I
am not a fan of anyone
taking
characters from another author's book – in this case one
of the
classics
– and writing a so-called sequel to that book. I can
imagine that Jane
Austen
turned
in her grave when this book hit the shelves: the
writing is mediocre,
the characterization is extremely
poor
and the plot is both
superficial
and
unbelievable,
to say the least. However, for anyone with hours to whittle away and
a penchant for third-class
romantic novels
that
follow the Mills and Boon requisite for a happy ending, this book may
possibly tick all the boxes.
The
Independence of Miss Mary Bennet
picks
up twenty years after the conclusion of Pride
and Prejudice,
focusing
on
the middle daughter, Mary, who
has undergone some kind of transformation and, after being the plain
one in the family, is now considered beautiful, possibly even more
beautiful than Elizabeth.
Mrs Bennet dies on page two, leaving Mary (her carer) the
option of moving in with her sister Elizabeth, and becoming a live-in
spinster aunt, or pursuing the possibility of independence (a no-no
for young ladies of the early nineteenth century).
Of
course, in keeping with the title of the book, Mary chooses the
second of these two options. As
an unaccompanied lady, she
endures a hair-raising
trip across England
and ends
up being imprisoned by a religious maniac.
While
we are following the trials and tribulations of Mary, we are also
reintroduced to the other characters of Pride and Prejudice – all
of them completely
at odds with or, at the very least, caricatures
of their
original incarnations. Fitzwilliam
Darcy is
obnoxious,
Lydia
is a drunk, Elizabeth
is frigid, Jane
seems to be completely without backbone… add to this a
number of senseless
murders,
a
surprise sibling, thousands of pounds worth of hidden gold and fifty
uncivilized orphans, and the scene is set for one of the worst novels
I have read this year.
I
am
not recommending
this book, but I do suggest you read (or reread) Pride
and Prejudice
and enjoy a
well written and well crafted novel.