The Other Bennet Sister

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At one point, Hornby’s Cassandra worries that Jane will offend their plain and sententious sister-in-law, Mary Austen, by calling the unlikably plain and sententious Bennet sister in Pride and Prejudice “Mary”. Janice Hadlow evidently also felt that Mary Bennet was given a rough deal by her author and in The Other Bennet Sister sets out to redress the balance, by retelling the events of Pride and Prejudice and their aftermath from Mary’s perspective.

Indeed, they are very pleasing,” agreed Mrs. Phillips obligingly. “And I doubt that Mary will ever be admired as they are. But, sister, I wonder if you aren’t rather harsh in judging her as you do? Perhaps she suffers by comparisons. If Jane and Lizzy were a little less handsome, then might she seem prettier in your eyes?” Myer, Valerie Grosvenor (1997). Jane Austen, Obstinate Heart: A Biography. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-559-70387-1. In short, Mary is miserable and is willing to try anything even securing the interest of the bumbling and bothersome cousin Collins who has come to Longbourn in search of a wife. If she thought her homelife was misery, being overlooked by Mr. Collins even after she put her best foot forward and made a horrid spectacle of herself at the Netherfield Ball teaches her that being invisible is even worse. The oft forgotten of the five Bennet sisters who may have been a reader’s source of amusement or irritation, engendered pity or magnanimous sympathy comes endearingly alive in Janice Hadlow’s gentle opus to Mary, the other sister who must follow a very different path to happiness.

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If you thought Mary, the nerdy, plain sibling in Pride & Prejudice, was too dull to warrant her own novel, think again: In Hadlow’s imaginative retelling, the sister with no prospects finally gets some respect—and perhaps even a guy.” The family belongs to the landed gentry of Hertfordshire in the Regency era of English history. [3] The complex relationships among the Bennets influence the evolution of the plot, as they navigate the difficulties faced by young women in attempting to secure a good future through marriage. [4] The Bennet daughters [ edit ] Jones, Hazel (2009). Jane Austen and marriage. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-847-25218-0.

Hadlow’s empathy for Mary throws into sharp relief the brisk dismissiveness with which she was originally treated; in Pride and Prejudice, Austen pins her down with a couple of adjectives, invites the reader to find her ridiculous, and moves swiftly on. In The Other Bennet Sister, Mary herself seems almost aware of a change in dispensation as she emerges from the hermetically sealed environment of Pride and Prejudice, into the world beyond: “There was no one to judge her … she might change if she wished to.” But when that fateful day finally comes, she slowly discovers that perhaps there is hope for her, after all.

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In personality, Lydia is a younger version of her mother, as well as being her mother's favourite ("Lydia was...a favourite with her mother, whose affection had brought her into public at an early age"); She is called "silly & ignorant", "vain, ignorant, idle, and absolutely uncontrolled!", and "untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless", with an exaggerated estimation of her own self-importance-and-consequence; all of which her mother, who has always spoiled her, and has actively encouraged her behaviour, views as 'cheerfulness', 'jolliness', and ' flirtatiousness', as it matches all of her own humours (and cannot understand why Mr. Bennet favours Elizabeth over Lydia). Lydia is also likr her mother, in that she is incapable of keeping secrets and respecting confidences. I've only read half of this book and so far the story is a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice from Mary's perspective. Her life isn't that all exciting: she tries some glasses on, she buys a pretty dress, and she tries some makeup. There were painfully detailed descriptions of the most basic of things. Which might have been vaguely appealing if Mary wasn't such a downer. At one point I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd broken into a 'conceal don't feel' type of song. An ignorant and narrow-minded petite bourgeoise [ edit ] For 20 years, reading allowed Mr Bennet to bear the foolishness of his wife ( Hugh Thomson, 1894). Likewise, Lydia's behaviour was only allowed to descend further due to her father's indolence, he not taking seriously how Lydia's behaviour might negatively affect the Bennets.