The Pursuit of Mary Bennet: A Pride and Prejudice Novel
*Starred Review* In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mary Bennet is the socially awkward, bookish middle sister who is rarely mentioned. In her first adult novel, YA author Mingle (Kissing Shakespeare, 2012) plucks the character from obscurity and brings her to life in this delightful spin-off. Of the five Bennet sisters, Mary is the one viewed by everyone as least likely to wed. Twenty-two years old and still living at home with her younger sister Kitty, Mary resents her predicament and her parents’ expectations. Her life takes a turn when her very pregnant and disgraced sister Lydia arrives home, and Mary and Kitty are shuttled off to live with their older, married sister, Jane. There, at High Tor, Mary meets the handsome and prosperous Henry Walsh. While Kitty vies for his attention, it’s Mary who holds Henry’s interest. But Mary is reluctant to open her heart to the love she longs to receive. The Pursuit of Mary Bennet is the story of a woman’s search for acceptance and identity and a man’s quest for her affections. Mingle makes no attempt to replicate Austen’s voice. Rather, she lets Mary speak for herself in this romantic charmer that will leave the reader sighing with pleasure and remembering what it feels like to fall in love. --Diane Holcomb