PRIDE AND PREJUDICE REVISITED

Colleen McCullough’s journey back in time to revisit the Bennet sisters of 200 years ago with The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet proved to be an interesting read. Re-reading Pride and Prejudice to familiarize myself with the Bennet family before I got too far into her book was a worthwhile exercise, even though the language can get you a bit bogged down at times.

With the twists and turns of the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy being central to Pride and Prejudice, both characters also occupy a place of importance in McCullough’s novel, but it is a relationship far from what we would have expected after Austen finally got them together. The twenty years that have passed between the end of Austen’s novel and the beginning of McCullough’s have seen some strains in the relationships between the sisters and within their respective marriages.

Going back to the original brought to light just how minor a character Mary was for Jane Austen. She barely rates a mention other than to inform the reader she spends the majority of her time engrossed in her books and music and has a distinct lack of interest in the niceties of society life or pursuing the accustomed female occupation of finding a husband.

I wondered if this was why McCullough chose Mary, the unconventional sister, to flesh her out and allow her to come to life within a story which did her strong character justice. No shrinking violet was Mary, and liberated from the burdensome duty of caring full time for her mother once she dies, the prospect of doing something useful with her life energises her and galvanizes her into action.

I was picturing in my head what was in store as the story started to unfold and Mary’s intentions became clear, and I was quite prepared for a suffragette type zeal as she took on the plight of the poor and needy. That would have been fine, but I was delighted when McCullough surprised me with a plot which took an almighty twist to show the reader just what this woman was made of.

With more pride, prejudice, lies, deceit, jealousy, child exploitation, despair, broken relationships and even murder, there finally comes a satisfactory ending where Mary triumphs and in the process gets her man, dark secrets are revealed, and the prim and proper finally become more pragmatic. A good read, though I do recommend reading Pride and Prejudice first to acquaint yourself with the Bennet family and all their goings on.

The final word goes to Mary, one which I reckon we would all echo.

“I want to be useful. Just that. To have a purpose.”