Mansfield Park and Lovers' Vows

by Jane Austen, August Kotzebue, Linda Barrans (Read by), Catherine Bilson (Read by), Elizabeth Inchbald (Translator)

Overview

The unlikely heroine of this novel is the bashful and unadventurous Fanny Price, who occupies a Cinderella-like position in the residence of her wealthy cousins, the Bertrams, at Mansfield Park. Fanny is the butt of ridicule for the young Bertram sisters (Maria and Julia), and is relentlessly bullied by her manipulative and penny-pinching aunt, the widowed Mrs Norris. Maria, Julia, and their brother Tom are symbols of social irresponsibility, while their brother Edmund, is earnest and upright. Although Sir Thomas Bertram’s wealth is derived largely from a sugar plantation in the West Indies, Austen largely avoids discussion of slavery and other evils of colonialism.

The young Bertrams form a close friendship with the dashing and unscrupulous Henry Crawford, and his glamorous sister Mary. Henry decides to pursue Fanny with a view to marriage, but she, discerning his devious nature, resists all his advances.

After a visit to her family in Portsmouth, Fanny returns to Mansfield Park and finds herself attracted to the worthy Edmund, who is recovering after being rejected by Mary Crawford.

Interestingly, Mansfield Park features the abortive amateur production of a popular sentimental drama, Lovers’ Vows, planned by members and friends of the Bertram family while Sir Thomas is absent in the West Indies. His unexpected return brings these plans to an abrupt halt.

This audiobook recording also includes a multicast presentation of Lovers’ Vows.

In Lovers’ Vows, the widowed Baron Wildenheim, by a twist of circumstances, comes into contact with a poor woman whom he had abandoned while a young man. The Baron has since married a wealthy woman and they have a daughter, Amelia. Unbeknownst to the Baron, his first relationship resulted in the birth of a son. He now has to decide how he is to acknowledge his new-found son and the young man’s mother.

At the time of its publication, the plot was considered controversial because it centered on the issue of illegitimate children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798874811129
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	05/28/2024
Edition description:	Adapted ed.
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jane Austen (1775–1817) is considered by many scholars to be the first great woman novelist. Born in Steventon, England, she later moved to Bath and began to write for her own and her family’s amusement. Her novels, set in her own English countryside, depict the daily lives of provincial middle-class families with wry observation, a delicate irony, and a good-humored wit.

August Kotzebue (1761–1819) was a German dramatist and diplomat. He was very prolific, writing over 200 plays—many of which were popular in both Germany and England.

Graham Scott is a narrator and voice actor based in the UK. As well as solo performances of works by authors including PG Wodehouse, Charles Dickens, R Austin Freeman, Dorothy L. Sayers, Jules Verne, Anna Katherine Green, Joseph Conrad, GK Chesterton, and John Buchan, Graham is also a regular performer in group productions with both Voices of Today and the Online Stage. Website: www.GrahamScottAudio.com

Denis Daly is an audiobook narrator and codirector of Voices of Today, an Australian spoken word production house.

Linda Barrans is a British narrator with a fondness for Jane Austen and Shakespeare.

Date of Birth:

December 16, 1775

Date of Death:

July 18, 1817

Place of Birth:

Village of Steventon in Hampshire, England

Place of Death:

Winchester, Hampshire, England

Education:

Taught at home by her father