Rating: 
Summary: Mansfield Park - excellent book
Review: I must admit that the first half of this book is somewhat slow and at times quite difficult to hold attention to. I understand that the setting, personalities, and situations must be established in the first half. Even so, the story is a gem well worth reading. It has quite a different feel from the other Jane Austen books and the characters stick to your mind as people you will never forget. A few characters are quite tragic yet do not deserve sympathy, which provides an interest in the reader's mind. Fanny Price, the main character of the book, is an admirable and intelligent person whom I would not mind modeling myself after. This is a GREAT book, so don't miss your chance to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: austen - fabulous
Review: After reading both Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park takes on a different persona.Austen introduces a family of three sisters split due to different consequences (wealth) in life.Fanny Price is the eldest daughter of a large family sent to live with her wealthier relations. Her welcome there is not so wanting.She soon becomes Lady Bertram`s indespensible companion. On leaving Mansfield to attend business dealings abroad, Sir Thomas` children Tom,Edmund,Maria and Julia experience many gaities, especially in the form of the neighbouring family.Their frivolity soon ends with the return of their father.Fanny soon finds herself the center of unwanted attention, when the beau of her cousin begins to divert his attentions to her, and unknown to him ,she is in love with her cousin Edmund.
This novel delves into the social morals of it`s time,social morals that still plague us today. It is not as flambouyant as her previous endeavours,and takes on a more serious tone
however, it is still truly devouring. Wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Hey, It's Jane Austen!
Review: Let me start off by saying it is hard to review a classic novel. After all, there are a lot of people who could be made very angry! But here goes:Yes, I do reccomend this book. If you are just getting in to Jane Austen, you are in a for a treat. The book is rich with plot, and with hidden meaning.
But at the same time I would have to say this is not my favorite JA book. Fanny Price is just not as an interesting character as the other Austen heriones. After all in the whole first volume of the book Fanny is not really a main character, but just a watcher of the goings on. Also the book is an argument for a clergymen's life as a good choice of a profeesion for a young man. So there are points in the story where the plot definately lags.
Even so, with it's faults this is still top notch fiction. While at the start a person may consider Fanny a weak character, you can't help but respect her for all the trials she has to face and for her stalwartness. By the end of the book you are one of her biggest fans. Also JA puts on a great story of old values verses new. And just which way would survive.
So when you feel like another enjoyable trip to Jane Austen's world, pick up this book.
Rating:
Summary: A little slow-but it sure picks up!
Review: I read many novels, many of them classics in under a week. This one took me a MONTH! I found the beginning to be extremely slow, but the book did pick up in the end. I can't really decide whether or not I liked Fanny, but she did need a little self-confidence. Edmund seemed a little too good to be true, and Aunt Norris was a total witch. I had a hard time believing the character relationships in this book as they seemed impossible because the people were HORRIBLE to eachother. Also, Uncle Bertram seemed to have a complete reformation that was a little unbelievable. I dragged through this book until it picked up at the end. I was sad to see it end, and I think Austen could have devoted more than 2 pages to Fanny and Edmund's romance at the end because it took so long to happen, though who am I to be a critic, I could never write anything close to Jane Austen! Read this book for the ending, but don't expect it be a fast read!
Rating: 
Summary: The Blah-est Austen
Review: Perhaps it was because I read this novel after finishing the more up-beat and perky "Pride and Prejudice", but I was horrified by "Mansfield Park". As others have mentioned, it is very dark in nature, and not nearly as amusing as some of her more light-hearted novels. I'm not sure what Ms. Austen had in mind when she wrote this book, perhaps it was a social commentary showing what the world could be like if nobody ever took action like Fanny Price, but if you're going to make a social commentary at least be witty about it! "Mansfield Park" is a very droll read and I had to force myself to finish it which is rare; this more than likely had to do with the fact that I wanted to throttle Fanny for being such a dull, goody-goody priss. How she could possibly be the author's favorite lead character I'll never know because by the end of the book I despised her. If I were Edmund I'd have to take up drinking because my wife was such a bore. Even Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre was more interesting than Fanny and she had a similar disposition in preferring a quieter life, but she was genuinely likable because at least she didn't look down at people and act totally like a nun. I'll openly admit that I don't always see the deeper meaning to a lot of novels, but as far as I'm concerned they are there to be throught-provoking, yes, but also to provide a different world for the reader to slip into. Elizabeth Bennet's world I would have enjoyed immensely, but Fanny Price can keep Mansfield Park and every other boring element about it. I give the novel three stars because I did like the characters of Mary and Henry Crawford who were supposed to be the "bad" people. Well, forgive me, but as far as I was concerned they were the only ones having anything remotely close to fun and so their souls and mine should righfully be banished to the under world for it. For to have fun is wrong and to be truly happy we must never say a wrong word or think a wrong thought about anyone. At least this is what Fanny Price would have us believe. Skip this one and enjoy the more up-beat works of Jane Austen, trust me!
