la vida doméstica y de una estética necesidad de orden moral. «La Sabidu-ría –escribió una vez- es mejor que el Ingenio, y a la larga tendrá sin duda la risa de su parte.»

Reviews for Mansfield Park

[mariesreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this story. If I had more leisure time to read, it would have been more enjoyable. It, or the language I should say, is quite florid. It was pretty language but a bit much at times. I'm no writer but I believe I oculd have said in 2 or 3 pages what Jane Austen said in 6...though not as beautifully of course.I'm glad I read it though. Fanny Price and Edmond Bertram are great examples of what a human being should be. Everybody else just needs a good spanking!...okay except of course for William and Susan.

[ridgewaygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mansfield Park tells the story of Fanny Price, a poor relation of the Bertram family, who was brought to live with them when she was ten as an act of charity. Fanny is an odd heroine for a novel by Jane Austen. She lacks spark. Which is no wonder given that she was removed from her home while young, dumped into a strange environment and largely ignored. Her Aunt Norris is one of the worst characters ever put down on paper; all of the evil stepmothers of fairy tale fame would do well to take lessons from her. She makes certain that shy, insecure Fanny will only become more withdrawn and hesitant as she grows up and that the Bertram family will not forget to treat her as an unwelcome charity case. And that is the strength of this novel. Along with the amazing aunt Norris, Austen has created a whole host of wonderful characters and breathed life into them. From the dull idiot Mr. Rushworth, who is so taken by being given a role in the play the young people decide to put on that involves him learning forty-two speeches (which he is then unable to learn), to Lady Bertram, who approaches a sedentary lifestyle with the dedication of an Olympic hopeful; each character is so interesting in their own right that I wanted several times in this book for Austen to have written other novels following each of them. Fanny is such an interesting character. She's been systematically berated and ignored until by the age of eighteen she is anxious in any situation where attention might be paid to her, but also resentful when it isn't. She's been ordered to be grateful for substandard treatment so often that she rarely speaks and when she does it's often in an Eeyore-ish passive aggressive way, not that it does her any good. Unless her cousin Edmund happens to be listening, her wishes are entirely disregarded. And so she sits, largely silent, with years of pent-up judgements and opinions inside of her. She's not an easy character to like, although Austen makes clear that while she is silently thinking the worst of the people around her, the face she shows is so quiet and unassuming, that people attribute great kindness to her. It helps that being so shy makes her a very good listener to all the narcissists that surround her, and that she is very pretty. Her improved looks are noticed first by her uncle who, after having spent some months away in Antigua, at the sugar plantation that provides the Bertram family their wealth, begins to talk about her and to her quite a bit, she now being worthy of his notice. It's all a little skeevy, and Fanny, quite rightly, remains terrified of him.This being Austen, there is a question of the central characters, here Fanny Price and her cousin Edmund, finding spouses. Edmund, a solemn man, plans to enter the clergy and live a rural life, is simultaneously entranced and repulsed by Mary Crawford, who is light, quick-witted and bubbly. She tends to say any witty thing that pops into her head and she often shocks and insults Edmund inadvertently. Of course they can't leave each other alone, and they are each constantly reassessing whether they could be happy together. Then there's her brother Henry, who begins the novel as a flirt who is always looking for new ways to entertain himself and others. He determines to pay court to Fanny as a way of passing the time after all the other eligible young ladies have left the neighborhood, making a contest to himself of winning her affection. Instead, he falls in love while Fanny remains hostile to his advances. His admiration for her causes him to renounce his rakehell ways. Unfortunately, Fanny bore witness to his worst behavior and is disinclined to give his reformation any credit. She attempts to get rid of him several times, but between her inability to speak clearly enough for him to understand and his own determination to win her no matter how long it takes, they are often in each other's company. We all know how things should turn out -- with a double wedding at the local chapel in the best Austen style, but she throws a curve ball in Mansfield Park, refusing, in the end, to satisfy the reader. And this is where I ran into a problem with this book; I wanted a different ending. I knew what would happen. I'd read the book before. But until the final chapters, I was hoping for it.

[arleblanc6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The only problem is that i thought the ending was rushed, but other then that this book was very good. Ms. Austen has a way with words.

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Another Austen romance.Fanny Price, about age 9, is "invited" to live with her Bertram cousins--her parents have too many kids in too small a space in the city of Portsmouth. Her mother married down. Her oldest sister married up, to a Bertram, and lives at Mansfield Park. Her other sister, Mrs Norris, now widowed, married laterally to a minister, and now lives within walking distance of the Bertrams. It is Mrs Norris' idea that the Bertram's should offer to house one of the sister's daughters.Mrs Norris makes sure Fanny knows her place. She is expected to stay home and help Aunt Bertram, who is the most mild and boring woman ever. Mrs Norris is the cruel aunt, and constantly reminds Fanny of her position. She is more helper than cousin.And this goes on for years. As they age, their relationships shift, though Mrs Norris always blames Fanny and thinks she doesn't deserve anything. The Bertram family has a bit of an implosion, with illness, elopement, running off, and unrequited love. Because of course, this is a romance.And in the end, exactly what I expected to happen happened. Because it's a romance!

