Mary, the middle of five Bennet daughters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, was overshadowed by her pretty, outgoing sisters. Mary is the only plain one, besides being awkward and given to pedantic pronouncements.
In Janice Hadlow's spinoff of Austen's most famous novel, Mary receives the spotlight and is transformed into an admirable figure.
After her four sisters marry and Mr. Bennet dies (sorry for the spoiler), Mary faces an existential dilemma: where will she live? Oldest sister Jane would have her, but her mother lives with Jane, and Mrs. Bennet treats Mary cruelly. Next sister Elizabeth is wrapped up in her own life. Younger sister Kitty doesn't have room, and of course wayward sister Lydia is out of the question.
As Mary ponders what will happen to her, she is invited for an extended visit with Charlotte and William Collins, the distant cousin who inherited the entailed Bennet estate. Mr. Collins is more likable than Austen made him, and his growing friendship with Mary arouses Charlotte's jealousy. Mary escapes to her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner's in London and for the first time experiences real kindness. She blossoms. Austen's trademark happy ending is in store for her.
Lovers of Pride and Prejudice should be warned that Hadlow altered some characters. Mrs. Bennet is not only silly but despicable, Mr. Collins is sympathetic, Mr. Bennet cruelly negligent, Charlotte coldly self-protective, Lizzy insensitive and self-centered, and Caroline Bingley vicious.
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