The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet
the sapphic regency romance readers have been waiting for!
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- £5.49
Publisher Description
'A triumph of a book, and an utter delight from start to finish' Thomas D. Lee, the Sunday Times bestselling author of Perilous Times
Jane Austen meets Bridgerton in this slow-burn sapphic romance between Charlotte Lucas and Mary Bennet, taking place four years after the end of Pride and Prejudice.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that love always blooms in the unlikeliest of places.
When Mr. Collins dies after just four years of marriage, Charlotte is lost. While not exactly heartbroken, she will soon have to quit the parsonage that has become her home. In desperate need of support, she writes to her best friend, Lizzie. Unable to leave Pemberley, Lizzie sends her sister, Mary Bennet, to offer support in her stead.
To Charlotte's surprise, Mary Bennet is nothing like she remembers. Mary's discovery of academia and her interest in botany (as well as getting out from under her mother's thumb) have caused her to flourish. Before long, Charlotte is enraptured - with Mary, and with the possibilities that lie beyond their societal confines. With each stolen glance and whispered secret, their friendship quickly blossoms into something achingly real.
But when her time at the parsonage begins to dwindle and potential suitors appear, Charlotte must make a choice - the safety and security of another husband, or a passionate life with Mary outside the confines of the ton's expectations.
Set in the beloved world of Jane Austen, The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet is the swoony sapphic regency romance that readers have been waiting for.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This delightful if somewhat predictable lesbian Regency from McLeod (Sunbather) takes the form of a sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Four years after the events of Austen's novel, Charlotte Lucas's husband Mr. Collins dies. Charlotte tries to delay the inevitable return to her parents' home by inviting her best friend Lizzie Bennet to visit. As Lizzie's son is too ill for her to travel, she instead sends her sister Mary, who, still unmarried, has developed an interest in botany and scientific salons. Their quickly blossoming friendship leaves Charlotte realizing the reason her marriage felt so lukewarm: she's attracted to women. Later, she meets Mary's social circle in Canterbury and discovers that, despite society's disapproval, she's not the only one who feels this way. The prose skews contemporary, but McLeod still delivers all the Regency staples, including high-society gossip, unwanted suitors, and quippy dialogue. With Charlotte as the sole narrator, the mystery of whether she's reading Mary's signals correctly keeps the pages turning right up until the moment their passion erupts. The result is an unabashedly escapist, feel-good romance.
