Tuesday Tea and Tomes: The Other Bennet Sister - A good look at the overlooked daughter of Pride and Prejudice

Janice Hadlow's "The Other Bennet Sister":  The story of the overlooked daughter in Pride & Prejudice

"Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses".

Although that quote is attributed to Dorothy Parker, it could easily have been a Mrs. Bennet original. The ambitious mama of five daughters from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose nerves seek more compassion than her maternal affections, continues her misdirected and indelicate matchmaking designs in "The Other Bennet Sister". 

This Austen fan fiction by Janice Hadlow is Pride and Prejudice from another perspective. Unlike "Longbourn" which sees the Bennet tale through the eyes of the servants (BTS Tuesday Tea and Tomes November, 11), The Other Bennet Sister, focuses on an overlooked family member, the middle child, plain and awkward, Mary.

The book unfolds in four broad sections:

(1) Pride and Prejudice, Mary's version

(2) Mary's fate following her advantageously married older sisters

(3) Mary's bloom in London and 

(4) Will Mary find her love match (accompanied by excessive handwringing).

The first part of Mary's story gives us an insight into her ill-at-ease behavior be it a Netherfield ball or the family dinner table. Her unremarkable looks are harshly compared to the attractiveness of her sisters - and the constant disappointment in them - by her mother. The final blow:  the need for glasses which sends Mrs. Bennet into a reactive rage.  Mary's chances of finding a suiter are already a challenge but, now, with those spectacles, well, she might as well resign herself to spinsterhood. 

Mary knows too well her ordinary appearance is not helped by her stiff manner and lack of charm. She tries to compensate through relentless reading and dutiful piano practice, but without genuine passion, her efforts land with all the excitement of a sermon from Mr. Collins.

We empathize with Mary:   a sad flower whose immediate family bestows little light or care. Even after Jane and Elizabeth marry well, their support rarely extends beyond polite encouragement. It isn't until Mary, in desperate need of something beyond the confines of her situation, seeks new opportunities with relations in London.

England's Lake District, a lovely place to visit. 

There, with patience and attention, Mary blooms. Pushed out of her uncomfortable, but familiar, zone, Mary finds her value - and others begin to see it too.  We applaud the transformation, and we wish for her to claim the happiness her siblings have found. 

England's scenic Lake District, tempting to linger, leave excess baggage behind.

But when the extended family, and a few attentive young men, travel to the Lake District, the narrative slows. As lovely as the scenery is, the story drags like a phaeton stuck in mud. Endless introspection and figurative pearl‑clutching weigh down the story. Having visited the Lake District myself, (BTS Blog, B&B Lake District) I understand the temptation to linger—but recounting every unspoken thought makes one long to pack up all that excessive baggage and return to London.

Despite the change in momentum in the book's later half, we still enjoyed the story. We were rooting for Mary to have a happy ending - not only to find love, but face off her bullies. 

And, yes, most importantly, to show us that men do make passes at women who wear glasses.

A ten episode series based on the book, The Other Bennet Sister to air on the BBC in 2026. We'll be on the lookout for the overlooked daughter of Pride and Prejudice.