The Independence of Mi...

by
Colleen McCullough

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet

by Colleen McCullough

2.73 of 5 stars 2.73 · rating details · 1,378 ratings · 383 reviews

...more

Everyone knows the story of Elizabeth and Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. But what about their sister Mary? At the conclusion of Jane Austen's classic novel, Mary, bookish, awkward, and by all accounts, unmarriageable, is sentenced to a dull, provincial existence in the backwaters of Britain. Now, master storyteller Colleen McCullough rescues Mary from her dreary fate with The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet, a page-turning sequel set twenty years after Austen's novel closes. The story begins as the neglected Bennet sister is released from the stultifying duty of caring for her insufferable mother. Though many would call a woman of Mary's age a spinster, she has blossomed into a beauty to rival that of her famed sisters. Her violet eyes and perfect figure bewitch the eligible men in the neighborhood, but though her family urges her to marry, romance and frippery hold no attraction. Instead, she is determined to set off on an adventure of her own. Fired with zeal by the newspaper letters of the mysterious Argus, she resolves to publish a book about the plight of England's poor. Plunging from one predicament into another, Mary finds herself stumbling closer to long-buried secrets, unanticipated dangers, and unlooked-for romance.

Meanwhile, the other dearly loved characters of Pride and Prejudice fret about the missing Mary while they contend with difficulties of their own. Darcy's political ambitions consume his ardor, and he bothers with Elizabeth only when the impropriety of her family seems to threaten his career. Lydia, wild and charming as ever, drinks and philanders her way into dire straits; Kitty, a young widow of means, occupies herself with gossipand shopping; and Jane, naïve and trusting as ever, spends her days ministering to her crop of boys and her adoring, if not entirely faithful, husband. Yet, with the shadowy and mysterious figure of DarcyÕs right-hand man, Ned Skinner, lurking at every corner, it is clear that all is not what it seems at idyllic Pemberley. As the many threads of McCulloughÕs masterful plot come together, shocking truths are revealed, love, both old and new, is tested, and all learn the value of true independence in a novel for every woman who has wanted to leave her mark on the world.

(less)

Hardcover, large print

Published December 1st 2008 by Thorndike Press (first published January 1st 2008)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,265)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Feb 14, 2010 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2008, favourite

Set twenty years after the end of Pride and Prejudice, the chessboard of characters are in some new positions: Mary has spent the last seventeen years caring for Mrs Bennet, who has just died; Kitty married a Lord who kindly left her a young, wealthy widow; Lydia is carousing and drunk, sleeping around while George is on duty in America; Jane has had 12 pregnancies and they're worried about her health; and Lizzie is unhappy in her marriage to Fitz (Mr Darcy), who thinks their first and only son,...more

20 likes · like · see review

Mar 08, 2011 Cass rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fan-fiction, australian, 2010

This book was a tedious read. The book focuses on the life of Mary Bennett who has been living and caring for Mrs Bennett (her mother) since the death of her father.

The author completely rewrites the personalities of all the major characters so that they only resemble the original characters of Pride and Prejudice in name alone. The author describes Mary Bennett as having lived years of boredom with her mother, an odd description given Jane Austen described Mary as the type of person who was for...more This book was a tedious read. The book focuses on the life of Mary Bennett who has been living and caring for Mrs Bennett (her mother) since the death of her father.

The author completely rewrites the personalities of all the major characters so that they only resemble the original characters of Pride and Prejudice in name alone. The author describes Mary Bennett as having lived years of boredom with her mother, an odd description given Jane Austen described Mary as the type of person who was forever busy (reading, playing music). The author described Jane and Elizabeth as the type of mothers with no interest in the upbringing of their children (For naturally Mrs. Darcy and Mrs. Bingley enjoy only the delights of children, leaving the miseries of parentage to {the horde of nurses, governesses and tutors}), again at odds with the description Jane Austen gave us of them as caring for their younger cousins. Darcy is described as regretting his marriage and being disgusted with his one womanly son.

The author seems to lose direction at times and takes to describing odd elements in the room with no purpose. Such as in the first chapter when she writes"Of course I do, Mama," Mary said perfunctorily, pouring milk into the bottom of her mother's cup, and tilting the fine silver teapot to pour an amber stream on top of the milk. Cook's girl had done well with the sugar, broken it into good lumps; Mary added on of exactly the right size to the tea, and stirred the liquid thoroughly.

