Mansfield Park
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Narrated by:
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Frances Barber
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By:
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Jane Austen
About this listen
Exclusively from Audible
When the self-effacing 10-year-old Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relations at Mansfield Park she seems shy and withdrawn beside her witty and vivacious cousins. Growing up in the Bertram household, she is always treated as an inferior, only finding an ally in her cousin Edmund. But Fanny's steadfast and purposeful character eventually makes her an indispensable part of the household. During the absence of Fanny's uncle, the others become entangled in a maze of flirtation and intrigue upon the arrival of Mary Crawford and her brother Henry. It is only Fanny whose deep but secret love for Edmund remains true despite his fascination with her brilliant but frivolous cousin Mary.
The most serious of Austen's works due to its discussion of religion and religious duty, Mansfield Park also offers a subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, making it one of Austen's most profound works.
Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels which focused on the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Her plots often explore women's dependence on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security.
Narrator Biography
Frances Barber has received Olivier Award nominations for her work in the plays, Camille, and Uncle Vanya. Other theatre credits include; Madame Rubinstein, The School for Scandal, What The Butler Saw, Julius Caesar, Les Parents Terribles, That Face, Afterplay, Madame De Sade, and King Lear. Her numerous television credits include Father Brown, Medici: Masters of Florence, Mapp and Lucia, Psychobitches, The Spa, a new regular in the series Silk, several episodes of Doctor Who, Midsomer Murders and A Passionate Woman. Her film credits include The Escape; The Bookshop; Blue Iguana; Film Stars don't Die in Liverpool; El Elegido (The Chosen) and Mr. Holmes.
Frances Barbar has narrated an impressive list of titles, including The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine, The Voyages of the Princess Matilda by Shane Spall and Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.
Public Domain (P)2015 Audible, Inc.Critic reviews
"Frances Barber offers a sterling performance, bringing life and sparkle to each character....Barber convincingly shifts from lord of the manor to sniveling servitude at the change of a sentence. And her narrative passages transparently tie the whole family together into one beautiful package." (AudioFile)
Narrator
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Excellent performance
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Made so much better by the narration.
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Fanny as a child is shy, put upon, ignored and bullied in turn. She is gentle and caring and helpful and quite frankly a bit boring. As a woman, she doesn't really change. There are of course reasons for this, she is constantly made to know and feel herself to be inferior to her cousins and to be grateful for her situation in being favoured by her Uncle and Aunt. She has little liveliness, suffers easily if over-exerted and generally is quite dull, and that for me meant that I found myself wanting the outcome of the story to be different.
The Crawfords were far more interesting people, and Mary's wanting a husband who could give her more than a clergyman could, is not intrinsically wrong in my opinion. Henry is a man too used to female appreciation and a flirt, who wants what he wants with little thought to the impact it has on others. He is not likeable but is charming.
Overall none of the characters, Edmund, Tom, his sisters, mother, the spiteful Mrs Norris et al were very appealing, though for different reasons. Some of which was that they were well drawn and
I found the tone and content of the novel a bit preachy and too moralistic to feel it translates well to the 21st Century despite the satirical and pointed writing that is showing up the social mores and double standards of the time, for what they were. For me there wasn't enough humour or finesse.
The narration was OK, although I do dislike that occasionally I could hear her swallowing. The voice was lacking in warmth or any sense of engagement with the story which may have emphasised the disconnect I felt with the story.
The audio is formatted a bit strangely with a fairly long silence at the end of each chapter which interrupts the flow of the book when listening.
Overall this is a three star book.
A Three Star book.
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So good
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