Rating:
Summary: arguably Austen's greatest
Review: Jane Austen wrote a whole lot of good novels, but Mansfield Park is arguably the greatest. It is darker in tone than the rest of her works. It has a somewhat dark humor to it. The protagonist is put through the emotional wringer (as her protagonists often do, but more so here). There is a depth here that is lacking in works like Emma or Sense and Sensibility. This makes the ending that much more gratifying.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: Wow. That was the one word that popped into my mind when I put this novel down at its close. There is nothing else to describe it so perfectly. This, after Pride and Prejudice, is my favorite Jane Austen novel. It has a faster pace than her other books and is easier to read without tiring. This book is about a young girl, Fanny Price, who is a poor relation, sent off to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle. Once there, she is befriended by her cousin, Edmund, and falls in love with him. He is her greatest friend and the only one who truely appreciates her. All around her is high society, courtships, heartbreaks, and scandals. Fanny thinks all is lost until the final scandal and the realization by her cousin of what is truelly important to him, and to all. This is a very, very, very enjoyable book, and one of the best ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Simply brilliant!
Review: The character of Fanny Price is so easy to fall in love with. I recommend this book to everyone. Jane Austen may be hard to read at first but once your in- your hooked....
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but not great, either
Review: I love classical literature, and I am a big Austen fan. This book was not up to the standard I expected of the author. On the plus side, the characters are engaging. Austen does a good job of helping the reader understand who everyone is and has a clear grasp of their motivations. I found it interesting that I liked all the main characters. I really empathized with Fanny's unrequited love for Edmund, and I understood why she was so passive, even though I often didn't like her passivity. The chapters were short and the book was easy to read. The big problem was the book was far too long. Some sections could have clearly been shortened. The play was a necessary part of the plot, but it shouldn't have taken so long. I did find myself getting bored and frustrated at times. As I have found to be common with classical literature, the last half of the book was better the first. There were some characters who were underdeveloped to the point that I wish they hadn't been there - specifically Tom. Also found the section of Fanny's return to her family in Portsmouth a bit long. I found that I got confused at times; I needed to go back and read the introduction. The introduction, in my version, was only 2 pages, which was far too short. In summary, this is a good book for anyone who enjoys the classis. It is a somewhat difficult read, so if you have never read Jane Austen before, I would suggest starting elsewhere - my reccommendation would be Emma.
Rating:
Summary: The general consenus- Great Book!
Review: Its amusing to read all the opinions about good, little Fanny Price. Although many people would love her to be more assertive and lively, thankfully Jane Austen decided it otherwise. Characters just like in reality, come in all shapes and sizes. Like it or not, there are Miss Prices running about the world today- the champions of morals and manners. Fanny is the result of her raising, although shy and complying in temperament, she was taught what became her zealous moral character. Fanny in the end represents the manners and values of the ideal women at the time. In the end though, it doesn't mean that the character itself is likable. I was quite fine with Fanny, although one aspect annoyed me greatly, and that was her delicate constitution. She could only handle horseriding as walking exerted her. What a load of rubbish! In the end though, Mansfield Park is a great book. The characters are engaging, and the storyline is solid. Highly recommended- it shows through these reviews, how good this book really is, that though a despising of the heroine, they still enjoyed the book.
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