I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Joan Aiken gives the story a fresh twist with a plausible explanation for Henry Crawford’s supposed perfidy in Mansfield Park which allows him to become a possible suitor for Susan. And the introduction of several lively new characters ensures that Mansfield Revisited is a stand-alone story. Aiken also captures Jane Austen’s tone excellently; the language and vocabulary are exactly right, as are the touches of irony and humour.

I finished the book in one day . . . gosh darn it, Mansfield Park Revisited was good . . . Aiken has a canny ability to stay true to the developed Austen characters and seamlessly integrate and expand into leading roles the characters that were tertiary in the original work.

Aiken is by far one of the most talented writers to attempt an Austen sequel and Mansfield Park Revisited is truly worthy of resurrection. She has respectfully continued Austen’s story by expanding her characters, adapting the language for the modern reader, accurately including the social mantle and believably turning our concerns for the two main antagonists Mary and Henry Crawford at the end of Mansfield Park into sympathies, which given their principles and past bad behaviour is quite an accomplishment.

Jane Austen would wholeheartedly have approved of what her colleague Joan Aiken did to her Mansfield Park characters. This reissued sequel is exactly what the doctor ordered for people who loved Fanny Price . . . A book worthy of Miss Austen herself

A period drama written at its most entertaining!

John Boyne is clearly unafraid to tackle the big subjects in his fiction for children . . . A good, solid, engaging read

Wonderful . . . One of the best books of the year. An instant classic

Leaves the reader with a greater sense of how war changes people and their communities, and reminds us that sometimes, the ordinary acts of courage that get a child and his family through each day are as valuable, rare and life-changing as any along the front. Alfie inspires us to be more courageous than we’re used to and to do right by others even when the world is tense around us

A beautifully paced and touching tale