Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 507
Published: 2003 (first published 1814)
Genre: Classics
Challenges: 2012 Chunkster, Classics Club
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal collection
Description: 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 neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour 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 Crawfords' influence and finds herself more isolated than ever. (via Goodreads.com)
Thoughts: This wasn't my favourite read by Jane Austen and it was also a book that basically nothing happened for the vast majority of the book, which made the book hard to read at times. I enjoyed reading it, as I have seen the Mirmax film version of the film several times and its one of my favourite films to watch, but compared to some of the other books by Jane Austen, this wasn't as funny and it seemed to me that Fanny was a character that developed very little, if at all. She almost seems to stay the same through out the book, or at least her outlook on life seems to stay the same. Maybe there were subtle shifts in her character, but I didn't notice anything that made me feel any differently about her.
I can understand why she married who she did (not wanting to spoil it for those of who haven't read it), but I think she could have married somebody who would have put her in a better financial position. It also seemed to me that the majority of the characters seemed to stay the same, except maybe for Sir Edward, who seemed to change his perspective on the relationship between Fanny and Edmund.
Bottom line: If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will probably enjoy this one, but it is not as light as some of Austen's other work that most fans seem to enjoy (Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Emma). Its a pretty good read, but it gets wordy at times and the action in the book seems to drag at times and the pacing seemed to be slow at times. I would probably recommend this book for die-hard Jane Austen fans.
Rating: 3.5/5
Pages for 2012: 21052
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