Mansfield Park (Oxford World's Classics) Summary and Reviews

Mansfield Park (Oxford World's Classics)
by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park (Oxford World's Classics)
List Price: $7.95
Our Price: $2.31
You Save: $5.64 (71%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.50 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Jane Austen
Editor: James Kinsley
Introduction: Jane Stabler
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-10-02
ISBN: 019280264X
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Book Reviews of Mansfield Park (Oxford World's Classics)

Book Review: Austen's most controversial novel.
Summary: 4 Stars

In this somewhat atypical Jane Austen novel, Austen abandons her precise characterization and carefully constructed plots, usually designed to illustrate specific ethical and social dilemmas, and presents a much broader, more complex picture of early nineteenth century life. Though the polite behavior of the middle and upper classes is always a focus of Austen, and this novel is no exception, she is more analytical of society as a whole here, casting a critical eye on moral issues which allow the upper class to perpetuate itself. Fanny Price, the main character, is the daughter of a genteel woman who married for love but soon found herself in poverty. When Fanny's aunt and uncle, the wealthy owners of Mansfield Park, invite Fanny alone, of all the children, to live with them, Fanny enters a new world, where she is educated, clothed, and housed, but always regarded as an "outsider."

Through Fanny's two cousins, Maria and Julia, Austen shows the complex interactions of the upper class as they negotiate marriages, try to maintain the family's reputation and wealth, and react to those "beneath" them socially. Fanny, having experienced both poverty and plenty, comments on what she sees, and though she lacks the witty charm of some of Austen's other characters (such as Elizabeth Bennett), she shows an intelligence and conscience lacking among her cousins. Only Edmund, the youngest of the Bertram sons, pays genuine attention to her, and her love for him is real, though secret.

This is a darker novel than Austen's others, showing conflicts between late eighteenth century rationalism and the growing romanticism of the nineteenth century. Sir Thomas maintains his wealth through his possible participation in the slave trade, a business in which a number of his contemporaries participated. Often unfeeling toward his own family, Sir Thomas also shows cruelty toward Fanny when she rejects a marriage he has negotiated for her to a man she does not love. Cousin Maria chooses to marry Rushworth for his fortune, but she succumbs to her passion for someone else, and introduces a romantic, new sexuality into the novel. Unfortunately, Fanny, though sweet and reasonable, is also quiet and predictable, while Edmund, the only other potentially empathetic character, is na?ve and often appears to be weak. Austen's light touch and quiet humor, which make her other novels vibrate with life and come to a satisfying ending, are less obvious here, and the abrupt conclusion leaves many questions unanswered. Mary Whipple

Literature & Fiction Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in My "Must Read/ Read Again" List
The Once and Future King ImageThe Once and Future King
by Terence Hanbury White
Ace; Published: 1987-07-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.33
Price in other shops: $7.99
Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life ImageMiddlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life
by George Eliot
Broadview Press; Published: 2004-08-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.94
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Mists of Avalon ImageThe Mists of Avalon
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Ballantine Books; Published: 1982; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.89
Price in other shops: $18.00
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (Puffin Classics) ImageKing Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (Puffin Classics)
by Roger Lancelyn Green
Puffin; Published: 1995-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Le Morte D'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table (Signet Classics) ImageLe Morte D'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table (Signet Classics)
by Sir Thomas Malory
Signet Classics; Published: 2001-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops: $7.95
Les Mis?rables (Signet Classics) ImageLes Mis?rables (Signet Classics)
by Victor Hugo
Signet Classics; Published: 1987-03-03; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.06
Price in other shops: $7.95
Iliad and Odyssey boxed set ImageIliad and Odyssey boxed set
by Homer
Penguin Classics; Published: 1999-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.90
Price in other shops: $31.95
The Mill on the Floss (Oxford World's Classics) ImageThe Mill on the Floss (Oxford World's Classics)
by George Eliot
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1998-05-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops: $9.95
Wuthering Heights (Bantam Classics) ImageWuthering Heights (Bantam Classics)
by Emily Bront?
Bantam Classics; Published: 1983-11-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.80
Price in other shops: $4.95
The Castle: A new translation based on the restored text ImageThe Castle: A new translation based on the restored text
by Franz Kafka
Schocken; Published: 1998-12-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.10
Price in other shops: $14.00
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Emma (Penguin Classics) ImageEmma (Penguin Classics)
by Jane Austen
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-05-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.16
Price in other shops: $8.00
Persuasion ImagePersuasion
Sony; Release date: 2000-02-01; DVD
Best price: $7.57
Price in other shops: $14.94
Mansfield Park (1999) ImageMansfield Park (1999)
Release date: 2000-07-11; DVD
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops: $14.99
Catharine: and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics) ImageCatharine: and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics)
by Jane Austen
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1998-08-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.10
Price in other shops: $10.95
Northanger Abbey (Penguin Classics) ImageNorthanger Abbey (Penguin Classics)
by Jane Austen
Penguin Classics; Published: 2003-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.36
Price in other shops: $7.00
Pride and Prejudice (Bantam Classics) ImagePride and Prejudice (Bantam Classics)
by Jane Austen
Bantam Classics; Published: 1983-12-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.70
Price in other shops: $4.95
Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon (Oxford World's Classics) ImageNorthanger Abbey, Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon (Oxford World's Classics)
by Jane Austen
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-10-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.88
Price in other shops: $6.95
Sense and Sensibility (Oxford World's Classics) ImageSense and Sensibility (Oxford World's Classics)
by Jane Austen
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2004-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.09
Price in other shops: $6.95
Emma (Oxford World's Classics) ImageEmma (Oxford World's Classics)
by Jane Austen
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-07-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.61
Price in other shops: $7.95
Persuasion (Oxford World's Classics) ImagePersuasion (Oxford World's Classics)
by Jane Austen
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2004-03-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.42
Price in other shops: $5.95