Cassandra Austen, when asked for her opinion of Mansfield Park wrote, “thought it quite as clever, tho’ not so brilliant, as P. & P.—Fond of Fanny.—Delighted much in Mr. Rushworth’s stupidity.” [1]
Mansfield Park is the third published novel by Jane Austen. Written at Chawton Cottage between 1811 and 1813, it first appeared three volumes in in 1814, a year after Pride and Prejudice and three years following Sense and Sensibility. Like Austen’s other works, Mansfield Park was initially published anonymously and is considered to be her first mature work.
The novel is set mostly in Northamptonshire at Mansfield Park, an estate owned by Sir Thomas Bertram. It begins with a brief description of events in about 1780 when he marries Maria Ward and we meet her two sisters, Mrs Norris and Mrs Price. Years later, ten-year-old Fanny Price a self-effacing and unregarded cousin to the Bertram children arrives to live at Mansfield Park at the suggestion of Mrs Norris. Fanny’s moral strength eventually wins her complete acceptance by the family and marriage to Edmund Bertram himself.
Although it was initially ignored by reviewers, Mansfield Park was a great success with the public. The first printing in 1814 sold out within six months. The second in 1816 also sold out.
Examining displacement, selfishness, education, vocation, both sanctioned and illicit love, crime, and many other themes and issues, Mansfield Park is a superbly rich and timeless classic. It has become recognized as a masterpiece of English literature and is widely studied and admired by scholars and readers alike.
Susannah Fullerton: Lots of Jane Austen links
Susannah Fullerton: Jane & I, A Tale of Austen Addiction
Susannah Fullerton: Jane Austen and Crime
Susannah Fullerton: Happily Ever After: Celebrating Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’
Susannah Fullerton: A Dance with Jane Austen: How a Novelist and her Characters went to the Ball
The Jane Austen Society of Australia