Mary Bennett, the pedantic, bespectacled middle sister to lovely Jane, sparkling Elizabeth, and tempestuous Lydia finally gets the book she deserves in this insightful novel. Although Mary has been the heroine of at least three decidedly inferior adaptions , Hadlow is the first to explore her inner struggles without succumbing to the temptation of making her into a brilliant, misunderstood artiste.

Hadlow succeeds where others have failed by looking seriously at how Mary is treated in P&P, and the psychological damage she endures from our beloved Bennett characters. Keenly aware of her physical imperfections, Mary is bullied by her mother, mocked by her father, teased by her younger sisters and ignored by her older ones. Her father's rejection is particularly painful; noting how much he values scholarship, Mary determines to earn his respect and perhaps affection by doggedly preparing extracts from serious books, only to incur further mockery, joined by his beloved Elizabeth. The moment Mary realize her father will never love her the way he does Lizzie is heartbreaking.

After presenting an alternative view of the events in P&P from Mary's perspective, the novel takes her to London for a stay with the lovable Gardiner family. Removed at last from her sisters' competition, Mary begins to bloom, attracting the attention of 2 likely marriage prospects. Unfortunately, at this point the story begins to resemble a traditional Regency romance, full of dinner table flirtations, awkwardly obvious misunderstandings, and significant glances while roaming across the hillsides. Hadlow manages to work plot points from several Austen novels into Mary's saga: she is nearly bullied into becoming a governess, (Emma) flirts delightfully with a young man who understands women' fabrics, (Northanger Abbey) meets another with dangerous ideas about poetry, passion and ignoring social conventions (Sense and Sensibility) and faces down an arrogant woman determined to ruin her happiness (P&P).

Despite a few linguistic anachronisms (I can't believe genteel Mrs Gardiner would exclaim "Lord no!" so often) Hadlow does a terrific job of presenting Mary's unenviable situation in a sympathetic light. As an unmarried woman with no beauty, fortune or marriage prospects, her desperate attempts to distinguish herself seem less ridiculous, and her growth into a serious, thoughtful young woman worthy of love is a tale to gratify the heart.

The Other Bennet Sister - Likewise Book Reviews

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