[zeborah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was inspired to reread this by watching the movie and wondering just how much of its slavery subplot was text in the original and how much subtext. The answer is: absolutely none: it's neither text nor subtext because Mansfield Park is an inherently extremely personal novel; the movie's made it all up out of whole cloth. Which is fine of course, and possibly even necessary since the book takes place so much inside Fanny's head it's pretty impossible to replicate the experience on screen. Fanny doesn't do much, and chooses less; she never gets off any devastating ripostes to Mrs Norris; it's a far subtler story about her surviving with her soul intact despite a host of people determined to use her and grind her down; about her growing the strength to do so, and I think learning to trust her own judgement as Edmund eventually realises he should have after she's been amply vindicated.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen was originally published in 1814 and tells the story of Fanny Price who is sent by her struggling family to reside with their rich relatives at Mansfield Park when she is ten years old. Fanny is the absolute picture of the poor relative, she is meek and mild and at first I found she lacked the spark of other Jane Austen heroines that I have come to love. However, over the course of the book, Fanny proved to be kind, patient and thoughtful. She had a strong sense of justice and morality and this, along with her backbone of steel eventually endeared her to me. I admit that I struggled with the first third of the book as it seemed to be moving very slowly. I disliked the romantic lead of Edmund, finding him both stiff and priggish. I spent some time rooting for Fanny’s love to be bestowed on Charles, but he eventually showed his true colors and I was glad that Fanny had resisted him. As the story intensified, Mansfield Park grew on me and by the end of the book, I was sorry to have to leave these characters behind. As in most of Jane Austen’s books, this is an excellent social commentary as she examines, in particular, the social influences and the traditions and rules of courting and marriage.While Fanny grew in her ambiguous role of lowly member of the household to become the most esteemed member of the family, so too did Mansfield Park grow in my opinion. Although the romance of these two cousins is difficult to accept in today’s world, there is still much to admire with the author’s exquisite prose and close observations of upper English society in the 1800’s.

[senbei_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Easily my favorite prose work from the 19th Century (written in English that is). I should have read this in high school but the canon for advanced readers has shifted over the years so I've just finished it for the first time.

[antao-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"Here's harmony!" said she; "here's repose! Here's what may leave all painting and all music behind, and what poetry only can attempt to describe! Here's what may tranquilize every care, and lift the heart to rapture! When I look out on such a night as this, I feel as if there could be neither wickedness nor sorrow in the world; and there certainly would be less of both if the sublimity of Nature were more attended to, and people were carried more out of themselves by contemplating such a scene."In “Mansfield Park” by Jane AustenMany eons ago I was reading Austen's "Mansfield Park" in high school when the leader of a group of teenagers commented on the "puff with the specs reading girlie books." I paid him no mind at that particular moment. I waited till I could catch him alone in the playground without his bunch of cronies around him. I asked him then if he'd care to repeat what he'd said before. He said he didn't. The old adage you can't judge a book by its cover surely applies to the title as well. What's next? Nick Hornby's "About a Boy" should only appeal to paedophiles? "Animal Farm" to sheep-shaggers (or more accurately pig-shaggers). Such immature, hating comments belong in the 1970s.My favourite books? "Jane Eyre", "Madame Bovary" and "Sister Wendy's Book of Saints" are in my top 100. And, yes, I am male. And yes, I would happily walk into a crowded bookshop and order the aforementioned books without feeling emasculated. Personally I am not sure the supposed "girly" title of a book has ever made me sneak up to the counter ashamedly to buy the book, nor has an overtly "mannish" title made be puff out my chest and slam in down on the counter. It seems a long time ago now since such base gender divisions have mattered. With the rise of the metro-sexual, moisturising cream and Russell Brand dictating what half of London wears, I just can't think that a lot of modern men would be concerned by a title such as "Persuasion", or "Emma". Not enough to not consider reading past the title and at least having a glance at the back cover anyhow. If I think back, I was never embarrassed to read a "girly" title on the tube and they were the formative years of my teens. However, at the time, I also had long hair, Doc Martens and listened to Queensrÿche. I am man. I eat meat, sleep and breed. I don't like pink and I don't like art galleries. I like football. - We don't all think like this, just a few men but don't worry these men don't read books, they read glossy magazines at the dentist. So next time someone grunts when you offer him two titles, don't entertain his masculinity - he'll only like that. Instead point him to the magazine rack. There'll he can read Zoo to his hearts content.To see Jane Austen's novel as romantic rubbish is pretty short-sighted. On the surface some readers may be right but what she really was writing about was the society she lived in and how it worked. It's a depiction of her reality and in many instances, and it's also critique of that world. Not in your face but most her novels have a strong ironic tone. She wrote novels of behaviour and about society in the early 1800s. People misunderstand her books because she paints on such a small canvas. It's like comparing a jewelled miniature by Nicholas Hilliard to a huge Titian canvas, full of life and swagger. The small scale makes it easy to overlook things or to misunderstand them, but in fact there's an awful lot more going on in an Austen book than meets the casual eye. I like Fanny Price, although she's not a character I'd like to have a cuppa with but a great one to read about. I always admired her for refusing Henry Crawford without spilling the beans. Fanny Price is not "prim". Repressed and dutiful certainly. There is a different word beginning with "p" that describes her to a tee: petrified. She knows she isn't a full member of the family, hence her repression and dutifulness, and at all times feels and is made to feel that she could be dismissed back to her parents' over full house at a moments notice. That is why I believe she opposes and is expected to oppose the staging of the play while her uncle is away. In a sense she has been trained to be the guardian, governess and companion but never the full complete member of the household. Emma, though is a prize cow, a big fish in a little pond and I always skip her in my annual Jane Austen re-read.NB: I like football. But I'm a rugger at heart.

