Mansfield Park

By: Jane Austen

Narrated by: Frances Barber

Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

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self-effacing 10-year-old Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relations at Mansfield Park she seems shy and withdrawn beside her witty and vivacious cousins.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)

ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL

The only sadness I feel for this book is that it is OVER! I loved it. I felt, because of the recent movie by this title, that I would not enjoy this as much as other Jane Austen's book. However, it had been years since I had read the book. As usual the book is different from the movie! I loved the REAL story as read by the narrator. I LOVED the way the narrator allowed one to FEEL how Fanny felt, how Mary sounded and acted, and how all the other characters had their own personalities along with the voice rendition. Buy it, you will love it!

Character Will Out

What made the experience of listening to Mansfield Park the most enjoyable?

Many fans of "Pride and Prejudice" or "Emma" have a difficult time enjoying Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park." The first part revolves around the disapproval of the heroine, the impoverished Fanny Price, for an amateur theatrical performance arranged by her cousins and their alluring guests, Henry and Mary Crawford. Fanny's wealthy uncle Sir Thomas Bertram, is away, and the young people feel their inhibitions evaporate -- all except Fanny. But if it's hard for modern readers to sympathize with the particular situation, the larger issues involve the character of these young adults: when the parents aren't looking, what kind of integrity, self-control, and sympathy for others will they exhibit? How will they handle jealousy and disappointment--and will they sacrifice the happiness of another for their own advantage?As the plot thickens, Austen brings out the underlying character of Fanny, her cousins, and their suitors with her mixture of charm, satire, and 'regulated hatred.' She complicates the issue by showing how a character's bad upbringing and social surroundings can turn a good nature sour. Character will out, and the play-acting early in the book leads to life-altering choices by the end. Of all her novels, "Mansfield Park" may provoke the most reflection on the roles of nature and nurture in human character.Frances Barber's reading is superb, with subtle vocal changes to distinguish the characters -- all pitch perfect, to align with their inner qualities.

A More Favorable Review than Anticipated

Mansfield Park is not my favorite of Austen's works. The heroine herself is nervous and mousy, and the secondary characters are rarely redeemable in any sense. However, Frances Barber's reading of this novel lends it some entertainment that I had not got from reading it to myself. Her precise English diction threw me off for the first chapter or so, but then it grew on me and by the end, I added her name to my (very short) list of favorite narrators. I am pleased with this recording and when the time comes to listen through all of Austen's novels again, I will look forward to Mansfield Park almost as much as I do to the rest of Austen's books.

Performance didn't work for me -

I love this book, but Frances Barber's performance was irritating to my ears. I'm a musician and very picky, so maybe it's just me -- but the pacing was odd and I did not like how she interpreted the characters with her inflection. It was grating, overdone and unnatural to my ears.

Good narration

Mansfield Park is one of my 3 favorite Austen works. It is a classic and not much to say about i that hasn't already been said.

What I can say is that Frances Barber does a very good job with this. For me, great narration is when I become unaware of the reader and can just get lost in the story. Barber managed that with this reading.

It is well worth the time.

Well Read Classic

"Mansfield Park" is probably my favourite Jane Austen novel, so it was nice to find this unabridged recording. Frances Barber generally does a very good job of the the narration, and I enjoyed listening to it very much. My only complaint about her narration is that she made Fanny Price sound as if she was about twelve. To modern readers, Fanny is probably the most difficult to understand of Austen's heroines, because she is so timid and self-effacing; but though she constantly aims to please the rich relations who patronise her and take her for granted, she is actually one of those quiet people with a hidden strength. Jane Austen intends us to admire Fanny for her integrity (which comes from neither nature--her sordid home at the Portsmouth naval base--nor nurture, in the hedonistic surroundings of Mansfield Park). It's hard to do that when the narrator makes her bleat like a child.

Amazing reader

France's Barber is the best reader ever for Jane Austen--just wonderful. Sensitive, tasteful, and with a sly sense of humor, just like the writing!

Beautifully read!

The only thing that can improve Jane Austen's writing is a superior narration. The voices of the characters are represented here with a clever understanding of the nature of each. I thoroughly enjoyed this reading.

Not my favorite Austen novel

Frances Barber does an amazing job of narration. If you love Austen, you’ll love the book. Mansfield Park is my one of least favorite Austen novels, but that’s like naming your least favorite cheesecake. It’s still Austen and it’s still wonderful.

Very enjoyable

Loved the book. Loved the reader. Was sorry to say goodbye to these characters.

