Book: Mansfield Park

Pages/Format: 412/Paperback

My Thoughts: Of all Jane Austen’s books, this one is probably my least favorite.  It was good, and I liked it, but it’s not my absolute favorite.

Alright, Mansfield Park is about Fanny Price, who goes to live with her rich aunt and uncle and their four children.  Her cousin Edmund is unusually kind to her, and Fanny is so grateful that she falls in love with him.

They’re visited by Henry and Mary Crawford, who are siblings from London, and their visit makes a splash.  Mary and Edmund become rather attached to each other, while Henry becomes rather fond of Edmund’s sisters (Julia and Maria).

Maria ends up having an affair with Henry, she gets divorced from her husband, and Henry won’t marry her, while Henry’s sister has no problem with the affair.  Edmund realizes Mary isn’t the person he thought she was,  realizes he’s in love with Fanny, and they end up getting married.

Honestly, I found myself rereading most of it, because I found myself losing interest at times.  I find the fact that Fanny is overlooked by her family interesting, but not a surprise, since her family was poor.  She does go back to live with her parents and siblings for a time, and it was interesting to see her in a different environment.  She is smart and shy, lives by a strict moral code, and is somewhat prone to wishful thinking.  She does become more confident by the end of the novel but other than that, she didn’t seem to change all too much.  Fanny was slightly difficult for me to relate with, but I still liked her.

Rating: 3 out of 5.  It’s my least favorite Austen book; overall, I thought it was just average.