[kpolhuis_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fanny Price breaks my heart. Such a wonderful, intelligent girl with such strong morals and opinions. I respect this about her. I am so sorry that she ever suffered to be exposed to such a hypocritical and avaricious family. What a miserable life it must have been, watching these idiots exist day to day. That she took Edward at the end, now that was stupid. He constantly exhibited a weak personality, why marry that?

[marcyjill · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't sure I was going to like Mansfield Park again at first. I read it some years ago and I remember liking it, but that was about all I remembered besides the name Fanny Price. Now that I've completed it I have to say I did enjoy it in the overall. I think it has most to do with Jane Austen's writing than anything, but after the first section, the story was quite absorbing.

[ktleyed · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I can't say I was really crazy about this book, as it turns out, I can't say I liked one single character in the entire story! But, I persevered and slogged through the whole thing!Fanny: She was such a ninny, and only showed she had a spine by refusing to marry Henry Crawford. I only give her credit for seeing through the Crawfords, but what a wimp! She couldn't say anything about them. I did feel sorry for her though, when Sir Thomas was at first so upset with her and called her ungrateful after refusing Henry Crawford. She couldn't tell him why because it would expose his daughter, Maria, for what she really was.Edmund Bertram: He is not even worthy of Fanny. Another spineless soul who couldn't see through Mary Crawford or her brother, or sisters until it was all too obviously put in front of him. And he didn't realize Fanny was the one for him until Mary was out of the picture.Sir Thomas: Again, he wasn't too bad, but just had no street sense! He couldn't see how good Fanny was, or how awful Mrs. Norris was, or how spoiled his daughters were until it was all too late!Henry Crawford: Well, we're not supposed to really like him, but he was vain and uncaring, and not even really good looking (unlike in the movie.)Mary Crawford: Again we're not supposed to like her, and I hated her for taking Fanny's horse in the beginning and leading Edmund on, and just saying all sorts of mean things about the clergy. Not to mention how disappointing she was at the end and the way she treated Edmund after the Henry/Maria scandal. But, since Edmund was such a wimp, he deserved what he got from her.As for the other other minor characters, like Mrs. Norris, Lady Bertram, Mrs. Price, Mr. Price - uggh to all of them. I think the only person I actually liked and could find no fault with was her brother, William.

[twolightsabovethesea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While Mansfield Park is certainly not on par with some of Jane Austen's other novels, it is is still a pleasant read and is not without the little gems of wit and skillfully constructed sentences that make Austen's writing so wonderful.

[purpledog-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is my least favorite of Austen's novels. I liked the first part a lot, then somewhere around the middle it started to fall flat for me. I felt sorry for Fanny in the beginning. Later in the story I just found her annoying. The lack of connection I had with the characters is the reason I found this book to be just so-so. This is a reread for a book club. It has been 40+ years since I had read it and had forgotten lots of the stuff that went on. I had even forgotten about the kerfuffle over the play! Don't know how I managed to forget. In my defense, it has been a long time since I first read this book. A lot of people loved this one. However, I can honestly say this is just not my cup of tea.