Very enjoyable but check narration

This is not my favourite Jane Austen book (Pride & Prejudice is). None of the characters is particularly interesting, amusing or likeable, and the heroine, Fanny Price, is a bit of a drip if truth be told. But it is still well worth reading for the witty and deadly way that she dissects the mores and lifestyles of the upper classes in the 19th century. Better still to have it narrated as you then really appreciate the quality of the prose - provided of course you like the narrator.

I can well see that Frances Barber will probably not be everyone's cup of tea as a narrator. She reads in a very precise, articulate and almost cut-glass accent, which comes across a bit cold at times. Personally, I think this suits the book very well; and her characterisation, particularly of the ghastly Mrs Norris, is spot on. Sound quality is faultless too.

I enjoyed the book very much, and would happily recommend it particularly to Jane Austen lovers, but I agree with the previous reviewer that it would be as well to sample the narration first - and try out some others (there are quite a few on Audible)- to make sure you are happy with it before buying.

A good book - but not the best narration.

I studied this book many years ago at school and was keen to visit it again. It is quite unusual as the heroine is not a strong character - you really want to shake Fanny and get her to buck her ideas up!! It does not help that Frances Barber's vocalisation of Fanny is not endearing, and you begin to dread when Aunt Bertram speaks. I may be tempted to try another recording of this as I think it may improve with a different narrator.

Excellent Narration, Ignore the Bad Reviews

Honestly, ignore all the reviews complaining about Frances Barber's narration! I was unsure whether to go for this because of these, but enjoyed the sample clip so gave it a shot. I think her voice is absolutely perfect for Austen, and she does a wonderful job. It's a precise, perhaps slightly old-fashioned English accent, but Austen is a precise, slightly old-fashioned English writer, so they're a perfect pairing. Her voices for every character are distinct and give us a brilliantly clear image of them. I think perhaps people forget that Austen is often very funny, and most of the characters in this book are at least lightly satirical, so it makes sense for them to be a little exaggerated. Barber makes Austen's lengthy (by modern standards) sentences clear and easy to follow, and perfectly picks up on her dry humour. I greatly prefer her narration to that of Rosamund Pike in the new Audible Austen series, whose voice is a little too one-note and who misses that gentle mocking tone.

The novel itself isn't my favourite of Austen's, and its heroine is certainly less appealing to modern tastes, but I still found it incredibly enjoyable, and of course brilliantly written. And if you're like me and have to read them all at least once, this is the perfect way to do it!

A good book ruined!

What would have made Mansfield Park better?

A more sympathetic narrator

Who was your favorite character and why?

It has to be Fanny who has a stoicism I would wish to have.

How could the performance have been better?

A different narrator! This is one of my favourite books, but Frances Barbers totally unsympathetic treatment robbed some of the tender moments - hastily and harshly spoken - of their power. Sometimes her timing was off, but none of Jane Austen's subtle inflections came through.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I really enjoy the book but the narration robbed me of the joy of it - so sad and disappointed.

Narrator

I liked Barber's reading - plummier, more earthy and warmer than most voices cast for reading Austen novels.

rushed delivery

This felt like the reader was rushing all the time, eager to get to the end. slowing the speed didn't help. Perhaps it was a combination of the writer's style and the readers. not my favourite Jane Austen - but of course you may disagree!

Excellent performance

This performance is really excellent. I love the variety in the voices, and Barber's voice just seems to fit so naturally to the elegant style of the writing. I had previously tried to read a physical copy of this book, and given up, so I am pleased that this has let me access this very interesting, controversial novel.

Very disappointing indeed

The story is wonderful of course but the narrator is extremely disappointing. Too fast, monotonous, lacking in any discernible characterisation apart from a few silly superficial voices for some female characters. Total lack of nuance or humour and simply ruins the book. I love audiobooks and have enjoyed many happy hours listening but I can’t stick this one to the end and will have to read the text to myself in the good old fashioned way.

Terrible! Very confused recording

This starts at chapter 26! So you have to scroll down until you find chapter 1 and then look very hard for the nex
t bits. I cannot return this unfortunately . Very disappointing

Dreadful... I had to give up!

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I think someone who is studying Austin would find it useful.

What will your next listen be?

Something entirely different... This story seemed to drag on for hours and hours going absolutely nowhere! A waste of a credit.

Did Frances Barber do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

Some voices were okay, having such a distinctive voice I did like but at time I really wasn't sure who was talking at all.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I didn't finish it... As hard as I battled I just couldn't. I can't say it did, sorry.

Any additional comments?

I may try again one day. This story wasn't for me in any way! I have loved many Austin novels but this drags on, waffling about nothing at all and never goes anywhere. When I saw I hadn't even reached half way I HAD to ditch it!
Sorry Austin.