Category: Mansfield Park (novel)

EP89: The Thing About Henry Crawford Reading Shakespeare

5/7/2024

If you thought that Mary Crawford with her harp was the only siren in the Crawford family, think again. Henry Crawford is here with a volume of Shakespeare, and WOW. Prepare yourselves. This episode we unpack this scene's particular Shakespearean allusion, examine the status of reading aloud during Austen's time, and discuss Fanny's reaction to Henry's reading.

Selected Sources:

DeWispelare, Daniel John. “Spectacular Speech: Performing Language in the Late Eighteenth Century.” The Journal of British Studies 51, no. 4 (October 2012): 858–82. https://doi.org/10.1086/666958.
Graham, Peter W. “Falling for the Crawfords: Character, Contingency, and Narrative.” ELH 77, no. 4 (December 2010): 867–91. https://doi.org/10.1353/elh.2010.a406155.
Harrington, Dana. “Remembering the Body: Eighteenth-Century Elocution and the Oral Tradition.” Rhetorica 28, no. 1 (January 2010): 67–95. https://doi.org/10.1353/rht.2010.0025.
Honan, Park. Jane Austen: Her Life. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1989.
Jajdelska, Elspeth. “‘The Very Defective and Erroneous Method’: Reading Instruction and Social Identity in Elite Eighteenth‐Century Learners.” Oxford Review of Education 36, no. 2 (April 1, 2010): 141–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054981003696648.
Kelly, Gary. “Reading Aloud in Mansfield Park.” Nineteenth-Century Fiction 37, no. 1 (1982): 29–49. https://doi.org/10.2307/3044668.
Mullini, Roberta. “Reading Aloud in Britain in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century: Theories and Beyond.” Journal of Early Modern Studies, March 11, 2018, 157-176 Pages. https://doi.org/10.13128/JEMS-2279-7149-22842.
Newark, Elizabeth. “Words Not Spoken: Courtship and Seduction in Jane Austen’s Novels.” In The Talk in Jane Austen, edited by Bruce Stovel and Lynn Weinlos Gregg, 207–24. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2002.
Pinch, Adela. “Hearing Voices in Austen: The Representation of Speech and Voice in the Novels.” In The Routledge Companion to Jane Austen, by Edited By Cheryl A. Wilson and Maria H. Frawley, 277–95, 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429398155-21-25.
Pollack-Pelzner, Daniel. “Jane Austen, the Prose Shakespeare.” SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 53, no. 4 (September 2013): 763–92. https://doi.org/10.1353/sel.2013.0039.
Tomalin, Claire. Jane Austen: A Life. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1999.
Yahav, Amit. “Austen’s Literary Time.” In The Routledge Companion to Jane Austen, by Edited By Cheryl A. Wilson and Maria H. Frawley, 306–17, 1st ed. New York: Routledge, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429398155-23-27.

Ep83: The Thing About the Ha-Ha

2/7/2024

There's a bit of a brouhaha brewing over at the Sotherton ha-ha, and we've got front row, garden bench seats. Join us as we walk through the various comings and goings of the world's most awkward group date.

Below are a few images that illustrate the type of ha-ha Austen describes in Mansfield Park

Selected Sources

Brodey, Inger Sigrun. “Papas and Ha-Has: Rebellion, Authority, and Landscaping in Mansfield Park.” Persuasions 17 (1995). https://jasna.org/publications-2/persuasions/no17/brodey/.
Heydt-Stevenson, Jill. “‘Slipping into the Ha-Ha’: Bawdy Humor and Body Politics in Jane Austen’s Novels.” Nineteenth-Century Literature 55, no. 3 (2000): 309–39. https://doi.org/10.2307/2903126.
Repton, Humphry. The Landscape Gardening and Landscape Architecture of the Late H. Repton, Being His Entire Works on These Subjects, with ... Introduction, ... Analysis, Biographical Notice, Notes and Index by J. C. Loudon, 1840.
Russell, Tilden A. “On ‘Looking over a Ha-Ha.’” The Musical Quarterly 71, no. 1 (1985): 27–37.
Taylor, Patrick. “Ha-Ha.” In The Oxford Companion to the Garden. Oxford University Press, 2006. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198662556.001.0001/acref-9780198662556-e-0714.
Toner, Anne. “Jane Austen, Frances Sheridan, and the Ha-Ha: A New Aﬃliation for Mansﬁeld Park,” no. 32 (n.d.).

Ep64: The Thing About the Bertram Sisters' Puzzle

3/26/2023

How do you solve a puzzle like Fanny? This episode we survey the Bertram sisters' map puzzle and discuss the social cartography of Mansfield Park.

Selected Sources

Cammack, Zan. “Fanny Price’s Social Cartography in Mansfield Park.” Nineteenth Century Studies 29, no. 1 (January 1, 2016): 37–52. https://doi.org/10.5325/ninecentstud.29.2015-16.0037.
Norcia, Megan A. “Puzzling Empire: Early Puzzles and Dissected Maps as Imperial Heuristics.” Children’s Literature 37, no. 1 (2009): 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1353/chl.0.0807.
Shefrin, Jill. “‘Make It a Pleasure and Not a Task’: Educational Games for Children in Georgian England.” The Princeton University Library Chronicle 60, no. 2 (1999): 251. https://doi.org/10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.60.2.0251.
Wenner, Barbara Britton. Prospect and Refuge in the Landscape of Jane Austen. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006.

