Review of The Other Bennet Sister

Review of The Other Bennet Sister

By; Janice Hadlow

            A compliment to Pride and Prejudice this is the story of the middle sister, Mary Bennet.  Like its predecessor, this novel is formatted into 4 parts.  The first part is Pride and Prejudice through Mary’s eyes while part two takes place two years later after all her sisters have been married.  Mary struggles to find her place in her family and she finally tries to live with the Collins.   Part 3 finds her in London living with her aunt and uncle and this is where she starts to find her place.

            Hadlow mimics Austen’s style quite nicely and expands Mary’s character perfectly.  This more than just tells a story of Mary finding romance, but finding herself.  Once she is out of the shadow of her siblings and overbearing mother Mary is able to figure things out about herself.  The pressure and expectations that are removed make it easier for her to make her own choices once she is on her own.  Mary is the one I most relate to as she is academically minded and shy as well as very reserved like me. I’m more interested in fiction than she is, but hearing Mary discuss non-fiction is inspiring. She is a Regency nerd in the best way.  She also worships her older sister, Elizabeth, as I do mine.  Her relationship with Elizabeth is complicated.  Mary admires and respects Elizabeth, but envies her relationship with their father, who ignores Mary.  The sisters once bonded over a love of novels, but have very different tastes.  Lizzie is not painted in the best light in story and is inconsiderate of Mary’s feelings at times, but she makes up for it in a big way later in the story.  Mrs. Bennet comes off even worse in this novel as Mary is around her mother 24/7, and Mrs. Bennet constantly belittles and berates Mary.  She will never be a great beauty like Jane or clever like Lizzie and her mom constantly makes her feel inadequate.  Mrs. B is that person who thinks that reminding her daughter of her faults will motivate her but it does the opposite.  Another crucial relationship that influences Mary a lot is her connection with the Collins.  Charlotte Lucas sees herself in Mary she tries to guide Mary like Mrs. Gardiner does later.  She gives her advice and helps her try to be sensible.  In Pride and Prejudice, Mary did consider Mr. Collins and we hear the middle Bennet sister’s thought process on the matter.  The irony is when she is living with the Collins, Mr. Collins is finally able to notice her when he isn’t distracted by Elizabeth and realize she would have been the Bennet sister to propose to, but it is too late. Mary’s relationship with her aunt and uncle is sweet and it’s what she needs.  Mrs. Gardiner understands Mary and is a better mother to her.  She advises her but doesn’t make her feel she isn’t good enough.  She motivates Mary to find her own way, be herself, but be practical too.  Her own romance is similar to Lizzie’s, but the two men are different from Darcy and Wickham.  Both are more appealing to me than those two in all honesty.  The novel is a comforting and a cozy read, though it’s longer than the original Pride and Prejudice, but worth a read if you loved Pride and Prejudice.