Mansfield Park, considered to be Jane Austen's most ambitious novel, was first published in July 1814. The novel not only reflects Austen's superb narrative craftsmanship, but also her brilliant sensitivity to the human concerns of love,virtue and family. When shy,timid,ten-year-old Fanny Price is plucked from her large, lively and somewhat impoverished family in Portsmouth to live with wealthy relatives in Mansfield Park her life is changed for ever. Immediately forming a strong fascination for her cousin, Edmund Bertram, she develops into a sophisticated and mature young woman, whose love for him remains undimmed despite the distraction brought into their lives by the charming but morally bankrupt Crawford's. With its suggestion of adultery and written with all the wit and style of the mature Jane Austen, this is the work of an increasingly experienced writer at the peak of her powers.