What will happen to the Bennet females, now that Mr. Bennet has died? With Mr. Tristan Collins on his way from America to claim his property, Mrs. Bennet hatches her plan. The new heir to Longbourn simply must marry one of her daughters. Nothing else will do. Will it be Mary or Kitty singled out for this dubious honor? When the gentleman in question turns out to be quite a catch after all, the … all, the contest between the sisters is on. Which one will be the next mistress of Longbourn? Or will the dark horse in the race take the prize?
Darcy, Elizabeth, and the rest of the “Pride and Prejudice” cast are back as the socially awkward Mary emerges from the shadows to take center stage in Shannon Winslow’s long-awaited sequel to her best-selling novel, “The Darcys of Pemberley.”
Many Austen fans have a soft spot in their hearts for Mary Bennet, wondering if she might have the hidden makings of a heroine. Now, in “Return to Longbourn,” we learn what really makes her tick. Find out if she’s destined to be a governess forever, or if she overcomes the misfortune of being “plain” to find love and her own happy ending.
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“The greater your capacity to love, the greater your capacity to feel the pain.” Jennifer Aniston
This is book 2 of 3 within the Darcys of Pemberley series. Book 1 The Darcys of Pemberley followed a short story prequel, Mr. Collins’ Last Supper. This story was Mary Bennet’s perspective or her POV.
Mary became a governess to the Farnsworth family that took over Netherfield Park. She continued in that office, even after the mother died, in order to help the children through their grief. She had become a vital fixture within the Farnsworth family even after Miss Farnsworth [the master’s sister] arrived to serve as hostess for the house. We soon saw signs of Caroline Bingley in her actions, conversations, and treatment of Mary. She ignored a warning from Mary that had serious ramifications.
The author filled the story with nuggets of conversations and dialogue from all of Austen’s works. It was like walking through the mall and finding dollar bills on the floor. There was excitement every time you came upon a new nugget. The author provided an appendix at the end of the story explaining which Austen story it came from. How creative.
Poor Mary was put through the wringer in her love life. To have been ignored all her life only to now have the flood gates to her heart suddenly burst open… was simply too much for her. This was a really strong Mary. We saw the ins and outs of her way of thinking. We were with her as she spun out of control with her emotions. We heard her thoughts when she felt betrayed, embarrassed, ashamed, furious, heartbroken, aghast and finally, weary of heart and spirit.
Mrs. Bennet, her usual selfish attitude, was oblivious to what was going on right in front of her. Kitty was no better in this story. It was her actions that disturbed the pebble that started the avalanche in the first place. She was as insensitive to Mary and her feelings as Lydia would have been. How could she not see what she had done? And then to expect Mary to be OK with it.
I loved how Mary looked with new eyes at the relationships of her elder sisters. The Bingleys and the Darcys became her guide or pattern with which she wanted to base her own relationship upon. The fact that she had escaped to Pemberley reminded me of Mr. Knightly going to his brother. But his brother’s wife [Emma’s sister] reminded him too much of Emma. Mr. Darcy was Mary’s daily reminder of someone she was trying to escape. I thought that was a good comparison. The word descriptions were very detailed in this grief mode Mary was experiencing.
Even though this was based on Austen’s work, I couldn’t help but also see bits and pieces of Jane Eyre. This Mr. Farnsworth was so Rochester like as the tortured soul, gone from home a lot, and even when he was home, he roamed the countryside on his massive horse. His verbal abuse and verbal sparring with Mary was amusing and yet, we wondered at the sensual undertones. I figure the author wanted him to be more like Darcy; however, I kept seeing Rochester. Other examples: The daughter and the governess watching the dancing at a Netherfield house party from the shadows. The Lady Blanche Ingram wanna-be from London, boasting of her marriage plans for the master and laughing as she tells her intent to ship the children off to boarding schools. The speculation with the Meryton gossips that the master of Netherfield would soon marry. Mary stealthily escaping the house in the quiet of the night.
I really loved this story, I liked this Mary. She had depth of feeling we don’t usually see in her character.