[elbakerone · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mansfield Park is by no means the best Jane Austen work I've encountered, but I still view it as a valuable piece of literature. Austen once again excels at the task of conveying her message through her characters. In this work, the reader is introduced to Fanny Price - a young woman of high character and low finances - who is raised in the household of her cousins, the Bertrams - who are wealthy but lack Fanny's high morals. The contrast of Fanny and her female cousins paints Austen's oft used theme of character versus class and sensibility versus stature. Meanwhile Fanny's cousin Edmund (the object of her affections) teaches the lesson of the blindness of "love" as he relentlessly pursues a woman who is, in Fanny's eyes at least, entirely wrong for him. I found Mansfield Park to be a good story but a bit difficult to read in terms of the pacing of the book. Many chapters went by with little story development only to have the denouement contain many rushed plot points that I craved further details about. Nevertheless, Austen's recipe ingredients of honorable young women, unrequited love, faithless cads in the disguise of noble suitors, and true love in the end still built an enjoyable book that I am happy to have read.

[davidshellhamer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I almost didn't finish. Volumes 2 and 3 got more interesting. The narrative has a very slow build, lots of exposition about being a clergyman and landscaping and Fanny and Edmund having long talks about whatever. Lots of unneeded description about how Fanny is thinking or feeling or entire paragraphs basically telling the reader that Lady Bertram does nothing all day but sit on a sofa with her dog. And the play! Going on and on about wheter to do a play and which play and who was to do what parts and Fanny not wanting to participate in the fun. Not much action. I think the subtly of Fanny and the characterization is difficult for modern readers. We can't imagine a time where the residents of Mansfield Park have servants to do menial tasks yet manage to do nothing all day long while dressed up in fancy clothes! Boring. Fanny is quiet and passive. The dramatic tension at the end where you come down to who will marry who is more interesting. Austen writes with too much understatement and if you are not trained you miss it. For instance, I almost missed how awful Mrs Norris is and how lazy and indifferent Lady Bertram is. Fanny herself will certainly not point out any faults in her "dear" aunts. Yes, the reader admires Fanny for her virtue and the fact that she saw that Henry Crawford was a fake before everyone else and that she grows to love Mansfield and she would not marry for simply marrying or for money, and you are happy that she is patient and kind and Edmund realizes how she is perfect for him and they live happily ever after at Mansfield Park. But that does not redeem the novel, it should of been 200 pages. I would not recommend this book unless you are an Austen fan already, stick with pride and prejudice or sense and sensibility which have faster narratives, less pages and more interesting heroines

[thatotter-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this, though I wasn't as drawn in by the characters as I usually am while reading this type of book. I found Edmund a bit of a dolt in the Edward Ferrars mold.

The great thing about Austen for me is that you know you are in safe hands as a reader--things always work out well for the righteous and poorly for the guilty. Very satisfying!

[thewasp_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This girl does have a way with words.. Once you leave the 21st century and relax into the flow of of Fanny Price's world you are treated to a subtle and insightful view of the lives of the "rich and famous" albiet 200 years ago. Certainly not a fast paced story but the characters are interesting (if not always liked) and the good guys win.

[thorold_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read this many times, but I'm still struck every time by the ambivalence of its message. We know we're supposed to latch on to the evangelical, proto-Victorian, path of Fanny and Edmund, but the case for the Crawfords' pragmatic, enlightenment morality is made surprisingly attractive. The real puzzle - for the author as much as for us, I suspect - is why a clever man like Henry Crawford should ever waste time on someone as patently vain and silly as Maria.Another thing that struck me this time is the cunning way Austen sets up the very un-Victorian idea that people live in mutual incomprehension in separate moral worlds: Mary Crawford's complete failure to understand that the duties of a clergyman might be expected to go beyond preaching in fashionable churches and attending smart tea-parties; Mr Yates's similar failure to understand why his amateur theatricals have to be scrapped on two occasions. These scenes always remind me of going to stay with my rather puritanical grandparents as a small child and discovering that all sorts of things that were perfectly legitimate at home (buying ice cream or listening to the radio on a Sunday, for instance) were regarded as shockingly depraved behaviour here.

[koeniel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Of Jane Austen's romance which I have read (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma and Mansfield Park), I think Mansfield Park is the dreariest one. It has the usual portrait of 18th century British society with its wisdoms and prejudices, it has the usual description of lovely and enchanting English countryside, the usual myriads of interesting characters, but the story itself seems rather drab and sombre. It feels also too moralistic, too black and white, compared with her other books. The heroine Fanny is decidedly at the bottom of the list of Jane's heroines. She is very passive and feels.... helpless. Totally uncharacteristic of Jane's heroines. The love story betwen her and Edmund is also very bland and flat. Nothing romantic like Jane's other romances.OK, enough criticism. Despite all those whining above, Jane's book is still an enjoyable read. The criticism only came because I set it against a very high standard - her other books!

