Mansfield Park
by Jane Austen
'Mansfield Park' Summary
Fanny Price, at age ten, is sent from her impoverished home in Portsmouth to live as one of the family at Mansfield Park, the Northamptonshire country estate of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram. There she is mistreated by all but her elder cousin Edmund. Her aunt Norris, the wife of the clergyman at the Mansfield parsonage, makes herself particularly unpleasant.
When Fanny is fifteen, Aunt Norris is widowed and the frequency of her visits to Mansfield Park increases, as does her mistreatment of Fanny. A year later, Sir Thomas leaves to deal with problems on his plantation in Antigua, taking his spendthrift eldest son Tom. Mrs Norris, looking for a husband for Maria, finds Mr Rushworth, who is rich but weak-willed and considered stupid, and Maria accepts his proposal.
The following year, Henry Crawford and his sister, Mary, arrive at the parsonage to stay with their half-sister, the wife of the new incumbent, Dr Grant. With their fashionable London ways, they enliven life in Mansfield. Edmund and Mary then start to show interest in one another.
On a visit to Mr Rushworth's estate, Henry flirts with both Maria and Julia. Maria believes Henry is in love with her and so treats Mr Rushworth dismissively, provoking his jealousy, while Julia struggles with jealousy and resentment towards her sister. Mary is disappointed to learn that Edmund will be a clergyman and tries to undermine his vocation. Fanny fears that Mary's charms are blinding Edmund to her flaws.
After Tom returns, he encourages the young people to begin rehearsals for an amateur performance of the play Lovers' Vows. Edmund objects, believing Sir Thomas would disapprove and feeling that the subject matter of the play is inappropriate for his sisters. But after much pressure, he agrees to take on the role of the lover of the character played by Mary. The play provides further opportunity for Henry and Maria to flirt. When Sir Thomas arrives home unexpectedly, the play is still in rehearsal and is cancelled. Henry departs without explanation and Maria goes ahead with marriage to Mr Rushworth. They then settle in London, taking Julia with them. Sir Thomas sees many improvements in Fanny and Mary Crawford initiates a closer relationship with her.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1814Author
Jane Austen
England
Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often...
More on Jane AustenDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books
The Junior Classics Volume 1: Fairy and Wonder Tales by William Patten
The purpose of The Junior Classics is to provide, in ten volumes containing about five thousand pages, a classified collection of tales, stories, and...
Go She Must! by David Garnett
"Go She Must!" by David Garnett is an engaging and adventurous book that captures the imagination of young readers. Written by the acclaimed English w...
The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
"The Little Mermaid" is a Danish literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young me...
The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs
The Windy Hill is a children's novel by Cornelia Meigs. A brother and sister learn about their own family's history in New England through a series of...
The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless, Vol. 3 by Eliza Haywood
Betsy Thoughtless is about marriage, rather than dealing with courtship and thus differs from the type of domestic writing that would develop in the 1...
Famous Stories Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright Mabie
This is a collection of well known fairy tales by various authors, including the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and many others.
In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers by G. A. Henty
The story follows the protagonist, a young explorer named Harold, who finds himself stranded in a remote region inhabited by primitive cave-dwellers....
The Box-Car Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Boxcar Children is a children's book series originally created and written by the American first-grade school teacher Gertrude Chandler Warner. To...
The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley
The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby is a children's novel by Charles Kingsley. Written in 1862–63 as a serial for Macmillan's Magazine, it...
Reviews for Mansfield Park
No reviews posted or approved, yet...