Despite what the title suggests, Lindz McLeod’s The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet (out April 29th) is in fact a Pride and Prejudice retelling that centers Charlotte Lucas, Lizzie’s best friend, who marries the dull Mr. Collins. Set four years after the original novel, McLeod’s story begins with Mr. Collins’s death, a rather somber start that quickly brightens up with the arrival of Mary Bennet, the awkward, bookish middle sister. The Mary who arrives (on Lizzie’s behest, as she is unable to go to her friend herself) is much more comfortable in her own skin than the Mary that Charlotte (and the audience) remembers, however, and the two quickly form a friendship, which gradually turns to romance.
I will say that I think I liked this book as a retelling (or a continuation, I suppose) more than I liked it as a romance, which is quite a refreshing change for me, as someone who can get rather persnickety about retellings. While I wouldn’t necessarily have written some of these characters the same way myself, I did believe the author’s take, and I liked that it actually felt like the author loved Pride and Prejudice and the characters who exist in it. Mary, in particular, was a delight. I loved that she was allowed to flourish and find herself, while still being kind of an awkward and weird nerd, but happier now than she was at eighteen.
I also really loved the community aspect, both in the sense of Mary’s public science society and in quieter ways, like how everyone can be themselves in Mary’s aunt’s house because everyone there is queer and will look out for you. While this was Charlotte’s story first, and Charlotte and Mary’s story second, the side characters also brought a lot of warmth to this book. They understandably mostly existed to further Charlotte’s development, but through them, we—along with Charlotte—get to see all of the different paths to happiness that exist outside of the rules of Society Charlotte and Mary grew up in.
My only real frustration with this book was the third act. I can’t exactly say it was unrealistic or unbelievable, but it did feel like Mary was constantly trying so hard to meet Charlotte where she was at and Charlotte was so determined to self-sabotage, despite literally everyone telling her that’s what she was doing. Because most of the conflict in this book followed that exact pattern, it made it a little difficult to believe next time won’t be the same thing again.
Still, I found this to be a very promising debut, and I look forward to more from Lindz McLeod.
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