The Other Bennet Sister (2020) is the debut novel by British author and former television executive Janice Hadlow. A work of historical fiction, the novel is an imaginative retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, focusing on the marginalized middle sister, Mary Bennet. Overlooked by her family for her plain appearance in a society that prizes female beauty, the bookish Mary seeks validation in her intellectual and musical pursuits. The story follows her journey from a lonely, self-effacing young woman to a confident individual who must define her own worth and find her own path to happiness and love. The novel explores the themes of Emotional Awakening as True Self-Knowledge, Economic Vulnerability as Social Coercion, and Subverting Patriarchy Through Intellectual Independence. A former historian, Hadlow grounds Mary’s story in the social and intellectual currents of the Regency era. The Other Bennet Sister was named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Library Journal, and The Christian Science Monitor.

This guide refers to the 2021 Picador paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of emotional abuse, illness, and death.

Plot Summary

As the plain, bookish middle sister of the five Bennet sisters, Mary Bennet finds herself overlooked and unloved, particularly by her mother, who prizes female beauty above all else. While her sisters Jane, Elizabeth, Kitty, and Lydia garner praise, Mary seeks solace in her studies and her piano, honing her skills to find a sense of worth. Her scholarly pursuits lead her to her father’s library, but her failing eyesight necessitates spectacles, an accessory that earns her mother’s scorn and deepens her isolation.

At her first Meryton ball, Mary experiences a flicker of hope when she is asked to dance by John Sparrow, the kind son of the oculist who made her glasses. They connect over two dances, but Mary’s friend Charlotte Lucas warns her that such a connection is socially unsuitable. Fearing a public confrontation with her mother, Mary abruptly rejects John, an act that leaves her consumed with shame.

In the aftermath, Mary resolves to suppress her emotions and be guided solely by reason, burying herself in the moralizing works of authors like the one referred to only as Dr. Fordyce. Her hopes of impressing her father with her learning are dashed when he dismisses her chosen authors as trivial. Mary’s life at Longbourn feels increasingly hopeless, a feeling compounded when her father’s pompous cousin Mr. Collins arrives. Due to an entail, a legal restriction that prevents women from inheriting property, Mr. Collins will become Longbourn’s owner when Mr. Bennet dies. Mr. Collins therefore plans to choose a wife from among the Bennet sisters.

Mary resolves to secure the future of herself and her family by marrying Mr. Collins if he asks. She attempts to impress him by playing the piano and singing at the Netherfield ball. However, her singing voice is inferior to her piano skills, and she immediately realizes her mistake. Mortified, Elizabeth asks Mr. Bennet to intervene. Mary is deeply humiliated when her father interrupts her playing, stating she has “delighted us long enough” (129). Shortly afterward, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, who declines. Mr. Collins then becomes engaged to the pragmatic Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte tells Mary she does not love Mr. Collins but cannot face a future as an “old maid.”

Two years after Charlotte’s marriage, Mr. Bennet dies suddenly, leaving his family’s future uncertain. Mary and her mother go to live with Jane and her husband, Mr. Bingley, but Mary is made miserable by the cruel taunts of Mr. Bingley’s sister, Caroline. Finding the situation unbearable, Mary seeks refuge with her newly married sister Elizabeth at Pemberley. Though initially happy, she soon realizes she is an outsider in the perfect family unit Elizabeth has formed with Mr. Darcy and his sister Georgiana.

Mary goes to stay with Charlotte and Mr. Collins, who now live at Longbourn. She observes that Charlotte, although relieved to be married, avoids her husband whenever possible. Mary pities Mr. Collins, who is lonely, and they bond over shared scholarly interests. Charlotte soon begins to view Mary as a threat to her marriage, and consequently grows more affectionate toward Mr. Collins. Their marriage becomes happier, but Charlotte makes it clear that Mary cannot stay with them. Mary is horrified when Mr. Collins’s patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, insists on finding her a governess post.

