Mansfield Park Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sisters

The three sisters had very different fortunes in marriage. While the middle sister made a brilliant match with the wealthy and titled Sir Thomas Bertram and became mistress of Mansfield Park, the elder was forced to settle for marrying Sir Thomas' clergyman Mr Norris and the younger was virtually disowned after falling in love with a marine lieutenant named Mr Price.

Mrs Price eventually reconnected with her sisters when she wrote to beg them for assistance with the upbringing of her large family of children. Her sisters' solution was for her eldest daughter, Fanny, to be brought to live with her rich relations at Mansfield Park.

Answer: William

William is one year older than Fanny and the eldest of the Price children. When ten-year-old Fanny was uprooted from her family and sent to live at Mansfield Park, it was William that Fanny missed most as he had been her closest playmate and her "advocate with her mother" since he was very much the favourite child. He later went on to join the navy and gained the patronage of the Crawford family as a result of Henry Crawford's campaign to gain Fanny's love and respect.

The rest of the Price children were John, Richard, Susan, Mary, Sam, Tom, Charles and Betsey. John, Richard and Sam all joined William in the navy before the end of the events of the novel; Susan eventually joined her sister at Mansfield; Tom and Charles were still at school, and little Betsey was the only daughter who her mother really paid any attention to and as a result was quite spoiled. Mary had died a few years after Fanny left home.

Answer: Pug

Lady Bertram was very attached to her pet pug and its welfare was her first concern after it was decided that her niece Fanny Price would be brought to live at Mansfield Park: "'I hope she will not tease my poor pug,' said Lady Bertram; 'I have but just got Julia [her youngest daughter] to leave it alone.'"

Throughout the novel Jane Austen often referenced the pug when mentioning Lady Bertram, it was regularly described as sitting alongside her on the sofa or being held in her arms. When she believed that Fanny would be marrying Henry Crawford, her first thought for a potential wedding gift was to let have Fanny have one of her precious pug's puppies!

Answer: Half-brother and half-sister

Following the death of Mr Norris, the new incumbents of the Mansfield parsonage were a Dr Grant and his wife. The couple had no children, but her younger half-siblings Henry and Mary Crawford came to stay with them. The pair had been brought up by their father's immoral brother, Admiral Crawford, and the death of the admiral's wife led Mary to seek a new home.

Henry and Mary spent a lot of time with the younger members of the Bertram family. Henry flirted with both Maria and Julia Bertram before deciding to propose to Fanny instead, while Mary fell in love with Edmund despite the upbringing that educated her to believe she should target his richer, older brother instead.

Answer: Clergyman

Edmund Bertram attended Eton before going up to Oxford University to study to take orders and become a clergyman. He already had a head start in this career as his father was holding two livings for him - the parishes of Mansfield (which had been held by Mrs Norris' husband) and Thornton Lacey (a village around eight miles away).

However, things didn't entirely go to plan. Firstly, Sir Thomas was forced to give the living of Mansfield to Dr Grant to pay for his eldest son's extravagant lifestyle and secondly, Edmund's love interest, Mary Crawford, turned out to be extremely reluctant to marry a clergyman.

Answer: Lover's Vows

'Lover's Vows' is a real play, written in 1798 by the English author and actress Elizabeth Inchbald, but based on an earlier German work by August von Kotzebue. It was controversial during Jane Austen's time for its coverage of topics such as sexual relationships and pregnancy outside marriage.

While putting on private plays within a household wasn't necessarily considered a scandalous pastime for the upper classes, the choice of 'Lover's Vows' by the Bertrams and their friends was completely unacceptable to Sir Thomas and he put a swift end to the project on his unexpectedly early return from his business trip to the West Indies.

Answer: Sotherton

Maria Bertram had a very long engagement to Mr Rushworth due to the fact that her father was away from England dealing with his property in the West Indies. That provided plenty of time for her to fall in love with Henry Crawford, but not enough for her to give up her dream of being mistress of Mr Rushworth's grand estate at Sotherton. She eventually married Rushworth, but met Henry again in London and ran away to live with him instead. Her story didn't have a happy ending though as Henry abandoned her, Rushworth obtained a divorce and she was forced to live out her days in a cottage with her aunt, Mrs Norris.

Pemberley was Mr Darcy's estate in 'Pride and Prejudice'; Norland Park was the home of the Dashwood family in 'Sense and Sensibility'; and Kellynch Hall was the seat of Sir Walter Elliot in 'Persuasion'.

Answer: Portsmouth

Fanny's family lived in Portsmouth, the traditional home of the Royal Navy since the reign of King Henry VII. While Fanny had spent her early childhood there, she had not returned since her move to Mansfield until her uncle sent her back for a long visit following her refusal of Henry Crawford's marriage proposal. His plan was to make her see the benefits of marrying a wealthy estate owner when her own family lived in comparative poverty in a generally unhealthy environment.

Chatham, Plymouth and Sheerness were all other Royal Navy Dockyards active during the early 19th century.

Answer: The Thrush

William Price's commission as Second Lieutenant of His Majesty's Sloop Thrush was obtained for him by Henry Crawford, who petitioned his uncle to use his connections with the admiralty to get Fanny's favourite brother a promotion. Fanny's first visit to her family in Portsmouth was marred when the Thrush left harbour earlier than expected and the time she was able to spend with William was cut short.

The Asp and the Laconia were both ships commanded by Captain Frederick Wentworth in 'Persuasion'. The Elephant was one of the ships captained by Jane Austen's brother, Francis, who went on to become the Royal Navy's Admiral of the Fleet.

Answer: Edmund Bertram

Edmund, the second son of the Bertram family, was the only one of the rich siblings to genuinely care for and support the younger, poorer cousin who had joined their family. For Fanny, an initial adoration of a boy who was kind to her eventually became romantic love. However, she kept her feelings hidden because she believed them to be entirely unrequited - a belief that was strengthened by Edmund's relationship with Mary Crawford. Eventually though the true character of the Crawford siblings was revealed and Edmund finally noticed that his young cousin had become a woman he was able to love in return.

The Hon. John Yates was the instigator of the infamous 'Lover's Vows' project and the man with whom Julia Bertram eloped after her sister's marriage fell apart.