Mansfield Park

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(Wiki)
The novel tells the story of Fanny Price, starting when her overburdened family sends her at the age of ten to live in the household of her wealthy aunt and uncle and following her development into early adulthood. From early on critical interpretation has been diverse, differing particularly over the character of the heroine, Austen’s views about theatrical performance and the centrality or otherwise of ordination and religion, and on the question of slavery. Some of these problems have been highlighted in the several later adaptations of the story for stage and screen.

The first critical review in 1821 was positive. At first, critics praised the novel’s wholesome morality. The Victorian consensus treated Austen’s novels as social comedy. In 1911, A. C. Bradley restored the moral perspective, praising Mansfield Park for being artistic while having “deeply at heart the importance of certain truths about conduct”. Others in the mid-1900’s maintained emphasis on the novel’s deep moral strength. However, some argued that there were more shades of grey in Mansfield Park than in her other novels, and that those who craved a simple dualist worldview might find this off-putting. By the 1970s, Mansfield Park was considered Austen’s most controversial novel.

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Because of some themes throughout the book, Mansfield Park is best read for those 15/16 and up.

Author: Austen, Jane
Date Published: 1814
Publisher: John Murray
Illustrator: N/A (1st ed.)
Public Domain: YES