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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An unexpected gem!
All any of us want is a little attention, she thought...~from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
Poor Mary Bennett, the 'ugly duckling' sister, the comic foil, the forgotten and ignored child! Portrayed in film as squinting, clueless, socially inept, pseudo-intellectual, and plain.
Her story must be depressing. She watches her older sisters marry well for love, and her silliest, youngest sister at least snags a handsome rake. Even Charlotte Lucas gets her ever after--happy to have a home if not Mr. Collins as a mate.
Janice Hadlow's debut novel The Other Bennett Sister channels Austen's character Mary Bennett, imagining a worthy character who lives into a richer life. The novel shows inspiration from Austen's story and themes yet Hadlow develops the story in an original way, true to the historical time and setting.
Themes of self-realization, self-recreation, learning through error, prejudice and pride, sense and sensibility are all a part of Mary's path.
The first part of the book follows Pride and Prejudice from Mary's perspective. Those of us familiar with Austen's novel must be patient; the best is to come. We do learn that Mary had taken to reading theology and philosophy hoping for her father's approval.
After her sisters, including Kitty, are married and Mr. Bennett has passed, twenty-year-old Mary and Mrs. Bennett are dependent on the rich sisters. Miss Bingley takes out her disappointment on Mary with whispered jabs. And the Darcy household is too happy and perfect to easily allow her room. In desperation, Mary turns to the Gardiners. They offer Mary the example of a happy marriage, value her for herself, and provide good counsel.
When Mary is convinced to select a new wardrobe to better suit London society, I loved the descriptions of spotted and stripped and sprigged muslins, the fad colors of coromandel and jonquil, the green dress that will replace the dull colors that had allowed Mary to previously disappear into the woodwork.
In her simple elegance, Mary takes her place in society and attracts the attention of several men. One combines good sense and steadiness with a love of poetry. The other embraces free-thinking and prefers the pursuit of sensation as life's goal.
She meets men with a love of the novel. I love the many references to the literature and poetry that arises in conversation:
William Godwin's Poetic Justice
Mary Wollstonecraft
Lord Byron and Shelley
Tintern Abbey and We Are Seven by William Wordsworth; also his Guide to the Lakes
Evelina by Fanny Burney
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Pamela and Sir Charles Grandison by Samuel Richardson
I loved how the Romantic Era makes its impact on her life with Mary's (unsuitable) beau extolling feeling and sensation and rejecting cultural expectations and values, especially concerning the role of women and marriage as a socio-economic compromise.
Our lives are so brief and yet we spend so much of them obeying rules we did not make.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
Mary early prefers the steady man. But his reticence leaves Mary to be persuaded into unwise decisions.
This landscape gives us a proper sense of perspective. It shows us our smallness in the great scheme of things.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
The Gardiners take that trip to the Lake District they had once planned for Elizabeth; Mary's preferred beau accompanies them while the other just shows up.
Before she came to the Lakes, she had read a great deal about the subline--sights so extraordinary they could not be adequately described, only felt and experienced. She had never expected to feel for herself such an extraordinary consummation.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
...they caught sight of the great lake at Windermere; then they were quiet, for it was a sight magnificent enough to silence anyone.~ from The Other Bennett Sister
The group decides to walk up the second largest mountain in England. It is a rocky climb that will last all day--and threatens Mary's future happiness.
The romance has enough twists and turns for any Austen lover, with the satisfaction of a happy ending. This is not a plot giveaway--any Austen fan fiction must have it's happily ever after.
Hadlow has given us a fantastic read.
I was given access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
Poor Mary Bennett, the 'ugly duckling' sister, the comic foil, the forgotten and ignored child! Portrayed in film as squinting, clueless, socially inept, pseudo-intellectual, and plain.
Her story must be depressing. She watches her older sisters marry well for love, and her silliest, youngest sister at least snags a handsome rake. Even Charlotte Lucas gets her ever after--happy to have a home if not Mr. Collins as a mate.
Janice Hadlow's debut novel The Other Bennett Sister channels Austen's character Mary Bennett, imagining a worthy character who lives into a richer life. The novel shows inspiration from Austen's story and themes yet Hadlow develops the story in an original way, true to the historical time and setting.
Themes of self-realization, self-recreation, learning through error, prejudice and pride, sense and sensibility are all a part of Mary's path.
