ABOUT THE BOOK

Mansfield Park was the third of Jane Austens books to be printed. Though it has some qualities in common with Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, which were published before it, Mansfield Park stands out as a completely different kind of book. For one thing, the lively, quick-witted, playful female ends up being a villain, while the butter-wouldnt-melt-in-her-mouth goody-goody is the novels heroine. For another thing, Mansfield Park isnt a light-hearted love story. It touches on sensitive issues, including slavery, gossip, and politics. For Austen lovers, Mansfield Park is a veritable walk on the dark side.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Amy Sharony writes about parenting, health, education, food, travel, books and other lifestyle topics for a variety of print and online publications.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

Not everyone likes Mansfield Park, and a large part of that is due to its heroine. Fanny Price is sweet, complacent, and accommodating, but shes also a judgmental, passive-aggressive prig who spends half the novel complaining to herself about everyone around her. Is it her fault? Certainly, her upbringing has contributed to her character: Sent away from her harum-scarum family in her tender youth to live with her wealthy aunt Bertrams family, Fanny is alternately ignored (by her cousins and their mother), picked at (by her aunt Norris, who favors Lady Bertrams children), and treated like a fragile flower by her cousin Edmund. By the time the children of the family are old enough to start thinking of marriage, Fanny has developed into young lady smart enough to recognize the follies of her family and friends but not confident or compassionate enough to share her knowledge with them. Shes also developed a raging (and hopeless) crush on Edmund.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Quicklet on Jane Austen's Mansfield Park+ About the Book+ About the Author+ Overall Summary+ Detailed Chapter Summaries+ ...and much moreJane Austen's Mansfield Park