embennet 's review for:

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

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

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This book is for fans of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice. A lot of the enjoyment comes from seeing another side of an already well-loved story, and to meet well-known characters again. The loveliest part is that Mary becomes a heroine in her own right. She grows throughout the novel (and not too quickly either) and stands up for herself. In the last third of the novel, there were a tad too many back-and-forths and miscommunication situations, but other than that, the story was quite perfect.

Turns out, it was good timing to read The Other Bennet Sister at the same time as A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft. Topics broached by Wollenstonecraft were present in Hadlow's novel, such as the education of women and, a topic prevalent in all Austen novels, the necessity for a woman to marry if she is to have a home.