[lauraodom-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mansfield Park often gets a bad wrap as many feel like Fanny Price is the weakest of Austen’s heroines. I disagree. If anything, maybe she’s a little too “perfect” but I do like her. She’s crazy shy, introverted and highly moral. What exactly is wrong with that? The novel points to the fact that good character is more desirable than money. In the end, we see good character rewarded, and those of unreputable character receiving their just rewards (with perhaps the exclusion of Mr. Rushworth – unless you attribute his end to his stupidity for marrying Maria in the first place).I’m taking part in a book club this year where we are discussing the roles of mothers in Jane Austen’s novels. The first read was Pride and Prejudice, and now adding in Mansfield Park, we have yet to see a mother cast in a good light. Mrs. Bertram is kind, but still pretty self-absorbed, and obviously, her daughters did not turn out to make the best choices in life. Fanny’s own mother is pretty much out of the picture, and since she had so many children of her own, she readily gave Fanny up to be raised by her sister. Just like Jane and Lizzy Bennett, we see that Fanny turns out okay despite her mother’s poor influence.There are some great supporting characters in the novel. The Crawford siblings are charming yet shallow and self-absorbed. Mrs. Norris is simply ghastly. (And yes, Filch’s cat in the HP novels WAS named after her). Edmund is such a good boy that you have to like him — and root for him to “see the light” when it comes to the woman who has captured his affection and does not deserve him.All in all, it’s a great little novel. Not my favorite of the Austen novels, but certainly an enjoyable one.Would I recommend it to my BFF? Of course.Would I recommend it to my teen reader? Yes.

[alanwpowers · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Couldn't finish this one when I tried in the midst of teaching duties, despite hearing a UK expert expound on it a Breadloaf. One problem with the expert, her British tic of LOWERING her voice on important points--utterly eliminating my hearing them. But I find this un-Austenian, expansive, landscape-oriented, with various writing complications in addition to her great irony. Now in retirement, I am slowly making my way through, find it larger scale, like a lesser Middlemarch. Less compact than Austen's others, and more diffuse in characters: three principal sisters, two of them birthing sisters. Even the sisters meet other sisters. After half the novel, the plot focuses on the Priceless Miss Price. Fanny Price emerges from a shy and withdrawn young girl who loves reading, to an unexpected authority and teacher for her younger sister Susan, the only one of multiple siblings who values her elder sister's independence and insights. Fanny's loud-voiced father drinks during the day, and from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, "there was little intermission of noise and grog"(Ch.42, p. 554). Sir Tom Bertram'seldest son Tom also drinks, which causes a fall and leads to his long sickness (560). Perhaps this novel satirizes drinking more than her others, and portrays the clergy, Edmund, better.Loving reading, the author quotes writers she grew up with, like Goldsmith; she even adapts Samuel Johnson to contrast Fanny's two residences: "Fanny was tempted to apply to them Dr. Johnson's celebrated judgement as to matrimony and celibacy, and say, that though Mansfield Park might have some pains, Portsmouth could have no pleasures"(Ch.39, end, p.544).Not just less focused and longer than other Austen novels, Mansfield Park grows difficult as she applies too many of her usual abstractions:"...might be supposed to have in her wish for a complete reconciliation. This was not an agreeable intimation. Nature resisted it for a while. It would have been a vast deal pleasanter to have had her more disinterested in her attachment; but his vanity was not of a strength to fight long against reason"(577*).Our novel starts abundantly, with Austen's lifelong irony on knowledge versus self-knowledge in three sisters: "with all their promising talents, [that] they should be entirely deficient in the less common acquirements of self-knowledge. In everything but disposition, they were admirably taught"(371). One of three sisters catches Sir Tom Bertram, a baronet, the next finds a clergyman Rev. Norris, destined to be hired by her brother in law, and the third, Miss Frances throws herself away on a military man, and has, we later learn to our dismay, nine children. In Austen social position and fiscal relations are always part of identity.Then comes the disaster of land improvers, landscape architects, which doom the less astute, and maybe the story as a whole (386). A certain Mr Rushworth has recently visited Compton (we live near "Little Compton" in RI) whose grounds were laid out "by an improver. Mr. Rushworth was returned with his head full of the subject, and very eager to be improving his own place." Gaining general conversation in few pages, "the subject of improving grounds, was still under consideration by the others"(390). Mansfield Park includes a real park, five miles around.Austen delights with almost a legal definition of seduction, "A young woman, pretty, lively, with a harp as elegant as herself, and both placed near a window cut down to the ground and opening on a little lawn, surrounded by shrubs in the rich foliage of summer, was enough to catch any man's heart"(392).When the rich competitor keeps Fanny Price's horse--and her admired Edmund-- too long, she brings it the half mile home from the Parsonage, with the Janey irony, "Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure"(394). (Sounds rather Trumpy to an American in 2021.)One learns English social customs of the period, where a young man must not speak to the younger of two daughters, "I had been giving all my attention to the youngest, who was not 'out,' and had most excessively offended the eldest"(386). The custom of public libraries grew from subscription libraries, which Fanny joins in her birthplace Portsmouth when away from Mansfield's library for three months. Austen portrays many ceremonies, as "the solemn procession of teaboard, urn and cake-bearers"(521). After dinner there are cards, whist and others, which surprised me by always involving gambling (shillings then substantial, pence for the others).Austen shows evil and good largely imbued in conversation: listening to her fiancée, "Maria [was] doomed to the repeated details of his day's sport, his boast of his dogs, his jealousy of his neighbors, his zeal after poachers"(Ch.12, 416).The daughter and sister of a cleric, Austen often satirizes priests, less so in this novel, where the admirable younger son Edmund Bertram is ordained in Peterborough cathedral, near where we met our great friend on the Dutch barge pub. Fanny's Naval brother William, who sails from Portsmouth, has cold pork and mustard for breakfast to his rich cousin's eggs. Others stay in Weymouth, where we have lived a month five times. The novel has a "happy ending" which is illegal in twenty-four US states, and criminal in five.PS: As always in Austen, British words have different, and specific, meaning: "toilet" is make-up; "living" is a clerical benefice (in this novel, Dr. Grant moves to another church, but retains the previous benefice until he dies and it transfers to Edmund); "want" is lack; "complacency" often means pleasure; the verb to "frank" is to attach postage; "knocked up" not pregnant, just tired. In prepositional usage, to go "down" dances, rather than to go "through" them, game "on" cards, for game "of" cards.*Pagination from the Crown hardback of all her novels, "Jane Austen: Her Complete Novels" (Avenel: NY, 1981) which I bought in Princeton, 24 Mar 1984.

