Mansfield Park
Paperback $24.95eBook $10.95
386 pages (approx)
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Step into one of Jane Austen's most enjoyable novels, Mansfield Park. With its fair share of excellent characters, superbly crafted by Austen. Star as Fanny Price, where this deserving heroine gets her man in the end after much trial and tribulation and even saves the day. The satire of Mansfield Park is of the highest order; and readers are in for a special treat with this personalized novel which is deliciously witty and sparkling with intelligent humour.
Synopsis
Young Fanny Price, born to a large and struggling family, is taken to live at Mansfield Park, the estate of her aunt's husband, Sir Thomas. Most of her relatives treat her fairly badly, apart from her cousin Edmund who shows her care and compassion, and as years go by, Fanny and Edmund's bond intensifies. Once grown, Fanny is soon possessed of beauty as well as a keen mind and comes to the attention of a neighbour, Henry Crawford. Thomas promotes this match, but to his displeasure, Fanny has a mind of her own, asking Henry to prove himself worthy. As Edmund courts Henry's sister, Mary and as light shines on the link between Thomas's fortunes and New World slavery, Fanny must assess Henry's character and assert her heart as well as her wit.
The thoughtless young people of Mansfield Park fall easily into trouble, risking their reputations for momentary pleasure. However, not even our heroes Fanny and Edmund are safe from all mischief. When the glamorous Crawford siblings come to town, even the most noble of hearts begin to flutter. But are the two visitors all they appear to be? The good judgment and honest love that Fanny and Edmund share are put to the test as they enter the world of adulthood and are forced to choose their destinies.
Book in Detail
Characters to Personalise:
Fanny Price - The protagonist. The daughter of a drunken sailor
and a woman who married beneath her, she comes to live with her wealthy
uncle and aunt, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. They take her in as an act
of charity to her parents. She is mistreated and always reminded of her
"place" as a charity ward, but she eventually comes to be an
indispensable member of the family. Modest, always proper, and, as she
grows older, quite beautiful, Fanny is secretly in love with the
Bertrams' son Edmund but is the subject of proposals by the slick Henry
Crawford.
Sir Thomas Bertram - A wealthy landowner and Fanny's uncle. He
is authoritarian and rather hard on his children until a series of
disasters show him the error of his ways. He owns slaves on his
plantations in the Caribbean, a fact that hangs over the book. He means
well and eventually does right by Fanny.
Lady Bertram - Fanny's aunt; her mother's sister and Sir Thomas's wife.
She is neurotic, a hypochondriac, and lazy. A beauty in her youth, she
values people's attractiveness over all else, yet she is honest enough
to admit how much Fanny means to her.
Edmund Bertram - The Bertrams' younger son. Since he will not be the
heir to Mansfield, he will become a clergyman. The only one of the
Bertrams' children with a good head and a good heart, Edmund is Fanny's
closest companion. He rather blindly falls in love with Mary Crawford,
which almost leads to his downfall.
Mary Crawford - Sister of Mrs. Grant, who is the wife of the second
parson at Mansfield. She is beautiful and charming, but also shallow and
evil. She has been brought up poorly by an aunt and uncle and has been
subject to the influences of her fashionable friends. She becomes
friends with a reluctant Fanny, while Edmund falls in love with and
nearly proposes to her.