Reviews

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

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naterjane's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

booksonawednesday's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I’ve read nearly all of Jane Austen’s novels now, and this one must be an unfortunate outlier.

Fanny Price is taken in by her mother’s sister and brother-in-law (Mr & Mrs Bertram) to live in Mansfield Park, who are more affluent and respectable. She falls in love with her cousin Edmund (which I appreciate was more normal for the time) and spends most of the novel pining after him (inexplicably, in my opinion). Henry and Mary Crawford, brother and sister, then enter the scene and bring some immorality to the Bertram family.

To me, this was not a romance book. While Fanny is in love with Edmund, he only loves her for the past five pages, which doesn’t make a great love story. Besides them being cousins, there’s also the fact that there’s a significant age gap, and that he knew Fanny from when she was 10 years old.

The characters were all unlikeable, and Fanny, as the protagonist, exceptionally weak and whiny. Edmund was also a boring love interest.

While we’re not supposed to like the Crawfords, I was glad that they bought a bit of drama to the table, which this book was sorely missing.

Of course, there were some beautiful sentences interspersed with the boring mundane dramas (does anyone care about what carriage to use, or what the necklace represents?).

There was also a lot of social commentary, which perhaps a historian could appreciate, but not me.

puzzleparty's review against another edition

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slow-paced

2.0

jiva's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

aliteralfield's review against another edition

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challenging emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I actually really enjoyed it, which going into it I thought i wouldn’t.
I think it’s a far more complex novel compared to pride and prejudice due to the social commentary.
Main leading lady, Fanny, is a bit of a wet and feeble character who is instantly in love with her cousin which is weird but that’s what the did back in the day.
As it’s Austen the ending is all shiny and happy but darker themes so that the Bertram’s and the Crawford aren’t all happy and are in the negative eye in society.