The Other Bennet Sister

I was doom scrolling and I saw some shorts for something called The Other Bennet Sister and I watched it.

And I was hooked.

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow is a great read. I mean, I am a huge Pride and Prejudice fan, so of course I enjoyed this one. It does read just like Pride and Prejudice, all the plot points are near the same, but the treatment of the characters are different. Of course, because the people are different.

Once I saw how amazing the shorts for the show were, I bought the book. I read that book like a person gasping for air after suffocating in the dark for so long.

I've read people complain the beginning is a recap of the Jane Austen P&P. It is, BUT it is from Mary's perspective, which is important. I wanted a Mary story for so long. We all knew how it would go for the other sisters, so alive and energetic. But the quiet ones like Mary, how would it go for her?

Janice give's one version of how it would go for Mary. Since the original author is no longer with us, Janice made her own story for Mary. It would be nice to know what Jane would have said for Mary, but this is better than nothing.

If you ever felt like the odd man out and the scapegoat for the family, you may like this story. You could relate. Mrs. Bennet is horrible in this one. Worse than we have ever seen her. But that would make sense considering this is from Mary's POV. Her mother is so critical of her, keeping her down and yet always demanding that Mary stay by her side so that Mrs. Bennet herself isn't lonely. But what about Mary's happiness? Mrs. Bennet doesn't care about anything but herself now she has four daughters married by the time the recap of the story is covered.

I don't want to give away much more about the story, book or movie. But what I have noticed is that the limited series of the show is different from the book. The show added characters that never existed in the book. Plot lines that never happened in the book are in the show. It's kind of like getting to learn two different version's of how Mary's life went after her sisters all married and left her behind.

Go enjoy both. I highly recommend it.