She also treated the book as a history lesson, much of her historical dialogue felt like it was only included so that the readers could see how much research she had done.

Having said this the book does became somewhat better toward the end once the author gave up her pretense of this being a Jane Austen sequel. Both Mary and her love interest are engaging characters, again especially toward the end of the book. The last few chapters delivered some fantastic lines. I wish the author would rewrite the book based on her own characters, rather than pretending this is Austen fan-fiction.
(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 07, 2009 Holly (2 Kids and Tired) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: not-shelf-worthy

Terrifically disappointing. With few exceptions, I haven't enjoyed many Pride and Prejudice sequels, but this one looked promising. While Colleen McCullough, thankfully, doesn't try to be Jane Austen, I think she seriously misses the boat when it comes to these characters. Anyone who has read Pride and Prejudice has their own ideas as to who Mr. Darcy is and how he acts, just as they have pictures in their minds of Elizabeth and her sisters. Even understanding that, I cannot envision these chara...more Terrifically disappointing. With few exceptions, I haven't enjoyed many Pride and Prejudice sequels, but this one looked promising. While Colleen McCullough, thankfully, doesn't try to be Jane Austen, I think she seriously misses the boat when it comes to these characters. Anyone who has read Pride and Prejudice has their own ideas as to who Mr. Darcy is and how he acts, just as they have pictures in their minds of Elizabeth and her sisters. Even understanding that, I cannot envision these characters where McCullough has placed them, 20 years after Darcy and Elizabeth's marriage. It just didn't work for me.

The title is a bit misleading, because it's as much about Darcy and Elizabeth as it is about Mary. I found it to be more of an annoying, social commentary on the mistreatment of the poor than I did to be a truly interesting Pride and Prejudice sequel.

Much of it is far-fetched. I find it hard to see Mr. Darcy involved with people who would murder for him, regardless of whether he asked them to or not. I also don't see him separating the Bennet sisters because of their potential threat to his reputation. In Pride and Prejudice, he helps sort out Lydia and Wickham's situation because of his love for Elizabeth, not because of the damage they could do to his reputation.

Mary's "adventure" was also implausible to me. Her thoughts of being an independent, maiden author were promising, but the rest of it was unbelievable and annoying.

I liked Charlie, but the addition of other characters was odd. My only favorite part was when Elizabeth finally insulted Caroline Bingley to her face. Most likely unrealistic for the time, but we all wanted her to do it in the first book too!

While minimal, the book included extremely vulgar profanity, which was a real disappointment.

Overall, this book is not something I can recommend to people who are fans of Pride and Prejudice. Obviously, Ms. McCullough is not and as she has so eloquently stated she wanted to "tweak the noses of the literati". Well, I think most die hard Austen fans would say she accomplished that goal.
(less)

17 likes · like · see review

Feb 26, 2009 Tamra rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A truly bizarre "sequel" to Pride and Prejudice. I'm not sure you could even classify it as a sequel. Ms. McCullough simply took the characters from the beloved novel and incorporated them into a strange and unbelievable story. I was looking forward to reading how poor Mary Bennet overcame her setbacks but I absolutely detested the futures Ms. McCullough gave each of the characters and the violence she wove into the story seemed unfitting and crass for a Jane Austen sequel. She very easily could...more

9 likes · like · see review

Dec 14, 2008 Sally rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is fun to read, but it certainly isn't Jane Austen. McCullough is definitely better at writing plot than at creating nuanced characters who grow and develop realistically. I would recommend this book for a day at the beach, or in my case a day off the beach while freezing rain whipped around my house and kept me inside!

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 10, 2009 Karina rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

I hated this book so badly, that when I realized how she had butchered Austen's characters, I couldn't even bring myself to read any further.

Anyone who's been married understands there are bad times and bad days, but to tell me that Darcy and Elizabeth have been unhappy since their marriage...and to have Darcy think that it wasn't worth marrying down is ridiculous and not true to the character Austen built. In addition to this, Darcy apparently practically rapes Elizabeth on their wedding night...more

11 likes · like · see review

Mar 14, 2010 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: "Fanfiction" Fanatics

Shelves: 2010

I have mixed feelings about this book. In fact, I stopped reading it numerous times and then had to will myself to go back to it. I debated on whether to give it 2 or 3 stars, but ended up choosing 3 because there were parts of it that I genuinely enjoyed.

