Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I really loved this novel, and I thought it was totally brilliant. Unlike Pride and Prejudice , I knew virtually nothing about the plot of Mansfield Park as I read it. At the beginning I was very overwhelmed by the sheer amount of characters that are introduced, but this novel progresses so well and by the time I got to Part II, I was completely hooked. Jane Austen's full skill is on display here. All of these characters are masterfully written, and the Crawford siblings specifically are unbelievably compelling. The pacing of this novel is also extremely well-done, especially in Part III when the story slows down and information is released only through letters. Definitely also a step up from P&P in its thematic interests; the focus on virtue and ruin is super interesting, and of course there's been a ton of post-colonial scholarship on the novel's interest in the slave-trade. There are definitely some disconcerting elements, but I think that reading them in Austen's social context makes them understandable, even if it doesn't necessarily ameliorate them.
Spoiler
Looking at you, cousin-marriage.
doesn't get enough love! my personal fave of austen's, though we could have done without the last five pages or so imo.
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Contrary to many a popular opinion – I love Fanny Price.
There were three sisters. One of them married extremely well, one married a respectable clergy man, and the last married someone not approved by the others. Because of this she was shut out from the family for a few years. After some time however the two “proper” sisters decide to forgive their errant sister, in word at least, and as to show their kindness ask her to send one of her daughters to Mansfield Park, to be brought up there by her uncle and aunt. Mrs. Price, the one who didn’t marry an appropriate man, sends away her oldest daughter, a shy and small little creature named Fanny.
Fanny is only ten years old and a very small and extremely timid girl. The sharp contrast between herself and her outgoing cousins make for misunderstandings. Fanny grieves being away from all and everyone she knows and her lack of smiles and cheerfulness is mistaken as ingratitude towards her uncle and aunt. Poor Fanny, too shy and too sensitive to be understood, while not ill treated, is very soon treated with less care and much less affection.
Fanny grows up to be a very quiet but intelligent, sensitive, self-sacrificing, forgiving and generous girl. She is constantly and often cruelly reminded by one of her aunts about her inferiority to her cousins and the gratitude she must always feel and show.
The only one to show some understanding and compassion is Edmund, the younger son. He stumbles upon Fanny one day as she has hidden to cry and he starts to understand her quiet nature for what it is and not as a sign of bad feeling and ill breeding. From that moment on he is somewhat her protector and defender, without displaying his preference for her ways and her mind in comparison to his sisters.
This book is probably the odd one out of Jane Austen’s.
Fanny, the main character of our story, is a highly introverted character. She observes and listens incredibly well but she has no one to confide in.
Fanny’s lack of support is something previously unseen in any other of Austen’s novels. In the other books, there’s always a family behind our heroines, someone to boost morale and give a sense of security. Not here. We have cousin Edmund, showing up to be indignant over the way she is used as a servant and how she is excluded from the finer society and nicer activities from time to time, but he is no knight in shining armour and as soon as he is infatuated by the charming newcomer, Mary Crawford, he more than often forgets about his frail little cousin.
The love triangle (quandrangle?) between the sisters, the fiancé, and Henry Crawford was amusing and it had me in suspense until the very end. Henry’s vanity, coxcomb manners, and his total disregard to the word “no” carried the story and made the plot bearable.
Mansfield Park is not my favourite Austen, but it is a good one. The social commentary, as always, highly amusing and Fanny is definitely one of my favourite Austen heroines. But the plot is lacking and the pacing is slow, and even though I want to like Edmund as much as Fanny does, he is distant and selfish in his relationship with her.
I could go on but I won’t.
If you like Austen, read this - but be prepared for a more gentle, insecure, and quiet type of heroine.
There were three sisters. One of them married extremely well, one married a respectable clergy man, and the last married someone not approved by the others. Because of this she was shut out from the family for a few years. After some time however the two “proper” sisters decide to forgive their errant sister, in word at least, and as to show their kindness ask her to send one of her daughters to Mansfield Park, to be brought up there by her uncle and aunt. Mrs. Price, the one who didn’t marry an appropriate man, sends away her oldest daughter, a shy and small little creature named Fanny.
Fanny is only ten years old and a very small and extremely timid girl. The sharp contrast between herself and her outgoing cousins make for misunderstandings. Fanny grieves being away from all and everyone she knows and her lack of smiles and cheerfulness is mistaken as ingratitude towards her uncle and aunt. Poor Fanny, too shy and too sensitive to be understood, while not ill treated, is very soon treated with less care and much less affection.
Fanny grows up to be a very quiet but intelligent, sensitive, self-sacrificing, forgiving and generous girl. She is constantly and often cruelly reminded by one of her aunts about her inferiority to her cousins and the gratitude she must always feel and show.
The only one to show some understanding and compassion is Edmund, the younger son. He stumbles upon Fanny one day as she has hidden to cry and he starts to understand her quiet nature for what it is and not as a sign of bad feeling and ill breeding. From that moment on he is somewhat her protector and defender, without displaying his preference for her ways and her mind in comparison to his sisters.
This book is probably the odd one out of Jane Austen’s.
Fanny, the main character of our story, is a highly introverted character. She observes and listens incredibly well but she has no one to confide in.
Fanny’s lack of support is something previously unseen in any other of Austen’s novels. In the other books, there’s always a family behind our heroines, someone to boost morale and give a sense of security. Not here. We have cousin Edmund, showing up to be indignant over the way she is used as a servant and how she is excluded from the finer society and nicer activities from time to time, but he is no knight in shining armour and as soon as he is infatuated by the charming newcomer, Mary Crawford, he more than often forgets about his frail little cousin.
