The Other Bennet Sister

This book reimagines the classic novel Pride & Prejudice from the perspective of middle sister Mary. I enjoyed the parallels between this story and the original and would recommend to all fans of P&P. The first half of the novel follows the same timeline as the original and the second half places the story 2 years on, which allows the author freedom to imagine a life for Mary. I believe some aspects of this storyline follow too closely to Lizzy's story in the original and are just replaced by Mary so I would have liked to see the author move away from this plotline and imagine an entirely different life for Mary.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
#TheOtherBennetSister #NetGalley

Mary Bennet known as the 'plain' sister, the ' unsocial' sister, the 'boring sister, the 'undesirable' sister, gets a new life in this novel by Janice Hadlow. The first part of the book re-tells the original 'Pride and Prejudice' but from Mary's view which was really lovely to read. It then follows Mary and her life. I really loved this book, and truly admired Mary. This book gave her the story she deserved! There was romance, adventure and of course lots of pride and prejudice. I found myself constantly being disappointed in the other sisters and I now have different views towards them, they were so annoying at times! I loved the section of the book about Mr. Collins, but would have loved a bit more character development on Caroline Bingley. I really enjoyed the story and had a great time reading it, however it took me a longgggg time to get through as it was extremely long!! There were definitely some parts that could have been shortened. I do really recommend this book and was so so so happy by the ending.

I was privileged enough to receive an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I always felt a bit sorry for Mary Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, so I was really excited when I received an ARC for this book via Netgalley. It is, I am pleased to say, pretty much everything I wanted from it.

The Other Bennet Sister started off slow for me. My ARC had the unfortunate problem of removing the combination of the letters fi or fl from every word in which it appeared. Which was rather a lot more than one might think – five, figure, fine, fire, fish, flat, floor, confidence etc. Once I got used to it, I really got into the book.

The first third of book covers Mary’s childhood up to and including most of the events in Pride and Prejudice. For most part I enjoyed this, and Janice Hadlow did wonderful job of portraying Mary in a way that made sense. All those times she says or does something awkward in Pride and Prejudice were explained in a way that made me even more sympathetic toward Mary.

I was very impressed with how nuanced and believable Mary’s personal journey was. At the beginning she lacks self-confidence, but it grows over the course of the book. There was never a lightbulb moment where everything changed, but rather her confidence and identity grew organically with every situation that she faced.

I was also impressed by the detailed world building, and it was clear that the author had taken great pains to research all of the different aspects of the setting, including, but not limited to the environment, the landscape, the society, the fashion, the customs, and the literature.

The later part of The Other Bennet Sister read very much like most historical romances I’ve come across. So that could be taken as a positive or a negative depending on how much you like the sort of tropes you tend to find in them. I was a little underwhelmed by it because other aspects of the novel were so strong.

My main critique was how long the book was. Sometimes scenes dragged a bit, slowing the pacing considerably. But then, I found the same true for Pride & Prejudice, so perhaps it was a stylistic choice.

The only other tiny remark I have is that while almost the entire book was written in third-person limited from Mary’s perspective, every so often there would be a random sentence relating Mrs Gardiner’s thoughts, which always threw me off.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read. I’d recommend it to fans of retellings, historical romances, and lovers of Pride & Prejudice.

The Other Bennet Sister is an interesting tale of the often overlooked sister from Pride and Prejudice, Mary Bennet. The bookish and supposedly boring Mary, comes under the microscope and we see events from her point of view.

‘I will only say it seems plain to me that you long for happiness and freedom. But I’m afraid the first is only to be had by embracing the second, and it takes a great deal of courage to do that. Especially for a woman.’ He rose, brushing the dust from his coat. ‘For you, I think it would be a risk worth taking. You weren’t made to live a dull, ordinary, little life. You deserve more than that.’

The first third of the book goes over familiar territory for fans of Jane Austen’s original tale, only this time seen through the eyes of Mary. For example, when she was pulled from the piano at Netherfield by her father. Interestingly, you see how Mary felt so ostracized being in the middle with the two older and two younger sisters pairing up. Her upbringing most certainly impacted upon her self perception and flowing on from that, her interactions outside the family.

What sets this tale apart from the many reimaginings is how Hadlow brought to life many of the minor characters. For example, I particularly enjoyed Mary’s interactions with Mr Collins later on in the novel, where an increase in empathy occurs and it was interesting to see the lives of both Charlotte and Mr Collins after their move to Longbourn and how life turned out for them. Another great insight is provided into the Gardiner’s who featured so little in the original tale.

Hadlow also delivers solid social commentary on the lives of women at this time. The conversations Mary has with Charlotte - both prior to and after her marriage - could be considered fairly typical for females in the older age bracket at that time. Even how Mary’s words were interpreted by Mr Ryder and his initial proposal are insightful. The other interesting aspect to consider is how Hadlow has sought to infuse a range of Jane Austen themes - pride and prejudice, sense and sensibility - are clear to see. Some may claim maybe a little too stereotypical, even Mary’s personal evolvement from start to finish is somewhat cliched. The one definite drawback (and loss of star) concerned what I consider the unnecessary length of the book - it’s just too long in places.

‘Our lives are so brief and yet we spend so much of them obeying rules we did not make. The spirit of this place can’t help but make me imagine what it would be like to be truly free. To speak and behave not as we thought was proper, but as we really wished to do, if we were honest enough to confess it.’

All up The Other Bennet Sister is a charming reimagining. For Austen fans, it will prove a wonderful trip back to familiar times with the charming addition of how life unfolded for the not so boring and bookish Mary Bennet.

‘And above all, don’t long for what you cannot have, but learn to recognise what is possible, and when it presents itself, seize upon it with both hands. It seems to me this is the only route to happiness for those of us born with neither beauty, riches, nor charm.’





This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Thanks to Pan MacMillan and Netgalley for an Advance Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I've long felt a connection to Mary Bennet and always thought her to be misunderstood. Over the years I have enjoyed many author's interpretations on where they think her life would have taken her. I've always been so pleased to find that others find her undervalued, as I do.
This book is my favourite by far. From the beginning we see that Mary is the odd one out, unloved and unappreciated, starved for attention and mocked in her attempts to carve out some independence.
The story covers Mary's early life up until the events in Pride & Prejudice and then skip forward two years where she finds herself adrift and seeking her place in life.
Although her sisters love her, she does not quite fit into their happy lives. And her mother, wonderfully drawn by the author, is vapid and critical.
She eventually finds refuge with the Gardiners and, out of the shadow of her beautiful sisters, discovers she is worth much more than she was credited with.
She falls in love, is challenged by her emotions and the confines of society, and ultimately follows her heart, which is very gratifying in the end.
In many ways she reminds me of Fanny Price and I think it's a credit to the author that she has mirrored the style of Austen so well.
I highly recommend this lovely and well-written novel.