Three Letters and A Broken Engagement (Oh, Fanny!: A Mansfield Park Variation Book 1)

“An engaged woman is always more agreeable than a disengaged. She is satisfied with herself. Her cares are over, and she may exert all her powers of pleasing without suspicion. All is safe with a lady engaged; no harm can be done” – Mansfield Park, Jane Austen.

But once the engagement be broken?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0968SYMHS

The girl must have lost her wits – had lost them, indeed. That was proven, by her rejection of such an excellent, undeservedly excellent parti as Edmund Bertram. Mrs Norris nodded to herself decisively, the fresh brisk breeze blowing colour into her pendulous cheeks. – Three Letters & A Broken Engagement (Volume 1 of Oh, Fanny!: A Mansfield Park Variation by Alex Ankarr.

What I’ve been reading – Love and Freindship by Jane Austen

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve always been under the impression that this was just a fragment of Austen’s juvenilia and of doubtful utility and value. Which is why I left it so long to check it out, but turns out I’ve been missing out. Whatever a modern day Jane would have been up to and gets up to, in modern adaptations of her persona and work – working her own Youtube channel, snapchatting away, book-blogging and fanficcing and whatnot – it’s kind of superfluous, redundant. This is the snarky teenage Jane, and it comes through on every page. Plus, I’d just like to say for anyone who’s read it – the 9th parcel, silver buckles! lol.

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What I’ve been reading – Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This gets an extra star just because it’s Austen, and I can’t bring myself to rate Jane Austen lower than that. This is the only major Austen work I’ve never managed to finish, until now. What a labour, almost a waste of effort, except at least I know better than to ever pick this book up again. I’ll just re-read Pride & Prejudice or Persuasion for the nth time instead. What a pair of insipid limp rags Elinor and Marianne are. Even Fanny Price is Nicki Minaj combined with Sharon Horgan, compared to Elinor. (I quite like Mansfield Park although obviously Fanny should have run off with Henry Crawford instead of mooning around over Edmund. Fanny is all right, she’s a bright spark, underrated.)

You may deduce from the above that I didn’t care for it much, but it’s still Austen. She’s still a genius, but no-one could convince me this qualifies as essential reading. Forget it, try George Eliot or a Bronte instead.

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What I’ve been reading – Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Of course it’s impossible to give Mansfield Park five stars. Even though I exasperatedly love Fanny, and love-hate Mrs Norris, and disapprove-of-at-the-same-time-as-I’m-charmed-by the Crawfords, Henry and Mary both.

Because Fanny marries Edmund, and how can anyone five-star that?

With every re-read, it’s like heading towards the tunnel, awaiting the oncoming train with horrified anticipation. And yet hoping – praying – against all knowledge and experience, that maybe it’ll be different this time.

Oh, please, Fanny! Just this once, for me, run off with delightful, deplorable Henry Crawford! For me!

Fanny is underrated, I’ll just note. Compared to Elinor Dashwood, Fanny is half Beyoncé and half Patti Smith, a soft-hearted sex-minx with a nice nature, a cultured mind and a passionate heart.

ETA: I forgot to mention that Edmund is a sanctimonious pudding.

A grave oversight.

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Mansfield Park by Jane Austen – Book Review

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Of course it’s impossible to give Mansfield Park five stars. Even though I exasperatedly love Fanny, and love-hate Mrs Norris, and disapprove-of-at-the-same-time-as-I’m-charmed-by the Crawfords, Henry and Mary both.

Because Fanny marries Edmund, and how can anyone five-star that?  Oh, Jane, what were you thinking?

With every re-read, it’s like heading towards the tunnel, awaiting the oncoming train with horrified anticipation. And yet hoping – praying – against all knowledge and experience, that maybe it’ll be different this time.

Oh, please, Fanny! Just this once, for me, run off with delightful, deplorable Henry Crawford! For me!

Fanny is underrated, I’ll just note. Compared to Elinor Dashwood, Fanny is half Beyoncé and half Patti Smith, a soft-hearted sex-minx with a nice nature, a cultured mind and a passionate heart.

View all my reviews

Image – public domain.

Love And Freindship by Jane Austen – Book Review

Love and Freindship by Jane Austen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve always been under the impression that this was just a fragment of Austen’s juvenilia and of doubtful utility and value. Which is why I left it so long to check it out, but turns out I’ve been missing out. Whatever a modern day Jane would have been up to and gets up to, in modern adaptations of her persona and work – working her own Youtube channel, snapchatting away, book-blogging and fanficcing and whatnot – it’s kind of superfluous, redundant. This is the snarky teenage Jane, and it comes through on every page. Plus, I’d just like to say for anyone who’s read it – the 9th parcel, silver buckles! lol.

View all my reviews

 

Image – Ashley Van Haeften, public domain.

Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen – Goodreads Book Review

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This gets an extra star just because it’s Austen, and I can’t bring myself to rate Jane Austen lower than that. This is the only major Austen work I’ve never managed to finish, until now. What a labour, almost a waste of effort, except at least I know better than to ever pick this book up again. I’ll just re-read Pride & Prejudice or Persuasion for the nth time instead. What a pair of insipid limp rags Elinor and Marianne are. Even Fanny Price is Nicki Minaj combined with Sharon Horgan, compared to Elinor. (I quite like Mansfield Park although obviously Fanny should have run off with Henry Crawford instead of mooning around over Edmund. Fanny is all right, she’s a bright spark, underrated.)

You may deduce from the above that I didn’t care for it much, but it’s still Austen. She’s still a genius, but no-one could convince me this qualifies as essential reading. Forget it, try George Eliot or a Bronte instead.

View all my reviews