The Other Bennet Sister
The Perfect Regency Novel for Fans of Bridgerton and Jane Austen
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4.5 • 184 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
The Other Bennet Sister presents Mary Bennet in a whole new light as she becomes Austen's newest leading lady.
Now a major BBC One TV series, starring Richard E. Grant, Ruth Jones and Ella Bruccoleri.
'Will delight Pride and Prejudice fans' – The Independent
One by one, the Bennet sisters have found their place. But what happens to the one left behind? This is the brilliant, witty, and heartbreakingly relatable story of Mary Bennet.
In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, we know the fates of the five Bennet girls. But while her sisters are celebrated for their beauty or their wit, Mary is the "plain" middle sister, the introvert in a family of extroverts, and a constant disappointment to her mother.
Lonely and lacking connection, Mary turns to the only place she feels safe: her books. Determined to be "right" since she can never be "beautiful," she prepares for a life of solitude at Longbourn.
One by one, the other sisters move on: Jane and Lizzy for love, and Lydia for respectability. Mary is destined to remain single, at least until her father dies and the house is bequeathed to the reviled Mr Collins.
But when that fateful day finally arrives, the life Mary expected is turned upside down. In the face of uncertainty, she slowly discovers that there is hope for the "plain" sister after all. . .
Experience the witty, life-affirming tale of a young woman finally finding her place in the world.
This is Mary Bennet's story.
'It's difficult not to race through those final pages' – Jo Baker, author of Longbourn
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mary Bennet, the overlooked and unlikable fifth sister in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, learns to see herself and others clearly in Hadlow's spectacular debut novel (after A Royal Experiment: The Private Life of George III). Born without the beauty her mother prizes or the wit needed to win her father's attention, Mary takes refuge in books and study. By the time her sisters marry and her father dies, Mary's self-esteem, optimism, and trust in others have vanished. Then a happy stay with her aunt and uncle Gardiner in London offers a new perspective, suggesting that she must value herself in order to be valued by others. Naturally for an Austen-inspired novel, with self-awareness comes the possibility of true love. Writing in prose with the crisp liveliness of Austen's own, Hadlow remains true to the characterizations in Pride and Prejudice without letting them limit her. Mary's emergence from priggish insecurity is beautifully imagined; Austen's smarmy Mr. Collins gets a surprising but convincing rehabilitation, the Gardiners are joyously fleshed out, and London, never visited in the Austen canon, comes vividly to life. Equal to the best Austen spin-offs, including Jo Baker's Longbourn, this will delight Janeites as well as lovers of nuanced female coming-of-age tales.
Customer Reviews
Good read for any Austen Fan
Unlike like a lot of other regency Romance books she never wanders into smut for which I am truly grateful. Her writing is well paced, creates interesting characters bringing out aspects of Mary which never made it into Pride and Prejudice but without wandering too far from the original character.
I will add more of her books to my collection and can’t wait for whatever she publishes next.
Wonderful.
Such a lovely sweet read. It made me laugh, smile and brought tears to my eyes.
Fantastic sequel to P & P
This book was so wonderful, the perfect Austenesque read to follow P & P. We experience the story from Mary’s perspective and it makes perfect sense. Then we follow her journey to find meaning for her life beyond Longbourn and meet well known characters plus new additions who are the perfect complement. The locations are equally well done, especially the Lake District and an absolutely beautiful ending. My only concern is that the upcoming adaptation will not measure up to the story itself.