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Amy Patterson, books, Cheryl Kinney, David Monaghan, Deborah Barnum, Deborah Yaffe, Diana Birchall, Elaine Bander, Elisabeth Lenckos, Elizabeth Baxter, Hugh Kindred, Jane Austen, Jennie Duke, John Baxter, Judith Thompson, Julie Strong, Juliet McMaster, Juliette Wells, Laurel Ann Nattress, literature, Lorrie Clark, Lyn Bennett, Lynn Festa, Lynn Shepherd, Mansfield Park 200th anniversary, Margaret C. Sullivan, Margaret Horwitz, Mary C. M. Phillips, Mary Lu Redden, Natasha Duquette, Robert Miles, Ryder Kessler, Sara Malton, Sarah M. Seltzer, Sarah Woodberry, Sheila Johnson Kindred, Susan Allen Ford, Syrie James, Theresa Kenney
Friday, May 9th is the big day for the launch of my series of guest posts celebrating 200 years of Mansfield Park. I am absolutely delighted that Lyn Bennett is going to kick things off that day by writing about the opening paragraph of the novel. Lyn teaches in the Department of English at Dalhousie University and she’s the author of Women Writing of Divinest Things: Rhetoric and the Poetry of Pembroke, Wroth, and Lanyer (2004).
And I am very happy to tell you about all the wonderful people who’ve agreed to write for the series. In January I wrote about the first few contributors, and I’ve talked to several people since then. Here’s the full list (so far) of contributors: Elaine Bander, Deborah Barnum, Elizabeth Baxter, John Baxter, Lyn Bennett, Diana Birchall, Lorrie Clark, Jennie Duke, Natasha Duquette, Lynn Festa, Susan Allen Ford, Margaret Horwitz, Syrie James, Theresa Kenney, Ryder Kessler, Hugh Kindred, Sheila Johnson Kindred, Cheryl Kinney, Elisabeth Lenckos, Sara Malton, Juliet McMaster, Robert Miles, David Monaghan, Laurel Ann Nattress, Amy Patterson, Mary C.M. Phillips, Mary Lu Redden, Sarah M. Seltzer, Lynn Shepherd, Julie Strong, Margaret C. Sullivan, Judith Thompson, Deborah Yaffe, Juliette Wells, and Sarah Woodberry.
Here’s my plan for how things will unfold after Lyn’s first post: we’ll have one post per week until the end of the year, probably on Fridays, with extra posts around the time of Jane Austen’s birthday on December 16th. The posts will run in chronological order, and we’ll cover quite a bit of the novel, but I haven’t made any particular effort to make sure we talk about every single chapter.
I have a question for all of you, readers and guest post contributors: what should we call the series? A party, a celebration, a book club or reading group? My goal is to host a conversation that focuses on what Jane Austen wrote, as a way of honouring Mansfield Park in its anniversary year. Do we need a snazzy title, or should I just call it something straightforward, like “200 Years of Mansfield Park”? Suggestions welcome! I’m calling on your creativity and cleverness to help me out as I organize this party/event/celebration/conversation. Remember what I did last year? “Pride and Prejudice at 200” and “The Custom of the Country at 100.” Informative, yes; dazzling, no. If you leave it with me, I’m sure to come up with a third thing that’s very dull indeed.
Sarah Emsley 
Reblogged this on Caffeine Epiphanies and commented:
Looking forward to May for several reasons: warmer weather, longer days, and Sarah Emsley’s tribute to Mansfield Park.
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Hi Sarah,
You asked for title suggestions, and here come mine. I wanted to focus on the piece-by-piece commentary that you have devised. (My mind must be running on food at the moment.)
1. Enticing Titbits from Mansfield Park 2. Reading, Tasting, and Digesting Mansfield Park 3. Tasting, Savouring, and digesting Mansfield Park 4. Mansfield Park in Gobbets
(I’m not sure how current the term “Gobbets” is in this sense. At Oxford it’s the name the give for the kind of exam question that requires you to “Relate the following passages to their context.” But if thta use is Oxford and Brit only, I apologise.
Hope you get lots of suggestions, and that you have a good time selecting the one you like.
Cheers – Juliet
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Mansfield Park in Gobbets – I love it! Thanks, Juliet, for all of these.
I’m making a list of ideas received here and elsewhere. Here are some of the suggestions from people on Twitter: Meandering in Mansfield Park (@twebible); Bertram Bicentennial or Fanny’s Fame (@DeborahYaffe); MP is bright & sparkling, MP reborn at 200, Fanny in the sun, MP is a Masterpiece, or MP gets its share of the conversation (@AusteninBoston).
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Hi Sarah, so excited and honored to be contributing to your soiree. How about “An Invitation to Mansfield Park” for a title? You need graphics of course for blog sidebars and twitter and FB! So happy to see so many want to talk about Jane Austen’s dark horse. I wrote about it extensively when we had a group read on Austenprose in 2009, so it will be great to re-boot for the bicentenary.
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I really like the idea of an Invitation to MP — thanks, Laurel Ann! The idea of a soiree is nice, too, and I think you were the first to call it a party. I’ve heard so many good suggestions today that it will be hard to choose. Some of the titles others have suggested include Surveying Mansfield Park, Parsing Mansfield Park, and A Walk Through Mansfield Park.
Great point about graphics — I’m working on it. I’ll have to read through your 2009 archives! I’m delighted that so many people want to talk about this novel. Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about Mary C.
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Title for MP blog? – Mansfield Park Mash-Up! or Mansfield Park Mosh Pit!
Hugh
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Hmm…. Interesting ideas, Hugh. I was thinking of something a little more — elegant. Less messy. More focused on MP than on mash-ups. But I do like the alliteration.
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How about ‘Finding Mansfield Park’? Also wondering about continuations; I have never yet read a continuation of any Austen story, but Mansfield Park is the one that kept me thinking about the characters and future possibilities the longest. I have several options for how the Crawfords could be re-introduced to the jewel box tranquillity of Mansfield. :o)
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I decided to go with “An Invitation to Mansfield Park” because I like the idea of inviting people to discover the riches the novel has to offer. But I appreciate your suggestion — thank you. I’ve read only a few sequels, and none that continue the story of MP. I have, however, just started reading a YA retelling of MP, with a modern setting — The Trouble with Flirting, by Claire LaZebnik — and I’m enjoying it immensely. If the characters and their futures are stuck in your head, maybe you should write a sequel of your own…. Will you share your idea for how to bring back the Crawfords (or save it for your own book)?
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I am not sure my writing chops are up to the task of taking on a Jane Austen-esque continuation, but I would love to write up a sketch of the ideas and hopefully inspire someone else to try. As to Jane, that is one of the greatest compliments to a writer, when you continue thinking of their characters long after the story has been read; as though they are real, and as though you can somehow affect their destiny.
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Have you read Deborah Yaffe’s book Among the Janeites? She talks about how Jane Austen inspires creativity in her readers. It’s a wonderful book. Why not try your ideas out in a short story, and see how it goes? Maybe it will turn into a longer piece someday, or maybe it would be rewarding just to get your ideas on the page.
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