Mansfield Park Author:Jane Austen Mansfield Park is a novel written by the Englishwoman Jane Austen in 1814, the first entirely written in her mature years, since she worked there during the year 1813. Often considered the most experimental of all her writings, It is more difficult than the others, and her principal character, the timid and silent Fanny Price, is a paradoxical h... more »eroine, which hardly appetites the reader. However, Mansfield Park is undoubtedly a success, since the entire draw is exhausted in just six months and brings to its author the most important gains it has hitherto derived from a single publication. Jane Austen's only novel, which takes place over a period of ten years, follows the evolutionary stages of heroine since she was ten years old and could be the forerunner of novels of Jane Eyre or David Copperfield. But, as the author has chosen to give it the name of the property, it is Mansfield Park, the place of life of the family of the baronet Sir Thomas Bertram, who is, so to speak, the central figure. Fanny Price, the poor little cousin greeted by charity, must first learn to feel at home before finally becoming the moral conscience. The political and economic context is particularly present and plays a part in the plot: Sir Thomas has spent many months in Antigua, in the Caribbean, restoring the situation on his plantations (where slaves work), and his long absence leaves too much Liberties to his children. With William Price, Fanny's elder brother, who participates in the military expeditions in the West Indies and the Mediterranean, is evoked the situation of war with France.....« less
This may be Jane Austen's most controversial book - readers ask, is Fanny Price too good, too pious, too much of a doormat? Yes, of course she is. But she's grown on me over the years and with each reading of this wonderful, cynical, wise book.
Not Jane Austen's best work, but identifiably hers. She wrote this when young and her lack of polish as an author shows through, but the plot is predictably Austen. The themes---moral good vs evil, persons of substance vs the vapid--are also Austen through and through, as are the characters who feature in this tale of a country family torn by adultery and dishonor. If you've read another Austen and love her, then I recommend this, but don't make this one your first exposure to the joy that is a Jane Austen novel.
This is by far my least favorite Jane Austen book. First off, it's way too long. The massive paragraphs of narration are to blame for that, in my opinion. It could've easily been shortened by a hundred pages, and that would've added a star to my rating. Secondly, none of the characters are likable. Fanny is bland, Edmund is a dolt, Maria and Julia and the Crawfords have horrible morals, Mrs. Norris is abominable, etc, etc. Reading dialogue between them all was torturous. Throughout the whole story I was waiting for Fanny to come out of her shell and do something or stand up for herself, but that never happens, which is a let down.
This edition in particular was really wonderful. From the notes in the back, the introduction, and the appendix, this is how classics should be published.
What red-blooded American woman doesn't like Jane Austin? Her use of language and development of characters is outstanding. Mansfield Park is one of her lesser acclaimed novels, but this is still an incredible novel. The audio book is read well by Maureen O'Brien. The whole experience made my morning commute something to look forward to!