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mellied1975 's review for:
The Other Bennet Sister
by Janice Hadlow
There are a lot of Pride and Prejudice related novels out there and I've read quite a few of them, both good and bad. However, I've never read one with the unique perspective and fresh, sensitive insights of The Other Bennet Sister - or read one that was this moving and emotionally satisfying. I absolutely loved this book. It's hard to find an Austen sequel that feels really worthy of Austen's own novel, but as far as I'm concerned this one hits the mark.
The Other Bennet Sister focuses on Mary, the bookish, priggish, most overlooked sister of the five Bennet girls in Pride and Prejudice, and creates in her a beautifully real and sympathetic character - one who will break your heart and fill you with so much hope and pride as she grows, learns, and ultimately comes to respect herself after a youth spent being berated by her mother, neglected by her father, and alternately picked on or brushed aside by her sisters.
I don't want to spoil anything by going into detail about the journey she takes to get to her happy ending - I knew nothing about what would happen when I started reading and enjoyed being surprised by the twists and turns the novel took. I will say, though, that I really appreciated that the part of the story retelling the events of Pride and Prejudice was relatively short, and that the majority of it took place a couple of years afterward. It made things feel very fresh and new, and not like it was a rehashing of the Austen novel. That said, Austen's spirit infuses The Other Bennet Sister, and the story and its characters feel very much like part of her world.
I truly adored this book and highly recommend it. It's a stunner of a first novel by Janice Hadlow and I really hope some of you read it so we can discuss!
The Other Bennet Sister focuses on Mary, the bookish, priggish, most overlooked sister of the five Bennet girls in Pride and Prejudice, and creates in her a beautifully real and sympathetic character - one who will break your heart and fill you with so much hope and pride as she grows, learns, and ultimately comes to respect herself after a youth spent being berated by her mother, neglected by her father, and alternately picked on or brushed aside by her sisters.
I don't want to spoil anything by going into detail about the journey she takes to get to her happy ending - I knew nothing about what would happen when I started reading and enjoyed being surprised by the twists and turns the novel took. I will say, though, that I really appreciated that the part of the story retelling the events of Pride and Prejudice was relatively short, and that the majority of it took place a couple of years afterward. It made things feel very fresh and new, and not like it was a rehashing of the Austen novel. That said, Austen's spirit infuses The Other Bennet Sister, and the story and its characters feel very much like part of her world.
I truly adored this book and highly recommend it. It's a stunner of a first novel by Janice Hadlow and I really hope some of you read it so we can discuss!