The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet

Twenty years have passed since Elizabeth and Darcy said, “I Do”. Mary Bennett has been exiled taking care of her mother for these past years and has left the simpering, self-righteous Mary behind and has blossomed into a lovely, well-educated woman. Her mother dies and Mary is determined to be a woman of independent means, travel and write a book about the “Ills of England”. She has a mind of her own and is not afraid to speak it. She does not want to be under the control of Darcy or any other man and sets off on her journey a little naive, ready to make a difference like her hero Argus, a social crusader, who attacks the government in a series of letters to the newspapers about the treatment of the poor. She sets off on her journey but her natural attraction for disaster gets in the way and she ends up missing. As her family searches for her we get a glimpse into the lives of the other 4 Bennett sisters. Will they find her in time? Will Mary write her book? Will she find love?

At first I was not sure I was going to be able to continue reading the book because in the beginning my beloved Elizabeth and Darcy were having marital troubles and the “old” proud Darcy was back. The way they relate to each other in the book is not to my liking, and the lives of the other sisters are not appealing either. As a fan of Pride and Prejudice, you may not enjoy this book. Those who are not will probably like it. The secondary characters were more interesting to me. I am a huge fan of Ms. McCullough but this one will not be listed with my favorites.