Mansfield Revisited
by Joan Aiken
amazon.com  (out of print)
amazon.co.uk

Paperback - 193 pages (23 May, 1996) 
Orion; ISBN: 0575400242
        Posted by Margie on September 02, 1997 at 02:23:50:
I read it a bit ago and I barely remember it, so I guess I can say it's not memorable. It's about Susan
Price and Tom Bertram.  It was no more horrifying than the usual Austen sequel in publication. 

        Review by Linda Waldemar,  January 17, 1998
This is not at all a bad book. The author has chosen Susan Priceas her heroine.  It is four years since
the end of Mansfield Park. Sir Thomas and Mrs Norris have died.  Edmund and Fanny and their
infantson have gone to Antigua to take care of the late Sir Thomas' businessthere.  They have left
their 3-year old daughter, Mary, in the careof Susan.  Lady Bertram is still selfish and indolent, much
the sameas Jane Austen wrote her.  Tom is now Sir Thomas and is not much changed,either.

Those fans of the Crawfords will be pleased to know that they are presentin this story and are
treated with a great deal of kindness.  In fact, Henry is redeemed.  Mary Crawford is ill and is an
important characterhere.  There are a very wise and sensible brother and sister who aretaking care
of the parish  while Edmund and Fanny are away. There are also several young ladies; two who may
be matches for Tom. And Julia and her family are present.  Julia is most unpleasant andtreats Susan
abominably.

This novel is a quick and pleasant read.  My only complaint isthat the last two chapters appear as if
they were written by someone else. The culmination of the story does not naturally follow the
narrative tothat point.  It is much too abrupt and the pairing is almost incredibleas there had never
been any indication of an attraction before the endof the book.

This book was on the shelves of my public library.  Should youcome across it, I recommend that you
give it a read.


        Review by Lynn Lamy, 24 February 1998
If you have ever wondered how Susan Price fared when she went to live at Mansfield Park, this is
the book for you.  Susan Price is a lovely character, much like her sister Fanny in her ways of
dealing with her aunt Bertram, but with a much stronger constitution and less retiring manner.  At the
book's opening, Sir Thomas has recently died, and the family business in Anitqua is in need of
attention.  The new Sir Thomas being of a more delicate constitution from his earlier illness, and
needed to manage the affairs at Mansfield, Fanny and Edmund take their baby boy and go to work
things out in Antigua, Edmund having more business sense than Tom.  Susan is put in charge of
Fanny and Edmund's daughter, Mary by name.

In the cleric's absence, a friend of his, Mr. Wadham, comes to manage parish affairs, his widowed
sister Mrs. Osborne coming as housekeeper.  Things at Mansfield settle into an routine again, with
Mr. Wadham and his sister frequently keeping company with the family at the main house.  The new
Sir Thomas is learning a great deal about his new responsibilities.

Susan, having been directed by Fanny to open her letters, reads one to Fanny from an old friend.
Miss Mary Crawford, now Mrs. Charles Ormiston, is ill, her husband is confined, his mind having
broken down.  She longs for nothing but to come to Mansfield for the fine country air to recuperate.
By the time Susan gets this letter, it is too late to send a refusal; within days she hears the invalid is
installed at Mrs. Norris' former residence, White House.  It does not take long for Susan to become
friends with Mary, nor for Mr. Wadham (visiting the invalid as vicar) to fall in love with her.

In the midst of all this, Mrs. Yates, nee Julia Bertram, visits constantly with the small family circle at
Mansfield, hoping Tom will marry her sister-in-law Miss Charlotte Yates, trying to bully her mother
into believing Susan is nothing but an upstart, and giving contradictory orders to the Mansfield
servants, causing many domestic uproars.  Susan brother is made a captain and comes to Mansfield
on leave, but somehow she maintains a level head throughout all the goings-on.

When Mary desires to see her brother and William falls in love with the woman Tom was to propose
to, we wonder how it will all work out for our unpretentious heroine.  Does it?  Of course!  Will I tell
you how?  Of course not!  Suffice it to say that this book is a delightful read, well worth the time and
effort to obtain.

       Written by Olivia Ann on Sunday, January 31, 1999, at 4:00 p.m.
Mansfield Revisited, which was okay. It redeemed the Crawfords and I never liked the Crawfords,
but we won't get into that! It just wasn't that great of a book although I enjoyed it as a quick read.