If you can get past Le Touzel's odd mannerism of making little chopping movements with her open-palmed hand for emphasis, this is a faithful adaptation of the novel. It's much slower than Northanger Abbey and lacks some of the passionate drama of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, but it still depicts a strong yet very kind heroine who stands up for what she believes in. When popular philanderer Henry Crawford (Robert Burbage) actually falls for and proposes to Fanny, she rejects him, much to the surprise and disdain of the Bertrams--except, of course, for our hero Edmund. For trivia buffs: Jonny Lee Miller, who plays young Charles Price (one of Fanny's brothers), has the role of Edmund Bertram in the 1999 theatrical version of Mansfield Park. --N.F. Mendoza