[baswood · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park has been on my bookshelves for years and I took it away on holiday thinking I might get round to reading it at last. A couple of novels later and I started in on Austen’s longest book and found that I could hardly put it down. A beach read, it is not as it presents problems for the modern reader that must be overcome, before enjoyment completely takes hold, but when it does it provides an immensely satisfying read. Banyuls-sur-Mere is a pretty little town on the French Mediterranean coast and one that I love to visit, but this trip will be remembered for the time I spent on the balcony of my holiday apartment clutching my copy of Mansfield Park. I had no internet connection and so there were no distractions, but this meant also that I could not google for background information and so this first reading was very much a first impression. I have read other novels by Jane Austen and so it was not a complete leap in the dark, but it did lead me to think of issues that modern readers might face, when approaching this book for the first time. Austen’s sentence structure and syntax can be a little confusing, especially when she is reporting conversation. It is not always easy to understand who is saying what to whom: she also writes the occasional word in a paragraph in italics which I presume is for emphasis, but this style is not much used today. An omniscient author writes the first three chapters and by this time Fanny Price (the heroine) is approaching seventeen; most of the subsequent events are seen through her eyes, however Austen does add her own commentary from time to time and the reader has to be aware whether the views expressed are authorial or those which Fanny might be saying or thinking.The novel was published in 1814 at a time when Europe was still engaged in the Napoleonic wars, the French revolution was still very much in the minds of many educated people and Austen’s novel reads for the most part like a celebration of English traditions and manners. It is almost as though the industrial revolution had not yet taken place as the novel is firmly situated amongst the genteel rich patrons of the English countryside. The class system is firmly in place and in Austen’s characters views, everybody should know their place and more importantly for the most part keep to it; rights according to birth are sacrosanct. It is a novel that looks backwards to a golden age rather than forward to a changing society, respect for ones betters according to birthright is the accepted norm.In Austen’s world family and property defines who you are and people are judged by their manners, politeness and how well they do by their family. The family grows rich together and marriages are seen as a means of enhancing a family’s connections: arrangements are made and while suitability is a consideration; love is something that may develop in time, but is mostly accepted as not being prerequisite for an ideal marriage. Feminism has no place in this society and although readers might be encouraged to admire the resolve of female characters, they will find them castigated if they stray too far from accepted family values.The profession of clergymen was still at this time the most likely avenue for the second son of a well to do family. In Mansfield Park the first son (Tom) will inherit everything and so it is Edmund who will follow the traditional career path as the second son. For Edmund being a clergyman is a vocation. He sees it as a unifying force within his community and he will do his best to succeed in guiding his flock for the betterment of mankind, prayers, sermons and preaching are essential requisites for the community. Edmund is the steady hand of tradition in his family and the son most admired. Throughout the novel there is resistance to change. The fashion for landscape gardens advocated by Henry Crawford is a step to far for Edmund. Sir Thomas Bertram head of the family is an authoritarian figure who immediately puts a stop to a theatrical event at his house. Fanny Price the adopted daughter of the Bertram household is perhaps the most resistant of all to change and it is she as the central character that seems to pose the most problems for readers. She is non-assertive, meek, mild and an upholder of family values. She seems always to put other people first and suffers in silence as a result. But this novel is essentially a bildungsroman and Fanny Price’s development as a person becomes a shinning example to some of those around her; Edmund, Tom, her brother William, Sir Thomas himself are all affected by her good heart, her respectability and finally an inner strength. She is the embodiment of all that a woman should be to fit into this patriarchal society and this in depth study demonstrates the qualities and strengths needed to uphold the values in which she instinctively believes.The raison d’être for the novel is of course a romance. The Bertram family have two sons and two daughters of marriageable age. Maria Bertram the beauty of the family marries for money and position, with the wholehearted support of the family, her sister Julia tries to make her own opportunities. Edmund falls in love with Miss Mary Crawford a society woman of independent means, but she does not wish to marry a clergyman. The central love story is Mary’s brother the forward looking wealthy Henry Crawford who falls in love with Fanny after a dalliance with the two Bertram sisters. A match that would seem to be a superb opportunity for an adopted daughter with few prospects. Fanny against all advice rejects Henry, she finds him fascinating, with some good qualities, but she does not love him and most seriously of all she cannot trust him. The third part of the novel is Henry’s continued pursuit of Fanny; a suit that causes her grief and pain. Austen takes her readers into the world of Regency splendour. The culture and manners of that society are brilliantly evoked. There are some amazing set pieces; the amateur production of the play Lovers Vows, Fanny’s first trip out with her new family to Sotherton, her coming out ball and her banishment back to her working class family in Portsmouth. At the centre of everything is Fanny Price’s world and inner world views. It is steady, respectable, dutiful and gracious, which makes her at times seem almost an anti-heroine, she is physically weak and lacks assertiveness, but her strength is her firm belief in tradition and family values.To appreciate this novel fully one must not judge Mansfield Park by modern standards or by equality of opportunity. It is a different world brought richly to life and full of characters whose human frailties can be ameliorated by a central character; a virtuous woman working away quietly amongst them. The story is a good one, once the reader gets used to the writing style and has got further into the novel than the story setting it becomes a page turner. So much to enjoy, a fabulous reading experience and five stars.

