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Mansfield Park
Jane Austen, 1814
420 pp.

In Brief
Through Fanny Price, the heroine of Mansfield Park, Jane Austen views the social mores of her day and contemplates human nature itself. A shy and sweet-tempered girl adopted by wealthy relations, Fanny is an outsider looking in on an unfamiliar, and often inhospitable, world. But Fanny eventually wins the affection of her benefactors, endearing herself to the Bertram family and the reader alike.

In her Introduction, Carol Shields writes, [Mansfield Park's] overriding theme is difficult to isolate, since the novel is about everything it touches upon: nurturing, steadfastness, belonging and not belonging, about fine gradations of moral persuasion, about human noise and silence, and about action and stillness. (From Random House edition; cover photo, right .)

Three film adaptations include: a 2007 BBC miniseries with Billie Piper as Fanny Price, a 1999 film with Frances O'Connor as Fanny, and a 1983 miniseries with Sylvestra Le Touzel as Fanny.

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About the Author

• Birth—December 16, 1775
• Where—Steventon in Hampshire, UK
• Death—July 18, 1817
• Where—Winchester, Hampshire
• Education—taught at home by her father


In 1801, George Austen retired from the clergy, and Jane, Cassandra, and their parents took up residence in Bath, a fashionable town Jane liked far less than her native village. Jane seems to have written little during this period. When Mr. Austen died in 1805, the three women, Mrs. Austen and her daughters, moved first to Southampton and then, partly subsidized by Jane's brothers, occupied a house in Chawton, a village not unlike Jane's first home. There she began to work on writing and pursued publishing once more, leading to the anonymous publication of Sense and Sensibility in 1811 and Pride and Prejudice in 1813, to modestly good reviews.

Known for her cheerful, modest, and witty character, Jane Austen had a busy family and social life, but as far as we know very little direct romantic experience. There were early flirtations, a quickly retracted agreement to marry the wealthy brother of a friend, and a rumored short-lived attachment -- while she was traveling -- that has not been verified. Her last years were quiet and devoted to family, friends, and writing her final novels. In 1817 she had to interrupt work on her last and unfinished novel, Sanditon, because she fell ill. She died on July 18, 1817, in Winchester, where she had been taken for medical treatment. After her death, her novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published, together with a biographical notice, due to the efforts of her brother Henry. Austen is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

Jane Austen's delightful, carefully wrought novels of manners remain surprisingly relevant, nearly 200 years after they were first published. Her novels—Pride and Prejudice and Emma among them—are those rare books that offer us a glimpse at the mores of a specific period while addressing the complexities of love, honor, and responsibility that still intrigue us today. (From Barnes & Noble.)

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Readers Say . . .
(For older books, there's a shortage of mainstream online reviews, so we try to include helpful ones from Barnes & Noble customers.)

A Good Read : Mansfield Park would have gotten five stars from me, except for the fact that it never went into detail on how Fanny and her hero realized their love for one another and how they brought it up. It just said (this is not the actual quote): "he realized that Fanny was the perfect match for him and they lived happily with love." But other than that, I found myself laughing at the wits of Austen and all of the ironies involved, probably the most of any Austen's books. Also, I absolutely adored Fanny's character! She was so sweet and realistic, filled with many of the doubts and fears that we face, so it was very easy for me to relate to her.
Reviewer - Anon., 4/18/08


Another Jane Austen Masterpiece : This novel was different in that it approached the topic of love from the viewpoint of a girl thrown out of her element and into a world seeking to separate her from her character. Fanny Price is the heroine of Mansfield Park. When she is roughly ten years old she is sent by her mother to live with her wealthy aunt, uncle, and Cousins Julia and Maria at Mansfield Park. Fanny is bewildered by the abrupt change in her environment and has a difficult time adjusting to the harsh criticism of her new family who believes her to be an ignorant heathen. Her cousin Edmund takes her under his wing and is the only family member who takes the time to talk to Fanny and treat her like a human being.... Austen's style in this novel is different from her other novels in that her heroine is not an outspoken and witty women like Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice, nor a meddlesome matchmaker as in Emma. Fanny Price is instead probably the closest thing to Jane Austen herself, quiet and subdued and yet with an unbreakable spirit. The novel is definitely worth reading and recommended to adolescents and adults. If the reader can truly value to metamorphosis that takes place in Mansfield Park then it is time well spent.
Reviewer - Anon., 8/30/07

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Book Club Discussion Questions

1. Though it was very successful, Jane Austen deemed Pride and Prejudice, her second novel, "'rather too light."' As Carol Shields mentions in her Introduction, Austen hoped to address more serious issues in her next novel, Mansfield Park. Many readers and critics think Mansfield Park is Austen's most serious and most profound novel. How does it differ from Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice? How are her treatments of class, gender, relationships, and most especially, faith, more nuanced and more mature?

2. Describe the social positions of the three Ward sisters— Lady Bertram, Mrs. Norris, and Mrs. Price. How did they arrive at such different circumstances and how have their circumstances presumably affected their personalities? How do the sisters treat each other and how much of this is the result of their respective status?

3. As soon as Sir Thomas decides to accept responsibility for one of Mrs. Price's children, Fanny is put into an unusual position. Sir Bertram says, although she is to live with them, "she is not a Miss Bertram . . . their rank, fortune, rights and expectations will always be different." Describe the family's feelings for Fanny as the novel develops. How does the treatment of Fanny by Mrs. Norris and the Bertram sisters distinguish her from the rest of the children? How does Fanny feel about the Bertrams and how do her feelings change, especially for Sir Bertram and Edmund? Before her marriage, what changes take place that allow for her acceptance in the family?

4. Fanny Price inspires strong reactions in readers; she is cast by some as a dreary killjoy, and by others as an endearing, admirable heroine. Is this dichotomy Austen's intention? Discuss the ways in which Fanny embodies both sides of this polarized debate. What is your opinion of her in relation to other well-known female protagonists of the day?

5. Mansfield Park was divided into three volumes, published separately. Why do you think Austen chose this structure, and how does it affect your reading of the book? Think about other writing that employs this structure to inform your response.

6. From the moment the idea is suggested, Edmund is against the staging of a play. Why is the play seen as inappropriate by both Edmund and Fanny? Why, once it is decided upon, does Edmund accept a part in the play, even though he would appear a hypocrite? How much of this license was taken because of the absence of Sir Thomas and how much was simply the influence of Tom? What is the significance of their choice of plays, "Lover's Vows"?

7. Describe the similarities and differences between the courtship of Edmund and Mary and that of Fanny and Henry. What are the stumbling blocks in these two courtships that cause them to fail? To what extent were the trials of these courtships responsible for Edmund's change of heart toward Fanny?
(Questions issued by Random House—cover image, top right.)