From reading through the other reviews briefly, I gather that many people don't like the direction that McCullough chose for the characters, especially the direction of Lizzie and Darcy's marriage. I myself didn't mind, because basically anythi...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 13, 2009 Sumi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: jane-austen-inspired

It was so jarring to hear Darcy called 'Fitz' throughout the entire novel there was no way it was going to get a lot of stars from me. Petty, perhaps, but that's just the way it is.

While the character of Mary as an approaching middle-aged spinster wasn't bad the whole thing just didn't 'feel' like Pride and Prejudice. It was like reading a story that happened to have characters that were all named for the characters in Pride and Prejudice. I might have liked the story better if there had been n...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 26, 2010 Poonam rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked up this book since it had an interesting premise. After 'happily ever after' ending of 'Pride and Prejudice' , this book picked up from there and traced not only the marriage of Elizabeth Darcy but also how third sister Mary Bennet chose to live her life.

The book's only redeeming feature is that Mary Bennett has some spunk. However, it was a let down in terms of both narrative, style and plot. This book not only lacks memorable quotable sentences of 'Pride and Prejudice', also does't pr...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 16, 2009 Deb rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How to rip off Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer at the same time, with a bit of gothic horror and Trollope thrown in! I did always feel sorry for Mary, the foolishly wise sister in Pride and Prejudice. McCullough imagines a transformation of body and soul for her, which is the attractive part of the book, but making Darcy (and his father) into villians, and then transforming Darcy back in an instant, really does not work.

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 03, 2008 Shelley rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, literature

It wasn't poorly written, but I really disagreed with where she felt the characters would be twenty years down the line. That's a major basic point to disagree on and makes the rest of the book hard to enjoy. I felt sad for Lizzy, but I also felt sad for Fitz, and especially for their kids, and for Lydia and Jane and everyone, really. (But never Caroline. Or Ned, and his relationship with Fitz was really weird.) Also, the title is misleading because it's just as much about Lizzy as Mary, possibl...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 16, 2009 Chelle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read_2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don't know why I even bother to read books that are sequels/prequels/companions to books written by other authors. I should have learned my lessons with Scarlett and Rhett Butler's People. But here this was on the new arrivals shelf at my library.

In this tale, Colleen McCullough seeks to tell the story of Miss Mary Bennet, younger sister of Jane and Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice fame. Readers will remember Mary as the serious middle sister with a penchant for singing loudly off key a...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 09, 2009 Jeanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really enjoy these spin-offs. Unauthorized sequels, whatever they're called (is there a word?). Though, I will admit, holding all these alternatives in my mind is a little confusing. Having read Linda Berdoll's Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife first, and more recently than reading Pride and Prejudice, it took me a while to throw out Berdoll's world for McCullough's.

The story begins with Miss Mary Bennet as her mother dies, but it involves the entire family, as it should. Mary, improved with time, decide...more I really enjoy these spin-offs. Unauthorized sequels, whatever they're called (is there a word?). Though, I will admit, holding all these alternatives in my mind is a little confusing. Having read Linda Berdoll's Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife first, and more recently than reading Pride and Prejudice, it took me a while to throw out Berdoll's world for McCullough's.

The story begins with Miss Mary Bennet as her mother dies, but it involves the entire family, as it should. Mary, improved with time, decides she's going to do as she wishes and, inspired by the writings of a writer known only as Argus, chooses to travel in order to investigate the hardships of poverty. She plans to write a book on the subject, no matter what her esteemed brother-in-law says.

All is not well with the Darcy's, twenty years down the line, as Mr. Darcy wishes he'd never wed himself to Elizabeth and her ridiculous family. His only confidant is Ned, a large and non-patrician person. Elizabeth, disgusted by the act of sex, puts up with her husband and is happy when he finally leaves her be. She assumes he has a mistress. The rest of the family is cowed by Mr. Darcy's imperious behavior.

Jane's procreating all over the place, though lately she's not been able to carry the children to live births. Mr. Bingley's off to the Americas on business most of the time of the story.

Kitty's actually married well, and is now happily widowed with enough money to see to herself.

Lydia, ever the problem child, proves not much changed.

