The Other Bennet Sister

Description

'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.

Janice Hadlow was born in London and studied history at university. After a few years working for the House of Commons, she joined the BBC and became a television producer. She was the recipient of a number of awards, and is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society, as well as of King's College, University of London. The Other Bennet Sister is her first novel. She currently lives in Edinburgh with her husband and has two sons.

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY LIBRARY JOURNAL, NPR, AND CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR "An immersive and engaging new version of a familiar world . . . at once true to the source material and to life . . . Hadlow's great achievement is to shift our sympathies so completely that . . . it's difficult not to race through those final pages, desperate to know if [Mary] will, after all, be allowed--will allow herself--a happy ending." --Jo Baker, The Guardian "[A] winner. . . . Mary imparts [wisdom] to Hadlow's readers." --The New York Times "If you thought Mary, the nerdy, plain sibling in Pride & Prejudice, was too dull to warrant her own novel, think again: In Hadlow's imaginative retelling, the sister with no prospects finally gets some respect--and perhaps even a guy." -O, The Oprah Magazine "The Other Bennet Sister goes beyond Pride and Prejudice to imagine how the Marys of the world might find happiness . . . A captivating and heartening story." --Literary Hub "Spirited sure to please . . . Hadlow proves adept at delivering plot twists and social commentary deserving of her mentor." --The Star Tribune Debut novelist Hadlow manages it with aplomb.... [writing] with sensitivity, emotional clarity, and a quiet edge of social criticism Austen would have relished. Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing. --Kirkus (starred review) "Absolutely magical. . . . It is a marvel that The Other Bennet Sister is [Hadlow's] first novel. Her writing is elegant and wry, the story wise and engrossing. . . . [You'll] be surprised that you aren't actually reading Jane Austen." --BookPage (starred review) [A] spectacular debut. . . . Writing in prose with the crisp liveliness of Austen's own, Hadlow remains true to the characterizations in Pride and Prejudice without letting them limit her. . . . This will delight Janeites as well as lovers of nuanced female coming-of-age tales. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) Delightful. . . . This is a charming and enchanting story . . . [that readers of Pride and Prejudice] will love, as will historical fiction readers looking for intelligent heroines with agency and heart. --Library Journal (starred review) "Satisfyingly evocative of [Pride and Prejudice] and yet strikingly contemporary. . . . Hadlow grafts a contemporary coming-of-age story onto a literary masterpiece . . . building upon what Austen had achieved--writing boldly and honestly about women's lives." --The Christian Science Monitor A touching redemption of one of the least-liked characters in Jane Austen's novels. . . . [Perfect for] any fan of the original. --Portland Review of Books Gorgeous. . . . [The Other Bennet Sister] is a wonderfully, warm, comforting read--perfect on a winter's night. --The Sun (UK) Impeccably researched, this lifts Mary from obscurity, as she breaks out of her mother's world and follows her own path. --Daily Mail "Heartfelt. . . . A triumphant novel that is determined, romantic, and hopeful." --Medium A heroine that even Ms. Austen would approve of. A treat for--and for anyone else who likes their fiction to have sense and sensibility. --Daisy Goodwin, New York Times bestselling author of The American Heiress and Victoria Jane fans rejoice! I loved this thoroughly estimable, worthy homage to Austen. 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