Title: Mansfield Park

Author: Jane Austen

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Classic

Pages: 464 Pages (Paperback)

Original Publication Date: July 1814

Overall Rating:
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Summary from Goodreads

Taken from the poverty of her parents’ home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny’s uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighborhood, bringing with them London glamor and a reckless taste for flirtation.

As her female cousins vie for Henry’s attention, and even Edmund falls for Mary’s dazzling charms, only Fanny remains doubtful about the Crawford’s influence and finds herself more isolated than ever. A subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, Mansfield Park is one of Jane Austen’s most profound works.

My Thoughts

Mansfield Park is the first Jane Austen novel I’ve ever read. It was difficult to get into at first, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

My co-workers Erin and Becky, and I were going to read Mansfield Park as our March book for our book club. But, everything got really crazy with work so we abandoned it. By the time we decided to abandon it, Becky had read the first chapter, Erin had read 11 chapters, and I had read part of the first paragraph. :?

Once work slowed down a bit, Becky and Erin decided they didn’t want to finish reading Mansfield Park. (Becky was too interested in other books and Erin despised Fanny, the main character, so she didn’t want to continue to read it. :roll: )

I started to read Mansfield Park in mid-April. Even though I didn’t quite get into it at first, I forced myself to read until I did. I wanted to read a classic since I’ve only read one–The Scarlet Letter. I don’t think I would’ve been able to get through the first few chapters without the help of Spark Notes, not because I didn’t understand what was going on (except for the first chapter), but because it helped me see the end goal of the book.

I’m very glad I did force myself to read until I got into the book because I ended up enjoying the story quite a bit. It was very interesting to read about the focus placed on one’s “place” in society, the importance of marrying well, and the social implications that occurred during the 1800s.

The story’s about a girl, Fanny, sent to live with her rich uncle and aunt, Sir Thomas Bertram and Lady Bertram, in Mansfield Park. She grows up with Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram’s four children, Tom, Edmund, Maria, and Julia. Almost everyone in the household, including another aunt, Mrs. Norris, treats her as an inferior. The only reprieve she gets is from Edmund, who becomes her only friend. (As a little tidbit of trivia, the cat Mrs. Norris from Harry Potter was named after Fanny’s aunt Mrs. Norris.)