I have been threatening it for years, and now I’m going to do it! Long, long ago, when I was a college whippersnapper, I read Mansfield Park for a class and thought it was REALLY QUITE GOOD. Then some time passed, and everyone talked shit about Mansfield Park because Fanny’s a pain and Edmund’s a drip, and my vague memories calcified into the following:
- Mansfield Park is unfairly maligned (by the world); and
- The Crawfords are unfairly maligned (by Jane Austen)
Well, 2021 is the year we’re going to find out the truth! Is Fanny as much of a pain as I remember? Is Edmund the actual worst Austen hero, or does that title still belong to Mr. Farrars? And, perhaps most importantly, does Mary Crawford deserve what she gets, or is she amazing and she deserved better? We will find out together!
Here’s my proposed readalong schedule, although of course you may read at your very own pace. I am going to do a post every Monday in May (there are five) that follows my reading, and I will surely be nattering about the book in minor, petty ways on Twitter, using the hashtag #MansfieldInMay. Join me, comrades!
The Official Mansfield in May Schedule
May 3: Chapters 1 – 9
May 10: Chapters 10 – 21
May 17: Chapters 22 – 29
May 24: Chapters 30 – 38
May 31: Chapters 39 – 48