The Other Bennet Sister

<p><b>For fans of Jane Austens <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, Janice Hadlows <i>The Other Bennet Sister</i> tells Marys story...</b><br><br><i>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. </i><br><br>In Jane Austens <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, 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.<br><br><i>The Other Bennet Sister</i>, 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 fathers 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 <i>can </i>be: right.<br><br>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. <br><br>But when that fateful day finally comes, she slowly discovers that perhaps there <i>is</i> hope for her, after all. <br><br>Simultaneously a wonderfully warm homage to Jane Austen and a delightful new story in its own right, Janice Hadlows <i>The Other Bennet Sister </i>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.</p>