Mary goes missing. Lydia's husband dies and she threatens Darcy in her rage and grief. Elizabeth doesn't understand Darcy's relationship with Ned and feels threatened by the man. Their eldest son, Charlie, is a bone of contention, since his pretty face leaves him open to rumors. He's a good man, and has the chance to prove it as time passes and the search for Mary continues. Darcy's friend, a newspaper owner, Angus, is in love with Mary, though he is worried about telling her so, since she's decided she'll never marry and give up her independence.

Lots of stuff happen over the course of the story. Not everyone gets a happy ending, but things are better for a lot of the characters.(less)

like · see review

Mar 09, 2009 Donna Jo Atwood rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Pride and Prejudice twenty some years later. Life does not run smoothly in the Darcy household. Elizabeth's levity and burdensome family are not a happy mix with Darcy's pride and political ambitions (to become prime minister with the next election). Everything comes to a head withe the death of Mrs. Bennett, which sets Mary free to follow her crusade in the manufactories of England so she can write a book to impress the mysterious Argus.
Lydia returns to the Pemberley following the death of her...more

like · see review

Feb 04, 2009 'chris d rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will probably be offended by the liberties that Ms. McCullough has taken on one of my favorite Austen characters.

To refresh some of you, Mary is the middle daughter and next younger sister to Elizabeth Bennet of the famous Pride and Prejudice Bennet family.

She is plain, pedantic, bookish, very religious, plays the piano and cannot sing, but she does anyway. Austen clearly did not care for this character but 20th century readers recognize her as a modern woman tr...more

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 22, 2012 Carlyn Brody rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet is a spinoff of the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Mary Bennet is a minor character in Pride and Prejudice. She is Elizabeth Bennet’s sister who is the main character of Pride and Prejudice.

Mary is a perfect candidate for a spin off because there’s not much about her in Pride and Prejudice. She’s a dull person who is too pious and serious. Mary is the fun police, the kill joy. Mary is the middle child with no close relationships in her family. Elde...more The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet is a spinoff of the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Mary Bennet is a minor character in Pride and Prejudice. She is Elizabeth Bennet’s sister who is the main character of Pride and Prejudice.

Mary is a perfect candidate for a spin off because there’s not much about her in Pride and Prejudice. She’s a dull person who is too pious and serious. Mary is the fun police, the kill joy. Mary is the middle child with no close relationships in her family. Elder sisters Elizabeth and Jane have a strong friendship. Younger sisters Lydia and Kitty are in cahoots. Mr Bennet’s favourite daughter is Elizabeth and Mrs Bennet loves Lydia and Jane.
So, there are lot of spin offs about Mary learning to lighten up and getting her own happily ever after. The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet takes place twenty years later from where Pride and Prejudice left off. While the other Bennet girls fell in love and got married, Mary stayed to look after her aging mother.

When Mrs Bennet dies, Mary is left wondering what to do with herself. At age thirty seven she is considered unmarriageable but that doesn’t worry her because she doesn’t want to get married. Mary is determined to lead an independent life which was a radical idea for someone in her situation. She’s a lady of comfortable means and from a respectable family so to work for a living is frowned upon.
There were limited job opportunities for women in the 18th century; Mary doesn’t want to be a nurse or a governess, she wants to be a bigger impact on the world. She decides to write a book about the plight of the poor.
The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet received a lot of bad reviews. Some people stop reading it after the first chapters. While McCullough keeps within the same style of Jane Austen’s writing, her interpretation of the characters are drastically different. What really irks people about the book is the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. They are one of the most romantic couples of all time so it’s hard for Austen fans to read about the Darcys’ unhappiness (don’t worry they have a reconciliation).

Mary gets into all kinds of situations which would never happen in an Austen novel. There’s kidnapping, murder, drunkenness, sex and foul language in the novel which is another factor to why some people dislike the book. Jane Austen books are about relationships, romance and social class but in a refined way.
Initially, I didn’t want to continue listening to the audiobook but I learnt to like it. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. I was able to multitask while listening to the audiobook. The only thing I didn’t like was trying to find where I had left off whenever I had to shut down the computer. I’d love hear what you thought about the book or about your public library.
(less)

like · see review

Nov 22, 2012 melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: à-la-maison

