The Other Bennet Sister

Janice Hadlow was born in London and studied history at university. After a few years working for the House of Commons, she joined the BBC and became a television producer. There, and later at Channel Four, she played an important role in popularising history on tv, making a number of highly regarded series, including Simon Schama's History of Britain.

She went on to run two of the BBC's major television channels, first as Controller of BBC 4 and then BBC 2, and she commissioned hits across a wide range of genres, from Great British Bake Off to the dramas Wolf Hall and Line of Duty. She was the recipient of a number of awards, and is a Fellow of the Royal Television Society, as well as of King's College, University of London.

The Other Bennet Sister is her first novel although she has previously written one non fiction book, The Strangest Family, which told the story of the troubled relationship between George III and his wife and children.

She currently lives in Edinburgh with her husband and has two sons.

'Will delight Pride and Prejudice fans' - Independent

A wonderfully warm homage to Jane Austen and a delightful new story in its own right, Janice Hadlow's The Other Bennet Sister is a life-affirming tale of a young woman finding her place in the world. This is Mary Bennet's story . . .

'It's difficult not to race through those final pages' - Jo Baker, author of Longbourn

In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Mary is the middle of the five Bennet girls and the plainest of them all, so what hope does she have? Prim and pious, with no redeeming features, she is unloved and seemingly unlovable.

The Other Bennet Sister, though, shows another side to Mary. An introvert in a family of extroverts; a constant disappointment to her mother who values beauty above all else; fearful of her father's sharp tongue; with little in common with her siblings - is it any wonder she turns to books for both company and guidance? And, if she finds her life lonely or lacking, that she determines to try harder at the one thing she can be: right.

One by one, her sisters marry - Jane and Lizzy for love; Lydia for some semblance of respectability - but Mary, it seems, is destined to remain single and live out her life at Longbourn, at least until her father dies and the house is bequeathed to the reviled Mr Collins.

But when that fateful day finally comes, she slowly discovers that perhaps there is hope for her, after all.

Witty and uplifting, The Other Bennet Sister will make you feel - and cheer - for Mary as you never have before.