Ep61: The Thing About Speculation with guest Dr. Regulus Allen

2/19/2023

This week we're dealing out an episode on the game of Speculation with our guest Dr. Regulus Allen. We discuss the rules of play and the ways in which the game serves the narrative in Mansfield Park. Dr. Allen also provides us with some fun speculation (see what we did there?) as to what Jane Austen's own favorite card game might have been.

Thank you so much to Regulus for joining us for this episode! You can learn more about her and her work at https://english.calpoly.edu/faculty/allen.

For an explanation of the rule for Speculation, see "How to Win at Speculation" from JaneAusten.co.uk

Ep51: The Thing About Lady Bertram's Flower Gardens with guest Dr. Menglu Gao

10/6/2022

The roses need trimming so we are headed to Mansfield Park, clippers in hand. This week we are joined by Dr. Menglu Gao as as we chat about Lady Bertram's flower gardens, Regency landscaping preferences, and the role of women in cultivated outdoor spaces.

Thank you so much to Menglu for joining us for this episode! You can learn more about her and her work at https://udenver.academia.edu/MengluGao.

Ep40: The Thing About Lady Bertram's Pug with guest Dr. Stephanie Howard-Smith

6/2/2022

Every dog has its day! Dr. Stephanie Howard-Smith is here to answer all of our many questions about Lady Bertram's pug in Mansfield Park, covering everything from Pug's name, why Austen might have chosen a pug for Lady Bertram, and the gendered aspects of 18th-century dog ownership.

Thank you so much to Stephanie for joining us for this episode! You can find her on Twitter @SAHowardSmith.

For more work about Pug and lapdogs from Stephanie:

Howard-Smith, Stephanie. “Bridgerton’s Beloved Corgi Is a Total Fraud.” Slate, March 31, 2022. https://slate.com/culture/2022/03/bridgerton-season-2-kate-sharma-dog-corgi-historical-accuracy.html.
———. “China-Pugs: The Global Circulation of Chinoiseries, Porcelain, and Lap-Dogs, 1660-1800.” In Oriental Networks: Culture, Commerce, and Communication in the Long Eighteenth Century, edited by Bärbel Czennia and Greg Clingham, 63–91. Aperçus: Histories Texts Cultures. Lewisberg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press, 2021.
———. “‘Hearty Fow Children’: The Penrhyns, Pugs, and Mansfield Park.” Persuasions 35 (2013): 191–99.
———. “Little Puggies: Consuming Cuteness and Deforming Motherhood in Susan Ferrier’s Marriage.” Eighteenth-Century Fiction 34, no. 3 (March 1, 2022): 307–32. https://doi.org/10.3138/ecf.34.3.307.

EP26: The Thing About Fanny's Stargazing

2/3/2022

Pack your telescope and grab your star charts! This episode we're headed to a very specific location at Mansfield Park to examine Fanny's foray into celestial poetry.

If you have ever wished upon a star, this episode is for you.

Bonus Nerdery: If you are at all interested in looking at star charts for the times, dates, and locations that we discuss in the episode, here are a few resources.

Sunrise and Sunset calculator for England: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=136&month=8&year=1811&obj=sun&afl=-13&day=1
Horizon Views of Stars for any date and time: http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/#Horizon

Selected Episode Sources

“Boötes | April 1-7.” Star Gazers. South Florida PBS, March 27, 2019. https://www.stargazersonline.org/episodes/.
Cammack, Susanne S. “Fanny Price’s Social Cartography in Mansfield Park.” Nineteenth Century Studies 29 (2016): 37–52.
Jane Austen Centre. “A Visit to Stoneleigh Abbey.” Accessed February 3, 2022. https://janeausten.co.uk/blogs/landscape-and-property/a-visit-to-stoneleigh-abbey.
Lane, Maggie. “Star-Gazing with Fanny Price.” Persuasions 28 (2006): 150–65.
Roberts, Ken. “Jane Austen and Stargazing.” Logic, Astronomy, Science, and Ideas Too (blog), January 30, 2014. https://lasi2.wordpress.com/2014/01/30/jane-austen-and-stargazing/.
Zook, Alma C. “Star-Gazing at Mansfield Park.” Persuasion 8 (1986): 29–33.

EP18: The Thing About Fanny's Fallen Avenues with guest Tyler Hamilton

11/20/2021

This week it's a bit of a Fanny Price character study as we head to Mansfield Park to discuss Fanny's love of nature. Fanny is an often dismissed character, but we're here to celebrate her quiet strength and her introverted and philosophical ways. Come for the defense of Fanny, stay for us dunking on Edmund. Also, we forgot to properly welcome our guest because we paused for a train going by, but we were absolutely delighted to have Tyler Hamilton join us for this episode. You can find Tyler on Instagram @Tyler.Hamilton

EP12: The Thing About Mary Crawford's Harp with guest Dr. Lidia Chang

10/3/2021

Mary Crawford is playing the harp over at the Mansfield Parsonage, and we've got front row seats to the hottest performance in town. If you have ever wondered about all those mornings Edmund spent listening to his "prime favourite," this episode is for you. Thank you so much to Dr. Lidia Chang for joining us for this discussion! You can find her online at www.lidiachang.com or follow her on Instagram @lidiaac.

EP09: The Thing About the Rushworths' Divorce with guest Dr. Ellen Campbell

10/3/2021

Sex! Scandal! This week we're headed to Mansfield Park where a matrimonial fracas is brewing. Actually, it happened in Twickenham, and it's already fully steeped. If you ever thought Jane Austen was just about polite tea parties, this episode is for you. A huge thanks to Dr. Ellen Campbell for joining us for this discussion, despite suffering from new semester laryngitis — thank you, Ellen! You can find her on Twitter @EllenCampbell.

Episodes