The first part of the book follows Pride and Prejudice from Mary's perspective. Those of us familiar with Austen's novel must be patient; the best is to come. We do learn that Mary had taken to reading theology and philosophy hoping for her father's approval.
After her sisters, including Kitty, are married and Mr. Bennett has passed, twenty-year-old Mary and Mrs. Bennett are dependent on the rich sisters. Miss Bingley takes out her disappointment on Mary with whispered jabs. And the Darcy household is too happy and perfect to easily allow her room. In desperation, Mary turns to the Gardiners. They offer Mary the example of a happy marriage, value her for herself, and provide good counsel.
When Mary is convinced to select a new wardrobe to better suit London society, I loved the descriptions of spotted and stripped and sprigged muslins, the fad colors of coromandel and jonquil, the green dress that will replace the dull colors that had allowed Mary to previously disappear into the woodwork.
In her simple elegance, Mary takes her place in society and attracts the attention of several men. One combines good sense and steadiness with a love of poetry. The other embraces free-thinking and prefers the pursuit of sensation as life's goal.
She meets men with a love of the novel. I love the many references to the literature and poetry that arises in conversation:
William Godwin's Poetic Justice
Mary Wollstonecraft
Lord Byron and Shelley
Tintern Abbey and We Are Seven by William Wordsworth; also his Guide to the Lakes
Evelina by Fanny Burney
Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
Pamela and Sir Charles Grandison by Samuel Richardson
I loved how the Romantic Era makes its impact on her life with Mary's (unsuitable) beau extolling feeling and sensation and rejecting cultural expectations and values, especially concerning the role of women and marriage as a socio-economic compromise.
Our lives are so brief and yet we spend so much of them obeying rules we did not make.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
Mary early prefers the steady man. But his reticence leaves Mary to be persuaded into unwise decisions.
This landscape gives us a proper sense of perspective. It shows us our smallness in the great scheme of things.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
The Gardiners take that trip to the Lake District they had once planned for Elizabeth; Mary's preferred beau accompanies them while the other just shows up.
Before she came to the Lakes, she had read a great deal about the subline--sights so extraordinary they could not be adequately described, only felt and experienced. She had never expected to feel for herself such an extraordinary consummation.~ from The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
...they caught sight of the great lake at Windermere; then they were quiet, for it was a sight magnificent enough to silence anyone.~ from The Other Bennett Sister
The group decides to walk up the second largest mountain in England. It is a rocky climb that will last all day--and threatens Mary's future happiness.
The romance has enough twists and turns for any Austen lover, with the satisfaction of a happy ending. This is not a plot giveaway--any Austen fan fiction must have it's happily ever after.
Hadlow has given us a fantastic read.
I was given access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
She had been told so often she was a failure that she had come to believe it.
A retelling of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of Mary, the middle Bennet sister. Partly follows the events of P&P (so we see the introduction of Bingley and Darcy and their engagements), partly follows the life of Mary after P&P.
Much of this book is absolutely heartbreaking. Like many people, I too discounted Mary as being kinda boring and lackluster and now I feel terrible for it (even though she is a fictional character). She just longs to fit in and be loved and yet she is rejected by everyone especially by her family. Mary is extremely self-conscious because she feels her looks are inferior to that of her sisters - Lydia and their mother constantly reinforce those negative feelings. She is just so alone. Her only solace is her books and she tries to convince herself that she doesn’t need friends, romance, or feelings even. She hides behind rationale and logic because she is afraid of her emotions. Absolutely heartbreaking!
It’s amazing how this book turns your opinions of the characters completely on its head. At one point I was sympathizing with Mr. Collins!
While it provided a fresh take in terms of Pride and Prejudice retellings, it was WAY too long. Towards the middle I almost stopped reading as it got kinda boring. There is a turning point about half way through where Mary really comes into her own. This was such an abrupt change that is was a little jarring and not very believable. If it had been a more gradual change, it would have been more believable, but the Mary at the end of the book is hardly even recognizable. There is very little of the Mary from the first part of the book.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pride and Prejudice was a formative book for me and remains one of my very favorites, so I almost always skip over sequels and variations because I don’t want anything about that world changed for me. I read this on recommendation from a friend and I enjoyed it so much - it’s very true to the spirit and storyline of the original, and it was fun having a new lens on the forgotten sister and coming to love her just as much as my other favorite characters. So sweet. I’m glad I took the chance.
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I accept this as canon.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A