Mansfield Park (Naxos Edition)

A reluctant Janeite not reluctant any more.

I was what you might call a reluctant Janeite. I suspect there are a lot of us out there, especially among us men. From being force-fed ‘Emma’ in sixth-form I was in denial - I recognised the writer’s quality without properly seeing that her stories are more than just tales of closed societies of young idle people wasting their time before being married off. I’ve begun to see to what extent I was wrong, and Mansfield Park has helped greatly with that process.
Even some quite ardent lovers of Jane Austen have trouble with Mansfield Park, or, more particularly, they have trouble with Fanny Price. She’s not “feisty”; she lacks heroic quality; she’s weak. Broadly, she commits the sin of not being Elizabeth Bennett. These criticisms are true as far as they go, but here’s the thing: the book tells us exactly why and how she’s all this, how she copes with and ultimately overcomes her troubled upbringing and ends the book as a fully-rounded & admirable person.
Here’s a girl, less than healthy, certainly neglected and conceivably abused at home, taken as an act of charity from her parents and placed in a high-class environment already packed with well-to-do, self-assured older children and adults who, with one exception, treat her with anything raging from condescension to disdain to simple ignoring, so that she almost always feels she is only at Mansfield Park on sufferance. Should she ever show “ingratitude” or independence of spirit, there is Mrs Norris to tell her how lucky she is to be among such superior society at all. If at any time she receives what seems to be preferential treatment there is always someone to remind her of her lowly status. The only adult who appreciates her is too idle and self-absorbed to be any help, and the only one of the children who supports her becomes neglectful when he falls in love. Is it any wonder that Fanny is less than self-confident?
The story of the book for me is how she acquires her inner strength: as others fail and show their feet of clay she consistently increases in power without ever losing that essential eighteenth and nineteenth century attribute, modesty. And this rise comes organically and feels true, and through this I cannot be one of the anti-Fanny crowd.
For me any weakness in the book comes late. The inevitable marriage feels contrived and even possibly objectionable: maybe another outcome would have been too difficult to pull off without upsetting conservative readers, but this somewhat bolted-on happy ending, while it doesn’t spoil a marvellous book, feels unwanted.

This is a copy of my Goodreads review. I only need to add here that it is read superbly. Oh and that Edmund is what PG Wodehouse would call "a pill"!

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Julliet Stevenson Narrating at her best

Brilliant a joy to listen too, the characters are portraied so well, I could listen to it over and over again

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

The best version I've found

I took a couple of unsuccessful attempts to select a version of this audio book because although I knew I liked Juliet Stevenson's narration of other Jane Austen books the audio sample attached to the title had such bad quality sound I wasn't sure I could put up with it throughout the whole book. Eventually I decided to give it a try because Audible allows you to return a title for refund if you're not happy with it (a facility I'd discovered and taken advantage of when I tried the other narrators). Happily, I found that the sound quality of the full audio file when I downloaded it was good, at least as good as the recordings of the other Jane Austen titles Juliet Stevenson had narrated - this one's not going back.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Juliet Stevenson narrates beautifully!

Any additional comments?

This was my first audiobook after being introduced to audible, and I was not disappointed. Juliet Stevenson reads wonderfully well, and clearly distinguishes between characters. It really brought the book to life. This is not my favourite Austen, as I find the protagonist Fanny Price, a little annoying, but the usual wit and genius shines through nonetheless.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Better than some more expensive versions

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this very highly. Jane Austen's characterisation and dialogue are, as always, brilliant, and seem to be particularly effective when read aloud.Since reading circles were a common social activity in J.A.'s time, perhaps she intended this. Juliet Stevenson does full justice to the text. She uses different voices for different characters, which bring out their character beautifully, yet sound quite natural. I am pleasantly surprised, because this is one of the cheapest versions of Mansfield Park, and yet it must be one of the best (I haven't tried the others, but other people's reviews seem to indicate some are not as good).

What other book might you compare Mansfield Park to, and why?

Just as good as Jane Austen's other novels.

Which character – as performed by Juliet Stevenson – was your favourite?

Lady Bertram -I can just picture her laid out on the chaise longue,so outrageously self-absorbed and indolent that she becomes comic..

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I rationed myself, so I would have it to look forward to.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Sparkling wit at its best!

Ah, the wit and wonder of Jane Austen is second to none - many an acerbic observation made me gasp or laugh out loud throughout this, one of my favourite of her books. I think Fanny Price is such a gentle natured girl that she may be in danger of getting overlooked as one of Austen's main characters most deserving of attention.  She is full of both sense and sensitivity and is rather lovely to spend time with!  The other characters are flawed and very human indeed, with foibles a plenty and scandals abounding.  Plenty of opportunity for Austen to get out her claws and hold her mirror up to society. Things have changed since, the scandals may seem tame but the hurts they would cause would still be far reaching even if the consequences very different now. The ending still makes me smile and sigh with relief (trying not to spoil things for future readers too much!) and it is over all too quickly.

Juliet Stevenson's reading of the audio book is excellent with some brilliant voices for the different characters, she certainly sounded like she was having a lot of fun as she was reading it!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Jane Austin entertainment.

Eloquently narrated by Juliet Stevenson, who captures the atmosphere perfectly. The characters come to life in this story.

Long live Fanny Price

The main character's moral compass and especially her power of conviction blew me away as she never wavered despite enormous pressure to comply to social expectations and demands. Long live Fanny Price.

Boring novel.

Very long, boring novel. I didn't enjoy reading it and I felt I would have never been able to finish it.

Good narration helps with the weakest Austen novel

This is my least favourite novel by Jane Austen but was better on a second reading; especially helped by the excellent narrator.