Je ne sais pas si je peux me qualifier de Janéite, mais j'ai lu un certain nombre de livres de – et sur – Jane Austen. Je ne pouvais donc pas manquer celui-ci. Il nous replonge dans l'univers d'Orgueils et Préjugés, mais 17 années plus tard. Les personnages ont vieilli, et parfois changé. Celle qui a le plus changé est bien évidemment Mary, l'héroïne principale de ce roman. Il faut dire que 15 années à s'occuper seule de sa mère alors que ses sœurs avaient quitté le nid, cela lui a laissé le tem...more Je ne sais pas si je peux me qualifier de Janéite, mais j'ai lu un certain nombre de livres de – et sur – Jane Austen. Je ne pouvais donc pas manquer celui-ci. Il nous replonge dans l'univers d'Orgueils et Préjugés, mais 17 années plus tard. Les personnages ont vieilli, et parfois changé. Celle qui a le plus changé est bien évidemment Mary, l'héroïne principale de ce roman. Il faut dire que 15 années à s'occuper seule de sa mère alors que ses sœurs avaient quitté le nid, cela lui a laissé le temps de se remettre en question... au moins un tout petit peu. Car, si elle est moins irritante que dans le livre de Jane Austen, elle est toujours aussi pontifiante, avec ses manières de toujours vouloir avoir raison sur tout "parce qu'elle l'a lu dans un livre". Elle est néanmoins un peu plus dégourdie, et elle va avoir l'occasion de le prouver dans ce livre où elle va vivre quelques aventures un peu remuantes.
Les autres personnages ont changé aussi, et j'imagine que cela a choqué nombre d'amoureuses de Darcy. Au début du roman, on voit qu'il n'a pas tardé à reprendre cet air arrogant et bouffi d'orgueil qui était le sien avec sa rencontre avec Elisabeth. Leur couple n'est d'ailleurs pas des plus heureux... J'ai trouvé intéressant, pour une fois, de voir ce qu'il se passe après le "ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants"... car, oui, le bonheur n'est pas toujours aussi facile que ça. Pour ma part, j'ai trouvé que l'auteur avait respecté les caractères des personnages brossés par Jane Austen, et a plutôt bien imaginé la manière dont ils auraient pu évoluer. Je n'ai pas eu l'impression qu'elle les trahissait. J'ai juste regretté de ne pas assez voir certains d'entre eux.
En ce qui concerne le style, par contre, j'ai été plusieurs fois énervée. Je ne sais pas si c'est une question de traduction ou si c'était dans le texte original, mais j'ai trouvé de gros soucis de concordance des temps. Des passés simples étaient insérés à des endroits totalement inutiles... Était-ce une manière maladroite de tenter d'imiter un langage passé ? Je ne sais pas, mais ce détail de taille m'a fréquemment gênée durant ma lecture.
L'histoire, par contre, est réellement intéressante. Il y a du suspense, de l'action, des personnages qui évoluent (parfois un peu rapidement, ce qui peu sembler surfait, mais on peut imaginer que c'est lié aux circonstances)... bref, c'est un livre qui se lit très bien, et qui peut, je pense, s'apprécier tout autant que l'on connaisse ou non Orgueils et Préjugés. Il pourrait même redonner envie aux néophytes de se plonger dans l'œuvre de l'auteur anglaise...(less)

like · see review

Aug 09, 2012 Colleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The amount of Pride and Prejudice spinoffs is overwhelming at times. Having read a couple of other candidates from this well-populated field, I didn't have high hopes for The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett, but Ms. McCullough proved my low expectations wrong.

I started out with the familiar jolt of seeing some of my favorite characters changed-- inevitably changed, since time can't stand still, and the Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane, and everyone else would have of course changed since the closing of...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 26, 2012 Emma rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: None

I picked this up because the premise of the novel sounded interesting, though I'm usually wary of spin-offs and tend to stay well away from them. It is only natural that an author, any author, would have a different view of what happened to the characters as compared to my own, but where I was expecting the usual saccharine sweetness, instead I got bitterness and dysfunctional relationships. Twenty years can certainly change people, but to such a degree? I managed to force my way through the fir...more

like · see review

Feb 07, 2012 Steve Dow added it · review of another edition

Not going to rate this one; not a genre I'm otherwise familiar with - but Colleen is always bloody good journo copy, so here's my 2008 encounter with her. Loved meeting her.

