Okay, true confession time—I am a serious fan of Jane Austen’s work. I’ve read all the novels— some of them multiple times. I’ve also consumed a number of ancillary books, and watched movies, documentaries, and spinoffs. So yeah, I have bona fides in the Austen arena, and believed myself immune to the charms of yet another entry into the Austen field.

So it came as a serious surprise to me that I was enthralled by this latest spinoff, The Other Bennet Sister, by Janice Hadlow.

It was my husband who spotted the series based on the book on Britbox. I must confess I wasn’t too sure about it as we plunged in but then it just swept me away. And when it was over, I immediately got the book from the library.

The Other Sister in this case is the middle child in the Bennet tribe, Mary, the one overlooked in Pride and Prejudice as well as in all of the movies and TV series. Until Hadlow got a hold of her, Mary had always been portrayed as dowdy, a stick in the mud, into books, and a fussy, dogmatic piano player. In other words, a young woman who is not really accepted for who she is or who she could be.

But for Hadlow, that’s just the starting point as she makes other plans for this young woman.

Right off the bat, I admired her writing style. She captures the flavor of the 18th century language current in Austen’s lifetime without actually writing in that style. That’s a pretty neat tightrope to walk.

What gets the action going is the death of Mr. Bennet, a circumstance that necessitates the removal of Mary and her mother from the family’s home at Longbourne. From that moment on, we are treated to a tour of marriage as Mary moves into and out of her sister Jane’s home to her sister Elizabeth’s home, and then back to Longbourne where Charlotte Collins now rules.

Like Goldilocks trying to find the right bed to sleep in, none of them fit Mary. Then, finally, she’s taken into the London home of her aunt and uncle Gardiner.

Pressured and harassed by her mother from early childhood (really, this Mrs. Bennet is a real pill), Mary tries to make herself invisible because she believes she is unloveable and a burden to those around her. But at the same time, she is a very keen observer, grasping the real tenor of Jane’s marriage, then Elizabeth’s, and then finally of Charlotte’s uber marriage-of-convenience to Mr. Collins.

The tide changes when she moves in to the Gardiner household. Theirs is a marriage of equals with an abundance of affection and respect on both sides. And they work at making sure their home is a happy place, a dwelling place where Mary can heal, where she is encouraged and supported for who she is.

The change in our heroine is measured and considered and entirely consistent with Mary’s character. And as she grows, readers start to cheer her on, celebrating her triumphs and the respect she earns for her keen mind. (All the while seriously hoping Mrs. Bennet finally meets her match). I mean, who hasn’t had times when they have not fit in, when they have succumbed to self-doubt, when all they wanted to be was invisible?

Now this being a Jane Austen spinoff, things turn out all right in the end. But I promise you that knowing that will not spoil this enchanting novel one single bit. Really, make a pot of tea and just wallow in.