The love triangle (quandrangle?) between the sisters, the fiancé, and Henry Crawford was amusing and it had me in suspense until the very end. Henry’s vanity, coxcomb manners, and his total disregard to the word “no” carried the story and made the plot bearable.
Mansfield Park is not my favourite Austen, but it is a good one. The social commentary, as always, highly amusing and Fanny is definitely one of my favourite Austen heroines. But the plot is lacking and the pacing is slow, and even though I want to like Edmund as much as Fanny does, he is distant and selfish in his relationship with her.
I could go on but I won’t.
If you like Austen, read this - but be prepared for a more gentle, insecure, and quiet type of heroine.
I watched the movie before reading it and fell for Edmund in instant. But my view changed when i read the book. Thanks for the amazing narrative by Karen Savage, i could enjoy it.
But i guess, the movie was better, in a dramatic way.
But i guess, the movie was better, in a dramatic way.
The writing is of course good and insightful. It takes no prisoners when discussing character foibles. But there’s barely any plot for such a long book, and it really drags.
2025 reread:
3.5ish. Maybe 4?? I was more inclined to like Fanny this time around. She is very relatable as a fellow introvert, but her timidity is so great at times that it can still be trying. I think Fanny actually has potential for a wide appeal as someone who is very obviously stuck between two worlds. My biggest complaint, however, is that Edmund is not worthy of her. I suppose it’s fine as the point of the story isn’t really their romance. Not that there is any. They get together in the falling action at the very end. But it is frustrating that after all she goes through, her reward is the blandest, beige-est possible husband. Literally what is his personality besides being a hypocrite. I think my favorite Austen novels are those where the heroines have at least one kind friend or family member, and Fanny doesn’t really have that because I don’t count Edmund. It also gives me the ick the way it’s emphasized how much influence he’s had on her. Not in like a nefarious or abusive way, but it just is sad. She’s so sheltered. Save Fanny from Edmund’s mediocrity!
2025 reread:
3.5ish. Maybe 4?? I was more inclined to like Fanny this time around. She is very relatable as a fellow introvert, but her timidity is so great at times that it can still be trying. I think Fanny actually has potential for a wide appeal as someone who is very obviously stuck between two worlds. My biggest complaint, however, is that Edmund is not worthy of her. I suppose it’s fine as the point of the story isn’t really their romance. Not that there is any. They get together in the falling action at the very end. But it is frustrating that after all she goes through, her reward is the blandest, beige-est possible husband. Literally what is his personality besides being a hypocrite. I think my favorite Austen novels are those where the heroines have at least one kind friend or family member, and Fanny doesn’t really have that because I don’t count Edmund. It also gives me the ick the way it’s emphasized how much influence he’s had on her. Not in like a nefarious or abusive way, but it just is sad. She’s so sheltered. Save Fanny from Edmund’s mediocrity!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s not easy to get attached to these characters because of their moralism (Fanny is very similar to the Anne of Persuasion) and meekness but this book has a special allure in making you doubt whom to side with right until the very end.
Thoughts from 2nd reading:
Mrs Norris is definitely the villain of this story.
Fanny Price’s meekness and morality makes her hard to like as well. Her happiness depends so much on others that it’s difficult to blame the more assertive and “bullying” characters for actually not considering her.
The problem with the Crawfords is that they are too modern for Austen’s times and so they are seen as vicious and selfish. It’s tough to see them as villains considering that what they are asking for is not unreasonable - especially Mary Crawford’s views.
Marriage between cousins was normal back then, but I can’t read this without disgust.
Also,
Edmund and Fanny are too similar and their being together is not all romantic.
It’s a good novel overall but less my idea of romantic - more similar perhaps to Sense and Sensibility, especially in the last part where the falling in love and marriage of the main characters is carried on hastily at the very end like an afterthought.
Thoughts from 2nd reading:
Mrs Norris is definitely the villain of this story.
Fanny Price’s meekness and morality makes her hard to like as well. Her happiness depends so much on others that it’s difficult to blame the more assertive and “bullying” characters for actually not considering her.
The problem with the Crawfords is that they are too modern for Austen’s times and so they are seen as vicious and selfish. It’s tough to see them as villains considering that what they are asking for is not unreasonable - especially Mary Crawford’s views.
Marriage between cousins was normal back then, but I can’t read this without disgust.
Also,
Edmund and Fanny are too similar and their being together is not all romantic.
It’s a good novel overall but less my idea of romantic - more similar perhaps to Sense and Sensibility, especially in the last part where the falling in love and marriage of the main characters is carried on hastily at the very end like an afterthought.
My least favorite Austen book. Fanny is an extremely weak, insipid, yet judgmental protagonist who only ended up where she was through the calculated actions of those around her, and not at all through her own design or will. Fanny does not believe she is mistress of her own destiny, and thus her hand played out as she believed. Her lack of will, goals, direction, and inner drive made it almost impossible for me to root for her. Rated as such due to the quality of the writing, and not due to the mundane plot or characterization.
I just knew it would end that way. The first half of this was kind of a slog ngl, I always find it hard to keep up with all the characters introduced in Austen novels, especially when they are referred to by several names. It got more interesting by the second half when I could remember who’s who and a plot was beginning to take shape. I felt bad for Fanny for much of the story, everyone was telling her what to do, what’s best for her, what she’s like, etc. without bothering to really listen to her. I am glad she didn’t give in to pressure to marry Crawford, and I thought the novel would surprise me by ending with Fanny gaining more spirit and independence (as much independence as one can have in a Jane Austen novel). From the beginning I had a feeling it would end with Fanny marrying her cousin but I was so hoping to be proven wrong. I would have preferred she married Crawford over that ending, and I hate that man.