http://www.stevedow.com.au/default.as...
She’s created literary pilgrimages to Rome, to outback sheep stations, and latterly traced the well-trodden estates of late Georgian era pastoral England, but to visit Colleen McCullough these days, you enter a lift in a nice but unremarkable Pyrmont apartment building close to Sydney’s...more

like · see review

Jan 04, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Now, I know what you're thinking. Not another Pride and Prejudice offshoot, the damn things are replicating like bunnies. Even worse, it's about Mary, that joy-sucking vortex of blah. Better to spend an evening watching paint dry; it's probably more interesting and a lot less superior. But it's written by Colleen McCullough, and who hasn't spent a weekend curled up with The Thorn Birds wishing they were Catholic just so they could find a hot priest to break some commandments with? (Okay, not Ri...more

like · see review

Oct 06, 2011 Roberta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

Pemberley rivisited

Elizabeth la saggia, Lydia la frivola, Kitty la mondana, Jane la bella, Mary la timida.
Generazioni di lettrici hanno pianto, sperato, sognato insieme alle sorelle Bennet, indimenticabili protagoniste di Orgoglio e pregiudizio. Vent'anni dopo l'epilogo del romanzo della Austen, le ritroviamo qui al fianco di mariti devoti, distratti o crudeli; assediate dalla malinconia o dai pettegolezzi; impegnate a crescere i figli o a frequentare circoli alla moda; alle prese con le gioie,...more Pemberley rivisited

Elizabeth la saggia, Lydia la frivola, Kitty la mondana, Jane la bella, Mary la timida.
Generazioni di lettrici hanno pianto, sperato, sognato insieme alle sorelle Bennet, indimenticabili protagoniste di Orgoglio e pregiudizio. Vent'anni dopo l'epilogo del romanzo della Austen, le ritroviamo qui al fianco di mariti devoti, distratti o crudeli; assediate dalla malinconia o dai pettegolezzi; impegnate a crescere i figli o a frequentare circoli alla moda; alle prese con le gioie, i dubbi e le debolezze del tempo che passa.
Tutte tranne Mary, la più docile, la più riservata... Non si può dire che, fino a qui, la vita sia stata troppo generosa con lei: bruttina, ignorata dai pretendenti e inchiodata alle convenzioni, ha trascorso più di un decennio al capezzale di una madre capricciosa e malata.
Ora, alla morte di questa, si ritrova improvvisamente sola e libera, con un futuro tutto da inventare. Sfidando le convenzioni e le proprie più profonde paure, Mary si getta in un'avventura imprevedibile, complicata e appassionante quanto la vita stessa. Un'avventura che solo la fantasia audace e generosa di Colleen McCollough, regina del romanzo storico e autrice di bestseller come Uccelli di rovo e Cleopatra, poteva creare.

***************************

<>

************************************************

Un gradevolissimo feuilleton! Un avviso: non cercate in questo romanzo le atmosfere austeniane, non ci sono. I personaggi sono totalmente stravolti, il romanzo ha una deriva "gotica" che la Austen avrebbe aborrito e molti comportamenti e avvenimenti sono a mio avviso incompatibili con l'epoca (pur considerando che il romanzo è ambientato vent'anni dopo).
Questo è il romanzone adatto per passare qualche pomeriggio sul divano, con il ventilatore che fa frusciare le pagine o - ancor più adatto - d'inverno con qualche tazza di tè (e magari cimentandosi con i famosi tramezzini al cetriolo e burro).
In questo romanzo avvengono cose improbabili e inverosimili, ci sono avventure su avventure, misteri familiari, litigi e ricongiungimenti, e una bella storia d'amore. Lasciatevi trascinare dagli eventi e non pensate alla logica, questo romanzo vi conquisterà! (less)

like · see review

Mar 24, 2011 Rose rated it 2 of 5 stars

I picked up this book for two reasons. First, I'm a big Jane Austen fan and adored Pride and Prejudice. Second, I'm a big fan of The Thorn Birds so seeing Colleen McCullough as the author of this book intrigued me and I thought it must certainly prove to be a good read.

