Janice Hadlow

"Jane fans rejoice! . . . Exceptional storytelling and a true delight." —Helen Simonson, author of the New York Times bestselling novels Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Summer Before the War Mary, the bookish ugly duckling of Pride and Prejudice’s five Bennet sisters, emerges from the shadows and transforms into a desired woman with choices of her own. What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the frustrated intellectual of the Bennet family, the marginalized middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books, eventually found the fulfillment enjoyed by her prettier, more confident sisters? This is the plot of Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister, a debut novel with exactly the affection and authority to satisfy Jane Austen fans. Ultimately, Mary’s journey is like that taken by every Austen heroine. She learns that she can only expect joy when she has accepted who she really is. She must throw off the false expectations and wrong ideas that have combined to obscure her true nature and prevented her from what makes her happy. Only when she undergoes this evolution does she have a chance at finding fulfillment; only then does she have the clarity to recognize her partner when he presents himself—and only at that moment is she genuinely worthy of love. Mary’s destiny diverges from that of her sisters. It does not involve broad acres or landed gentry. But it does include a man; and, as in all Austen novels, Mary must decide whether he is the truly the one for her. In The Other Bennet Sister, Mary is a fully rounded character—complex, conflicted, and often uncertain; but also vulnerable, supremely sympathetic, and ultimately the protagonist of an uncommonly satisfying debut novel.

A Novel

The Other Bennet Sister

For Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice fans everywhere, this is Mary Bennet's story . . . 'Will delight Pride and Prejudice fans' - Independent 'It's difficult not to race through those final pages' – Jo Baker, author of Longbourn In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mary is the middle of the five Bennet girls and the plainest of them all, so what hope does she have? Prim and pious, with no redeeming features, she is unloved and seemingly unlovable. The Other Bennet Sister, though, shows another side to Mary. An introvert in a family of extroverts; a constant disappointment to her mother who values beauty above all else; fearful of her father’s sharp tongue; with little in common with her siblings – is it any wonder she turns to books for both company and guidance? And, if she finds her life lonely or lacking, that she determines to try harder at the one thing she can be: right. One by one, her sisters marry – Jane and Lizzy for love; Lydia for some semblance of respectability – but Mary, it seems, is destined to remain single and live out her life at Longbourn, at least until her father dies and the house is bequeathed to the reviled Mr Collins. But when that fateful day finally comes, she slowly discovers that perhaps there is hope for her, after all. Simultaneously a wonderfully warm homage to Jane Austen and a delightful new story in its own right, Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister is, at its heart, a life-affirming tale of a young woman finding her place in the world. Witty and uplifting, it will make you feel – and cheer – for Mary as you never have before.

The Perfect Regency Novel for Fans of Bridgerton

Vanessa 

This actually felt like a Jane Austen read. I liked how the author was able to transport me into Mary's mind. I feel like Mary was the forgotten one who was kind of clowned on in the books/movies, so it was nice to see her rich inner mind. This book made me see myself in her, and made the character that much more important to me.

Sarah Campbell

Heleah Soulati

Haley Murray

Eloise

The Other Bennet Sister is a historical fiction/romance story, following the character of Mary Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I enjoyed reading about Mary Bennet and seeing the Bennet family through a different lens. The writing was beautiful, but the pacing of the story dragged on in the middle part and was rushed at the end. 

In Pride and Prejudice, Mary is the sister we don't know much about. I really liked how The Other Bennet Sister explored Mary's character and how much she developed over the course of the story. Mary's passion for theology and ethics was interesting to read about. Mrs. Gardiner is one of my favourite characters from Pride and Prejudice, so it was great to see Mary and Mrs. Gardiner's friendship grow. I really liked Tom Hayward and his banter with Mary. While this is a romance story, I liked that the main focus was on Mary and her journey.

Overall, The Other Bennet Sister was a wonderful read and I recommend picking it up if you love Pride and Prejudice, and want to know more about Mary Bennet.

This book held my attention nearly the whole time (with the exception of approximately two-thirds in when the misunderstandings between hero and heroine went on far too long) and I throughly enjoyed it, despite the first half being rather gloomy and almost depressing, what with Mary's emotional abuse at the hands of her family. 
It authentically documented the theoretical life of an underappreciated and misunderstood character, who perhaps even Austen misunderstood herself. I thought it would read like fanfiction, and to be sure it didn't read like Jane Austen (though it never pretended to), but it didn't and kept to the same spirit of Austen.
I would certainly read this again.

Bethany

Summer Stanley

I LOVE Pride and Prejudice and this is a delightful continuation of the story. I love love a slow burn, and this is completely that. 

It definitely moves slowly and the language is elevated, but I loved that 1/3 of the way through I was getting annoyed with the characters or “facepalming” at their dumb decisions. It meant that I started to care without realizing - similar to how I feel reading P&P. You do have to suffer through some severe second-hand embarrassment in the first half, but watching Mary come into herself makes it all worth it. 
In comparison to P&P, the mother goes from obnoxious and ditzy to downright cruel. Instead of brushing her off, I strongly disliked her and wanted to yell and shake her. Papa Bennet comes in with some great zingers as expected. 
If you are a fan of P&P or Jane Austen in general, I highly recommend!

Liv Rockwell

Appreciated the different perspective on the Pride and Prejudice story. I already have begun to view the media and the family dynamics depicted in a different light. Enjoyable, escapist novel.

