Mansfield Park

Name: Mansfield Park
Brand: Findaway
Availability: InStock
Author: Jane Austen
ISBN: 9781805362760

Author: Jane Austen

Narrator: Fenella Woolgar

Unabridged: 17 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: SNR Audio

Published: 08/07/2024

Categories: Fiction, Classic

Synopsis

"I should have thought that every woman must have felt the possibility of a man's not being approved." Mansfield Park (1814) is considered Jane Austen's first mature work and, with its quiet heroine and subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, one of her most profound. Ten-year-old Fanny Price is sent from her impoverished home in Portsmouth to live with her wealthy relations at Mansfield Park. Self-effacing and acutely aware of her humble rank, Fanny is neglected by her indolent aunt, Lady Bertram, and belittled by her cousins Tom, Maria and Julia, finding her sole ally in her quiet cousin Edmund and her sole strength in the sense of her own moral integrity. As Fanny grows into adulthood, she becomes the still point in a world of shifting affections, theatrical flirtations, and social expectations. With its richly drawn characters, evocative settings, and exquisite prose, Mansfield Park is both a sharp social satire and a deeply felt story of decency, love, and the courage to remain true to oneself. Jane Austen (1775–1817) is one of the most enduring voices in English literature, celebrated for her sharp wit, keen social insight, and unforgettable portrayals of love, class, and character. From Pride and Prejudice to Emma and Mansfield Park, Austen's novels blend humour, romance, and a clear‑eyed understanding of human nature in plots that often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Though she published anonymously during her lifetime, Austen's novels have rarely been out of print and have become cornerstones of English Literature. Her sharp observations of class, courtship, and character continue to resonate with audiences worldwide and have inspired countless adaptations across film, television, and theatre.

About Jane Austen

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, to the Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra Leigh Austen, in the village of Steventon in Hampshire, England. Though her mother was from a family of gentry, Jane's father was not well off, and the large family had to take in school boarders to make ends meet. The second youngest of the Austens' eight children, Jane was very close to her elder, and only, sister, Cassandra, and neither sister ever married. Both girls were educated at home, as many were at that time.

From a young age Jane wrote satires and read them aloud to her appreciative family. Though she completed the manuscripts of two full-length novels while living at Steventon, these were not published. Later, these novels were revised into the form under which they were published, as Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, respectively.

In 1801, George Austen retired from the clergy, and Jane, Cassandra, and their parents took up residence in Bath, a fashionable town Jane liked far less than her native village. Jane seems to have written little during this period. When Mr. Austen died in 1805, the three women, Mrs. Austen and her daughters, moved first to Southampton and then, partly subsidized by Jane's brothers, occupied a house in Chawton, a village not unlike Jane's first home. There she began to work on writing and pursued publishing once more, leading to the anonymous publication of Sense and Sensibility in 1811 and Pride and Prejudice in 1813, to modestly good reviews.

Known for her cheerful, modest, and witty character, Jane Austen had a busy family and social life but very little direct romantic experience. Her last years were quiet and devoted to family, friends, and writing her final novels. In 1817 she had to interrupt work on her last and unfinished novel, Sanditon, because she fell ill. She died on July 18, 1817, in Winchester, where she had been taken for medical treatment. After her death, her novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were published, together with a biographical notice, due to the efforts of her brother Henry. Austen is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

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