The story starts with Edmund and Fanny Bertram going to Canterbury to
a Convocation in order
to seek advancement in the Church. All the other clergy characters
also attend, for much the
same reason. We meet Mr and Mrs Elton, the Ferrars, the Collinses,
of course, Henry Tilney
and his unsophisticated young wife, the Right Reverend Mr Morland and
his son the Reverend
Mr James Morland; then there is Reverend and Mrs James Hayter (his
name in Persuasion was
Charles) and even a Reverend Mr Wentworth. Tom Bertram accompanies
his brother and
Fanny as the latter wants to find a wife for him (now, does that sound
like Fanny to you?).
The route back to Mansfield Park includes detours to Hunsford
where we meet the Darcys, de
Bourghs, Fitzwilliam. Then it is on to Highbury and a sighting
of the Knightleys and Martins.
There is also an obligatory visit to Portsmouth. Tom decides
to stay there for a while when they
run into Mrs Grant and Mary Crawford.
Edmund and Fanny return home to learn that Sir Thomas has lost all his
money. Fanny,
accompanied by Augusta Elton, goes on an adventure to France seeking
Aunt Norris and Maria
to get financial help for him.
The invalid Mrs Smith has become very wealthy by following the advice
of the newly rich George
Wickham.
The plot of this book is excessively thin and uninteresting and implausible.
The characters have
very little development. The big mystery is whether or not a
wife will be found for Tom Bertram.
However, after only a few chapters, I did not care. I would wager
that the author does not
reveal his/her name because she/he is ashamed of the final product.
If he/she is not, she/he
should be.
I do not recommend this book, other than to avoid it.
The premise of sequel to Mansfield Park is that Edmund and FannyBertram travel to Canterbury for a clerical convocation. Edmund is seeking to better his position in the Church, and hopes to meet up with someone at Canterbury who can give him some preferment. Fanny reluctantly accompanies him, afraid of leaving her comfortable life at Mansfield. Tom comes with them as well, for he has nothing better to do, and Fanny resolves to look around her for a wife for Tom.
Once in Canterbury, the plot rapidly becomes tiresome and thin. Every
clergyman who has ever
been mentioned in a Jane Austen novel seems to be here, each of them
looking for some
assistance in the Church, each hoping that every new acquaintance will
be the person for whom
they are looking. The demeanor of everyone is what strikes the reader
most. Everyone seems to
be poor, unhappy, and tired. Not an uplifting story at all!
A round of visits begins, the Bertrams visiting first the Collins, who
seem to have unruly children
(which I confess, I cannot picture Charlotte Collins having), then
the Eltons, who live in a
parsonage with worn carpeting and barely enough money to cook food
for them all. The
Bertrams make a stop in Portsmouth, just long enough to see that things
haven't changed there in
twelve years, and then in Bath, for some amusement.
Arriving back at Mansfield, things go from bad to worse, both in the
story, and plot-wise. The
Dalrymples arrive, destitute, and Fanny somehow stumbles upon Edmund,
Tom and The
Honourable John Yates half-naked in a pond. Why this scene is
so important to the story, I
cannot say, but the hairy chest of Yates lingers in Fanny's mind for
the rest of the book.
I cannot justify the rest of the book with an explanation of its action.
Suffice it to say, it does not
get better, no matter how patient you are. I would avoid this book,
if you can! It is not worth
buying or borrowing, and it is hard to imagine how anyone even thought
it would be worth
printing!