Moray Lyle McIntosh

In The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow rehabilitates the unfairly maligned Mary Bennet in this uneven but pleasant story. There's a little insight into growing up "the plain one" amongst beautiful sisters and an explanation for Mary's bookish habits as well as the reasons and ramifications of her well-known faux pas in Pride and Prejudice. Hadlow tries to keep the section that covers the events of Austen's original short but it still feels to long and target tedious, as do the brief appearances of Jane and Lizzy, particularly because the dialogue is oddly sparse. After this Mary starts to come into her own as she tries to find a place and herself as the only unmarried Bennet girl. The appearances of other characters, the Collinses, the Gardiners, Miss Bingley, are more successful and are used well to show up Mary's narrative. Mary herself is sympathetic, and developed into a character whom it's nice to spend time with and easy to become invested in. Hadlow's fondness is infectious but the story suffers from overused tropes that don't ring quite true, having more in common with your average rom-com than Austen and it certainly lacks her trademark wit and humour. The main problem is that of length, it's just far too long and it feels like several of the themes and conversations are rehashed ad nauseum. Nevertheless, it's a pleasant enough read and just about manages to avoid reading as fan fiction. There are no surprises in the plot but the familiarity is a comfortable one That means this is a pleasant, if not particularly significant return to a much-loved setting.

sarah 🤠

i loved this! it transformed mary from the laughing stock of pride and prejudice to a fully flushed protagonist. the writing felt like austen's prose, and it had an austen-like ending! (take notes, sanditon)

It is a sad fact of life that if a young woman is unlucky enough to come into the world without expectations, she had better do all she can to ensure she is born beautiful. To be handsome and poor is misfortune enough; but to be both plain and penniless is a hard fate indeed. In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Mary is the middle of the five Bennet girls and the plainest of them all, so what hope does she have? Prim and pious, with no redeeming features, she is unloved and seemingly unlovable.The Other Bennet Sister, though, shows another side to Mary. An introvert in a family of extroverts; a constant disappointment to her mother who values beauty above all else; fearful of her father's sharp tongue; with little in common with her siblings - is it any wonder she turns to books for both company and guidance? And, if she finds her life lonely or lacking, that she determines to try harder at the one thing she can be: right.One by one, her sisters marry - Jane and Lizzy for love; Lydia for some semblance of respectability - but Mary, it seems, is destined to remain single and live out her life at Longbourn, at least until her father dies and the house is bequeathed to the reviled Mr Collins. But when that fateful day finally comes, she slowly discovers that perhaps there is hope for her, after all. Simultaneously a wonderfully warm homage to Jane Austen and a delightful new story in its own right, Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister is, at its heart, a life-affirming tale of a young woman finding her place in the world. Witty and uplifting, it will make you feel - and cheer - for Mary as you never have before.

Maryam Hasan

For Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice fans everywhere, this is Mary Bennet's story.

Roisin Giles

** spoiler alert **
           I absolutely adore this book. I love ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which this book is a kind of sequel of, but this book exceeded my expectations and is a new favourite of mine. If it wasn’t for the slightly more modern language used, you would not think it was written by a different author as the styles are so similar, and famous quotes are included. 

It follows the middle Bennett daughter, Mary, who is widely and explicitly regarded behind her back and to her face as being the plainest daughter. These constant disparaging comments, especially from her mother Mrs Bennett, cause Mary to have a miserable and lonely existence, believing herself to be unworthy of love, which in those days was all a woman could hope for. I think part of why I love this book so much is because I really resonated with Mary’s character, and have often thought in the same way that she has and so I felt that this book spoke to me. Any helpful advice given to Mary, mainly by Mrs Hill, Charlotte and Mrs Gardiner, I felt was also relevant to me which made it quite a personal read. 

This book starts from Mary’s childhood and follows her to adulthood, and briefly mentions an alternative viewpoint to ‘Pride and Prejudice’, before skipping forward two years to when her father has passed away, and Mary and her mother need to move out. As Mary is the only single daughter, she relies on her sisters for a place to stay. However, Jane, Lizzy and Charlotte’s homes are not a suitable match for Mary, so she stays in London with her uncle and aunt, the Gardiners, who I love and would also read an entire book about. Whilst in London, and surrounded by much more supportive people, she makes friends with Mr Hayward and Mr Ryder. A somewhat love triangle formed, which I enjoyed as both men were suitable matches, however Mr Hayward is definitely the man for Mary. This book is definitely a slower read at 650 pages, but I was gripped and loved the amount of detail it had. If you liked ‘Pride and Prejudice’, I strongly recommend reading this book. A lovely, heartwarming book about a very relatable and normal main character, which, similar to P&P, is still very applicable to today. It also has a fair bit of angst and pining, and Mean Girls-esque villains with Mrs Bennett and Miss Bingley. 

My favourite quotes:

‘A daffodil seems quite ordinary when planted between lilies. But looked at without them, it has its own kind of beauty.’ 

‘It’s hard to persuade anyone, especially a man, that your regard is worth having if you have none for yourself.’

‘And as you aren’t accustomed to acknowledging your most attractive qualities, I consider it my duty to remind you of them from time to time.’ - Mr Hayward to Mary. 

‘I would rather tell the truth and risk humiliation than pass up the chance of happiness because I was not brave enough to say honestly what I felt.’

The Other Bennet Sister A Novel

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