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lots of reviews already here, so I won't go into details.I liked it, quite a bit. I kept wondering how things would turn out, as there were many twists and turns in the plot.Mansfield Park was, imo, a bit 'deeper' than Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. It was more 'work' to read it, but well worth the effort!It is now my second favorite Jane Austen book, behind P&P.

[john257hopper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This Jane Austen novel tends to be talked of rather less than some of the others. I enjoyed it though it took me nine days to get through, as it's a slow burn novel, lacking a strong narrative drive. The heroine, Fanny Price, is the eldest daughter of one of three sisters (the poor one, who was deemed to have married beneath her, and who isn't given the dignity of having a first name here) At the age of ten Fanny is sent to live with her aunt, another sister Maria who married an MP, Sir Thomas Bertram, and who live on the eponymous estate in Northamptonshire. The Bertrams have two sons, Tom and Edmund, and two daughters, Maria and Julia; and the third sister, Frances Norris, is also around, especially after the death of her clergyman husband. The novel is essentially about the relationships between these people, and a brother and sister who arrive on the scene, Henry and Mary Crawford. There are the usual sharp Austen observations about social situations and class pretentiousness, and some passages of great humour, especially over their private theatricals, putting on a performance for their own amusement of a real life bawdy play, Lovers' Vows (which sounds great fun and which I've downloaded). Fanny rejects a marriage proposal from Henry Crawford, which seems to echo Austen's rejection of the only such proposal she received, when she initially accepted the offer and then changed her mind after sleeping on it. Fanny is unhappy at Mansfield Park, but then when she returns to the family home in Portsmouth, she rejects the chaos there and starts to long to return to the estate. The last part of the novel contains two elopements and a resetting of a number of the relationships between the characters, plus a happy ending for Fanny. Fanny is a less interesting character than other heroines of Austen's novels, and comes across sometimes as a bit annoyingly priggish, but the reader basically sympathises with her predicament living with the eclectic bunch of self-centred characters that largely comprise the Mansfield Park household.

