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seerdust 's review for:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
5.0
emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Fanny Price is a heroine that is frequently overlooked, lamented as boring, and shunned by fans. 

Boy, is it such a shame. 

She is smart, loyal, and has an unshakable faith in her own convictions. She recognises falseness and calls out injustice openly; whether it be her Uncle's racial attitude, the family's unethical slave ownership or the Crawford's attitude to love.

Fanny's ultimate power, however, is her love for her large and extended  family.  This is reinforced throughout the story with her bond with her siblings, her stolen moments with Cousin Edmund and her budding relationship with her Aunt .All of this  is something I greatly admire. Not to mention I am in awe at the lengths she will go to protect her family - even from themselves - and especially when she should just let them hang themselves with their own rope.

The story is a complex and (typical for Austen) a scathing comment on the marital options for upper-class women; whether it be for financial security, lust, curiosity, or (rarely) love. 

I love this book.