Mary flees to London to stay with her warm and sensible aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. In their affectionate Gracechurch Street home, a stark contrast to the strained atmosphere of Longbourn, Mary begins to heal. She gains confidence, explores the bustling city, and starts to shed the solemn, awkward identity that has long defined her. During a shopping trip for new clothes, an endeavor funded by a guilty Elizabeth seeking to atone for humiliating Mary at the Netherfield ball, Mary meets Thomas Hayward, a witty and intelligent barrister who is a friend of the Gardiners. They feel an immediate connection, and their friendship deepens through a shared love of literature and lively debate.

Mary’s and Tom Hayward’s intellectual companionship soon blossoms into something more. He encourages her to read the poetry of William Wordsworth, awakening a new emotional sensibility within her. As Mary begins to fall in love, she believes her feelings are returned. Their budding romance is complicated by the appearance of Tom’s friend William Ryder, a charming and wealthy young man who also shows a marked interest in Mary.

The Gardiners, Mary, and Tom travel to the Lake District, but their intimate group is unexpectedly joined by Mr. Ryder, his friends Mr. and Mrs. Hurst, and the manipulative Caroline Bingley, who is actively pursuing Ryder. The presence of the new group creates tension, and Tom becomes increasingly withdrawn and distant, especially after witnessing the easy rapport between Mary and Ryder. His jealousy and Mary’s confusion come to a head during a difficult climb up the mountain Scafell. Hurt by Tom’s coldness, Mary sides with the impetuous Ryder in an argument over whether to descend before an approaching storm. The decision to remain on the mountain proves disastrous. The party is caught in a torrential downpour, and during the treacherous descent, Mary falls. Tom helps her back to the inn. However, the next morning, he is gone, having left abruptly for London with only a formal note of farewell. Heartbroken and bewildered, Mary returns to Gracechurch Street.

A few weeks later, Mr. Ryder visits and, after a poetic speech about following one’s heart, proposes that they travel to Italy and cohabit without the formality of a wedding. Mary, realizing she feels friendship but not love for him, refuses. Her rejection is soon followed by a formal proposal of marriage from Ryder. Mrs. Bennet, who is visiting London, is ecstatic and pressures Mary to accept, but Mary again refuses, unable to marry a man she cannot love and respect.

Caroline Bingley confronts Mary, demanding to know her intentions toward Mr. Ryder. During the conversation, Caroline reveals that Ryder has recently inherited a vast fortune. In a moment of newfound strength, Mary stands up to Caroline’s bullying. For the first time, she declares her true feelings aloud: She loves Tom Hayward and believes he is the only man who could ever make her happy.

Mary resigns herself to a future of waiting, her heart aching from Tom’s continued silence. One afternoon, he appears unexpectedly at Gracechurch Street, looking thin and unhappy. He asks to speak with her, but Mary, determined to take control of her own destiny, insists on speaking first. In a brave declaration, she breaks with convention and confesses her love for him. Overjoyed, Tom embraces her and reciprocates her feelings, explaining the reason for his bewildering behavior. After he learned of Mr. Ryder’s sudden inheritance, he felt it would be dishonorable to propose to Mary, believing he could not compete with his friend’s fortune and that he would be standing in the way of a more advantageous match for her. He fled to put distance between them but realized he could not live without her. He also reveals that he received a letter from Caroline Bingley, who, in a strategic move to clear the field for herself with Ryder, informed him of Mary’s declaration of love. Tom proposes marriage, and Mary joyfully accepts.

The Gardiners are delighted by the match. Mrs. Bennet, though she cannot attend the London wedding, expresses her satisfaction that her last, most difficult daughter is finally settled. Letters of congratulation arrive from Mary’s sisters and from Mrs. Hill, the Longbourn housekeeper.

A few weeks before the wedding, Mary stands alone in the house where she and Tom will begin their life together. Confident and self-possessed, she anticipates a future of love and equal partnership. In learning to value herself, she has found a happiness deeper than any she could have imagined.