Sadly, I was quite disappointed in this book. Had the storyline stayed mostly to the Bennet sister, Mary, it would have proved to have been very enjoyable. Yet, destroying my pre-conceived 'happily ever after' notions of Elizabeth...more

like · see review

Dec 17, 2010 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book has received terrible reviews, but I must say I quite enjoyed it. I thought it a sad and realistic look at what may have happened twenty years after Pride and Prejudice ended. I loved that Mary became the star of the story and the portrayal of how the various marriages evolved. Many thought it ridiculous and unworthy of both McCullough and Austen, but I re-read it right after I finished it. It was a bit ridiculous and lacked Austen's subtle (and often not so subtle) wit... but it was a...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 25, 2010 Lizpeveto rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Who would have believed McCullough would write a sequel to Pride & Prejudice, and quite an unusual storyline. Fast forward 15 years and the sisters are as follows: Mr. Bingly and Jane, who is worn out w/ childbearing, have a houseful of children; Lizzy and Mr. Darcy have lost their passion and are stuck in a loveless marriage w/ four daughters and only one male heir, who is a disappointment to his father; Mary has been her mother's caregiver and is recently released w/ Mrs. Bennet's death; K...more

like · see review

Sep 24, 2010 Vic rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Imagine an author, Colleen McCullough, whose bestsellers have made her rich and famous. Imagine another author, Jane Austen, whose novels did not make her rich and who became famous only decades after her death. This author inspires a booming industry 200 years later that makes a profit for other authors who have been busily spinning off sequels and prequels.

Whatever impulse made Colleen McCullough jump on the Jane Austen bandwagon should have remained inside of her. This novel purports to be...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 25, 2010 Lady Knight rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, regency, adult, 19th-c, england-uk, on-my-shelf-book, 2010-tbr-pile-read, classics-retellings-extensions

What an interesting book! There are plenty of "Pride and Prejudice" continuations out there, but this is the first I've read that took a completely new spin on the tale. More than just a spin, actually.... I think everyone who has ever fallen in love with the Elizabeth and Darcy characters wanted them, and expected them to live "happily ever after". McCullough clearly never had that vision though, since after twenty years of marriage Dary and Lizzie hate each other and while Bingley and Jane sti...more

like · see review

Jan 04, 2010 Laurel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: austen-inspired, austen-sequel, austenesque, fiction, georgian-era, historical-fiction, regency-era-fiction

A wild irreverent ride that will more than surprise Austen fans!

Any Janeite who makes it to the third chapter of The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet is in my opinion free to think author Colleen McCullough an impudent rapscallion.

I am confident that she will have no problem agreeing with me since she admitted that her motivation in writing a sequel to Pride and Prejudice was to stick it to the literati. Since it is doubtful that the good men and women of the arts and letters will read this nov...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jul 01, 2009 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although I am generally skeptical when I see Austen fan fiction, I was optimistic and excited when I saw this one. I really liked a book of McCullough's when I was in college, and I have always thought that Mary Bennett was an under-appreciated and under-estimated character.

I'll just say it upfront, though: if you're in love with Mr. Darcy, don't read this book. He's the villian of the first 3/4 of the book. McCullough's interpretation of his character is unkind and (in my opinion) not very acc...more

like · see review

Apr 10, 2009 Melissa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love the Bennets and read almost anything I can get my hands on that has to do with Pride and Prejudice - the good, the bad, and the rotten. Despite my prior positive experiences with Ms. McCullough's writing, I am sorry to say that this book fell into the rotten category. Not one of these characters, save the ill-fated Lydia, even remotely resembled their originals. People certainly change after twenty or so years, but it was difficult to follow that every single character would have changed...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 75 76 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
hi	4	34	25 de Feb 12:46

combine
Other Editions (29)

More editions...

Genres

Historical Fiction

57 users

Romance

27 users

Adult

7 users

Romance > Historical Romance

6 users

Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

6 users

Regency

6 users

European Literature > British Literature

5 users

Womens

4 users

Literary Fiction

3 users

Drama

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough AO (born 1 June 1937) is an internationally acclaimed Australian author. Colleen was born in Wellington in central west New South Wales to James and Laurie McCullough.

She grew up during World War II. In her first year of medical studies at the University of Sydney she suffered dermatitis from surgical soap and was told to abandon her dreams of becoming a medical doctor. Instead,...more

More about Colleen McCullough...

Books by Colleen McCullough

The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome, #1)

Fortune's Favorites (Masters of Rome, #3)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Independence ...

4 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

title link	preview: The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet
avg rating	preview: The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet Goodreads rating: 2.73 (1378 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5589584-the-independence-of-miss-mary-bennet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]/assets/nocover/111x148.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5589584-the-independence-of-miss-mary-bennet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough[/url]

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website