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Mansfield Park (Broadview Literary Texts)
Mansfield Park - Broadview Literary Texts Author:Jane Austen Mansfield Park is Austen's darkest, most complex and perhaps most fascinating novel. In contrast to the confident and vivacious heroines of Emma and Pride and Prejudice, its central character, Fanny Price, is a shy and vulnerable poor relation who finds the courage to stand up for her principles and desires. The novel touches on slavery, the opp... more »ressive nature of an idealized femininity, and women's education. This new edition sheds light on these and other issues through its introduction and appendices of contemporary documents. Fanny Price is the poor relation of Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram and is treated accordingly when she is brought to their estate, Mansfield Park, to live. One of their sons, Edmund, stands out among the Bertrams as a friend to Fanny. Time passes and all the children, Fanny included, approach a marriageable age, but her background of poverty puts her at a marked disadvantage. Sir Thomas travels to the West Indies to attend to the family's overseas interests; in his absence the Crawfords arrive, a wealthy brother and sister of questionable virtue, and a general to and fro of attentions and favours ensues.« less