By Janice Hadlow
In the midst of so large a family, she was utterly alone.
I am attracted to Jane Austen reimaginings, sequels etc. and have read many of them (and seen all of the movies I know about). I picked this one up because I read the BBC was making a 10 part series based on it. It was a good book and I enjoyed it very much. It was very well done, and our beloved P&P characters all seemed authentic to the original creations. Except Mrs. Bennet who was very unsympathetic but not in a humorous way. There is no humor or wit in this book at all, which mostly accounts for my rating. But there are many thoughtful and insightful passages.
There was something distancing in Jane’s benevolence, bestowed as it was equally upon both those who deserved it and those who did not. It was an admirable quality, but spread so generally that Mary knew it implied no special warmth for her. Jane’s strongest affections were reserved for Mr. Bingley and Lizzy; only they were granted access to her private heart, and Mary knew she would never be invited to join them.
When she was silent, she merely confirmed his opinion of her dullness. When she sought to entertain, she always struck the wrong note. Then Elizabeth would intervene, smoothing everything away with a joke or a laugh. Under Lizzy’s tender, amused gaze, her husband became another man, warm, smiling, taken by surprise at his own happiness.
However, I am flummoxed as to how they are going to squeeze a ten part series out of this! A movie, maybe. So much of the book is Mary’s inner life and thoughts. She is a loner (not her choice) and everyone mostly ignores her. So there is not a whole lot of dynamic interaction with other characters. It is the definition of slow moving leisurely pace.
** a little addendum after seeing the wonderful adaptation last night. Stretching the book out to a 10 part series was certainly helped by the individual episodes being only 30 minutes long! I was curious as to how they were going to wrest a whole TV series out of this book. They did so quite faithfully although I was disappointed in what they cut out. They left off Mary’s visit to Jane, and more importantly, Longbourne, after the marriage of Mr. Collins and Charlotte. That was, to me, the most eye-opening and surprising portion of the book. It was very sad although we are left with a little hope for the marriage, I guess.
But as Mary finally drifted off to sleep, she remembered Charlotte’s refusal to meet her husband’s eyes, the bleak impression of Mr. Collins staring into his wine as she and Charlotte left the room.
In a book light on actual character study of anyone but Mary, that the treatment of Mr. Collins was a stand-out. The adaptation was excellent. Better than the book, I thought. And I loved that they circled back to John Sparrow in the movie.
November 6, 2024
I really liked this, although some of it was difficult to watch with the mother. The most dreadful individual written. I kept hoping she’d die off, lol. This is a great character study. I liked the meeting between Mr Collins and Mary where you can see his sadness. Then she mentions to Charlotte to see things differently.
It’s not meant to be humorous. Watch it again for what it is. I didn’t read the book, which is just as well. Towards the end of the series, I understood Mary better. She could never look people in the eyes, she was so traumatized as a child by her mother yet was attached strongly to her, always seeking her approval. Classic abuse. It’s miraculous how she broke free from it. I give it a 5.
My review is entirely of the book. The movie fas surpassed it. I loved the series, just liked the book. Mary’s relationship with Mr. Collins and Charlotte was very much more fleshed out in book though. And I’m sorry it didn’t take up more space in the movie. I think they made a mistake in his casting.