I can see why this Austen novel is not so popular. It's a re-telling of Cinderella, but the glass slipper doesn't fit. And Cinderella (Fanny) doesn't want it to fit. And Prince Charming (Mr. Crawford) runs off with one of the evil stepsisters (cousins). At least the evil stepmother (aunt) gets punished in the end, sort of.
Seriously though, Austen has a very adult, insightful, take on the old story. Well worth reading. I'm trying to read (or reread) all of her novels in conjunction with the Masterpiece Classic Jane Austen season on PBS.
Update: Watched the PBS video, and it was pretty bad. Who was the screenwriter? He trashed the novel. Left out the ball - turned it into a picnic - maybe he was the victim of budget cuts, but what good is a cinderella story without a ball? Also left out the entire trip of Fanny's back to her real mother's, which was extremely important to show the change in Fanny's attitude towards Mansfield Park. I watched it with my wife, and I had to constantly explain to her what was going on, since she couldn't follow the story based only on the screenplay. Oh well.
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