Mansfield Park: A Novel

The most politically conscious and controversial of Jane Austen’s novels, Mansfield Park critiques the structures that often supported English gentry and lavish estates, with references to British plantations in the West Indies, built on slavery and oppression. The novel also directly juxtaposes different classes as the story follows Fanny Price—born to a lower class family in Portsmouth—who is sent her wealthy aunt and uncle on their estate, Mansfield Park. Austen follows Fanny as she searches for independence, love, and fulfilment, without compromising her principles.