In The Forgotten Sister, the drawing rooms of the Regency era are opened for us to view the world where Jane Austen left off when she wrote Pride and Prejudice. This novel is about Mary Bennet, the plain middle daughter, as she compares herself to her beautiful sisters, tries to get her father to notice her, complains about her mother’s melodramatics, falls in love, considers a move to America, becomes a writer, and a ultimately a champion of those less fortunate. What makes this book different from other books written about Pride and Prejudice is its depiction of the social history in Great Britain during the nineteenth century. Mary Bennet learns about the worlds of their servants in Pemberley, poor chimney sweeps, and factory workers. The Forgotten Sister also proposes the provocative question: What if Mr. Bennet went to school with Jane Austen’s father and had been writing to him for years, telling him all about the antics of his wife and daughters? And, what if Mr. Austen had been sharing these stories with his witty daughter who likes to write? Is that how Jane Austen knows the Bennet family so intimately?
The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel To Pride and Prejudice
By Louise Hathaway
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