I finally finished Mansfield Park for the April A to Z Challenge. This is the third Jane Austen novel that I’ve ever read.

Fanny Price is one of many children. She is sent to live with a wealthy aunt and uncle, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram. There are also four cousins: Tom, Edmund, Maria and Julia. The only one who is not a spoiled brat is Edmund.

Mrs. Norris, another aunt, is the worst person. She is always insulting Fanny and would never let her do anything that could be beneficial or fun. Thank goodness for Edmund. He always sticks up for Fanny.

After Sir Thomas leaves for Antigua, Mary and Henry Crawford arrive in town and begin socializing with the Bertram family. Henry flirts with Maria and Julia causing quite a bit of sibling rivalry.

Maria marries Mr. Rushworth and Julia accompanies the couple.

So Henry sets his sights on Fanny. He wants her to fall in love with him but she doesn’t like him at all. She has seen how he acted with Maria and Julia. Her instincts tell her to stay away from him although marrying him would increase her fortune and social standing.

Everyone is pressuring her to say yes but she refuses. When she finally considers to maybe give Henry a chance, all of the stuffing hits the fan.

I don’t want to give away the end. Let’s just say that Fanny was right all along. People underestimate Fanny because she is so quiet and reserved. In the end, things worked out for her and I was so glad.

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