[silverkitty-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nine-year-old Fanny Price is sent to live with more well off relatives. The book follows Fanny and her family over the next ten or so years. The plot is limited but the characters are rich - Fanny, her aunts and uncle, four cousins and a couple of neighbors are described and developed in full detail. Compared to some of Austen's other characters, Fanny is quite timid and frail. She has a champion in her cousin Edward, who looks out for her in many situations. Some have said this book is too subtle. I found it to be more direct than Pride and Prejudice. In spots it takes on an almost preachy tone, and all the preaching is done by speech of the various characters. Mansfield Park is a slow read, and wasn't a page turner for me. That said, Austen's reflections on human nature and the human experience are just as valid today as they were 200 years ago. Austen is quite the idealist, but not in a bad way. People do influence each other, for good or ill, and character counts, then and now.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Digital audiobook narrated by Johanna Ward Miss Fanny Price is taken in by her rich relation, Sir Thomas Bertram, and his wife as an act of charity. Her family is poor and with seven children, resources are simply stretched too thin. Fanny is a quiet, sensible, obedient little thing, and grows into a quiet, sensible, graceful young woman. Her two cousins, Sir Thomas’s daughters Maria and Julia treat her well, but are far more interested in their own prospects. And there are several eligible, if not completely suitable, young men in the neighborhood. Ah, but I love spending time with Austen. Fanny is perhaps the ideal heroine, and reportedly Austen’s own favorite among her heroines. She is intelligent and thoughtful, pretty and graceful, keeps her own counsel, is modest and principled, and still has a loving heart. A couple of the gentlemen in the area seem interested in Fanny – she is very pretty, after all, and Sir Thomas is bound to leave her some money. But Fanny would rather be alone than marry a man she cannot love and respect. There is a certain predictable pattern to Austen’s novels, and this one is no exception. Our heroine will remain true to herself, and love will triumph. Johanna Ward does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. She brings Austen’s witty dialogue to life.

[mbmackay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

You can see why Jane Austen is a star - she has such wonderfully developed characters that are so shrewdly observed and described to be compelling and believable across the centuries. While the plot events relate to a particular time, place and social setting; the busybody, the careful thinker, the gruff but caring father, and all the rest of the cast can be readily seen among the people we live with today. Mansfield Park has a more interesting plot line than Pride and Prejudice & Sense and Sensibility, dealing with the results of the poor cousin brought up with rich relatives. Lovely. (Read January 2011.)

[rainbowdarling · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For the length of this book, not much actually happened in the story. I liked some of the characters, though none was really very engaging and overall enjoyed the story but there seemed to be no spark in it. It lacked that special something that ramps a book from the ordinary to the pile of books to be read and re-read through the years. Not one of my favorite Austen novels.

[snitchbitch-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I recently decided to re-read Mansfield Park, having realised that I hadn't actually read it in close to 10 years. The first thing I have to say is that I have more of an appreciation for this novel now than I ever did originally.

That being said, Fanny is still one of Austen's least interesting heroines - but to me that isn't really the point of the book. To me it's seeing the other characters through her eyes, and how Fanny's interactions with them highlights their flaws or improves their nature.

Quite unashamedly I wish that Fanny had married Henry Crawford. Would they have prospered? Would he have grown tired of her? Was he only in love with her because she was unattainable? But I also wonder if my own wish for the pairing is due to the 1999 adaption of the movie starring Frances O'Connor - I quite loved the fact that Henry Crawford goes to Maria more out of anger than fancy.

Apart from that, I do wish that the ending to this novel was longer - or that the outcomes of other characters were further explained.

A true pleasure to re-read. I've been savouring this book for over two weeks, and reading only a couple of chapters at a time.

[smiler69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Some years ago I would not have been caught dead reading any of Jane Austen's novels, and watching the movies just made me cringe. It just all seemed much too quaint for my cynical self. But now that I've considerably mellowed out with middle age (and lots of meds!) I decided to approach her with an open mind. So far, I've only read Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park, the latter of which is definitely my favourite so far. I know this novel isn't that popular among JA fans, most finding Fanny Price to be too much of a wallflower for a lead character. To me it seemed like she was on the contrary a young woman of conviction with a strong moral fiber who seemed to have more depth than the leading young women in the other two novels, which I found too frothy for my liking. The secondary characters were very entertaining. Indeed, their presence was essential in moving the story forward and providing plenty of spice and drama. Overall, it felt to me like this novel had more depth, though I know that's probably highly debatable. I listened to the audio version narrated by Juliet Stevenson, who is one of my favourite narrators and who could not do otherwise than greatly increase my appreciation for Jane Austen.