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The Review

Mansfield Revisited

by Joan Aiken

Mansfield Revisited

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Joan Aiken wrote several Austen sequels in the last part of her career, and Mansfield Revisited is the one I think holds up least well. Aiken is technically polished as ever, the prose moves with Austen's rhythm, and Fanny Price gets to be slightly bolder than the original allowed.

The problem is that Mansfield Park is Austen's most morally serious novel, and Aiken's sequel mostly opts for romance plot rather than moral pressure. Fanny's sister Susan takes the center, and her courtship with a new neighbor is competently handled but not particularly memorable.

Three stars. Recommended for Austen completists. Eliza's Daughter is the stronger Aiken sequel.

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