After not really reading (or rereading) yesterday, I have started on another old favourite today – Mansfield Park! I remember someone saying that Fanny Price is Austen’s most unlieable heroine, and that is something that I’ve never quite understood because I do quite like Fanny.

But more on that later. First, I want to talk about something else: yellowing pages and dark spots on the books (foxing, I think is the term). In the last few books I read, I have noticed that the pages are really yellow and foxing has occurred (it is particularly awful on my copy of Grit – I’ll take a picture if I reread it this month!). So I googled and apparently, the following conditions are bad for books:

• Light
• Heat
• Humidity

And where do I keep my books? In bookshelves (with doors! So no air circulation) near direct sunlight, in Singapore (aka a hot and humid country). No wonder my books all look rather terrible! It means I have to go back and find the books that I wish to keep in good condition and find a new place to store them, if there even is a better place.

Anyway, back to Fanny Price & Mansfield Park, since I’ve finished up to chapter 6 of volume 2. I understand that Fanny isn’t as likeable as Austen’s other characters, but I don’t think she’s unlikeable. She is a girl who was born in “disadvantaged” circumstances and who was never fully accepted by the family that took her in except for Edmund. I’m not surprised that she remained awkward, to be honest! I think just having Mrs Norris around me would make things awkward.

And despite her somewhat difficult circumstances, she still holds to her decisions, like not acting in a play. True, she doesn’t make these decisions often, but it does show that when something moves her, she’s not likely to budge from her position. I mean… I don’t know, I’ve never found her offputting and each time I read Mansfield Park, I find myself admiring how Fanny has made the most of her circumstances, even when she isn’t naturally the most charming (and aren’t some of the most charming Austen characters the ones she seems to portray as bad, like Lucy Steele?).

We’re starting the section where Henry Crawford, another charming character, is going to try and make Fanny fall in love with him. He’s an interesting character, so I can’t wait to finish my reread!