Pride and Prejudice - in the view of 2026 society is Mr. Wickham simply a predator?

Agree that the red and green dress was horrific- like a Christmas tree!

I think I enjoyed it so much because I didn’t view it as P&P, but something entirely itself. I thought the two male leads were great and really liked the portrayal of Caroline Bingley and Mr Collins. I thought the presentation of the latter as somebody who has essentially realised that not only is he a buffoon but that he is also in a loveless marriage to a woman who knows he is a buffoon was quite sweet.

Agree that the presentation of Mary was inconsistent, but I thought the actress did a good job with what she had.

On the whole though, I think my opinion was largely driven by the actor playing the guy she ends up with - I thought he was great and could have happily watched many more hours of him!

I loved The Other Bennet Sister. I thought it was a frothy delight that no doubt Jane Austen herself would have been rolling her eyes at. Admittedly Mary bore little resemblance to the actual Mary Bennet. TV show Mary was sweet and charming and delighted everyone she came in contact with 😂

And I loved both of her suitors.

Looking forward to sitting by the fire and watching the Christmas episodes.

Absolutely, which would make palming his five daughter’s upbringing off on a governess quite natural!

Imagine elegant, refined, not-very-robust Jane Fairfax being hired to educate Kitty and Lydia! Though she and Mary might find common ground over music, and she’d probably like Jane and Elizabeth…

Actually, that’s a fair point. Are Jane and Elizabeth partly at fault for not taking the youngest ones in hand themselves when it was clear their parents weren’t going to intervene? They’re not cynical and indolent like their father, or short-sighted and not that bright like their mother, are well aware of how badly brought up their younger sisters are, after all. And they have more to lose from Kitty and Lydia making exhibitions of themselves than anyone.

I’m the eldest of five, like Jane, and while obviously Regency gentry daughters are not going to be doing the feeding and nappy changing work of nursery maids, older daughters being expected to help teach the younger ones was quite usual.

Or is it that Kitty and Lydia have only registered themselves to Jane and Elizabeth as a real, embarrassing problem since they came out and started appearing at Assembly balls etc? Lydia in particular can’t have been out for long if she’s only fifteen.

(Maybe it helps make sense of her boisterous behaviour in public and Lizzy’s mortification at it if it’s all brand new this season. Dancing, men etc are totally novel to Lydia, and Lizzy isn’t used to being mortified by her at balls because it’s only just started to happen?)

Cheapsie doesn't mean it was a poor area. 'Cheap' comes from an old word for market and the street was an important street in London throughout history. Here's an image of it in 1823. And since Miss Bingley is new money coming from trade there is very much a hint of Hyacinth Bucket about her.

Agree that the red and green dress was horrific- like a Christmas tree!

I think I enjoyed it so much because I didn’t view it as P&P, but something entirely itself. I thought the two male leads were great and really liked the portrayal of Caroline Bingley and Mr Collins. I thought the presentation of the latter as somebody who has essentially realised that not only is he a buffoon but that he is also in a loveless marriage to a woman who knows he is a buffoon was quite sweet.

Agree that the presentation of Mary was inconsistent, but I thought the actress did a good job with what she had.

On the whole though, I think my opinion was largely driven by the actor playing the guy she ends up with - I thought he was great and could have happily watched many more hours of him!

What did you like about it? I’ve not read the novel, as I nearly always hate contemporary sequels/retellings, but I watched the tv series and found it puzzling — the tone seemed all over the place. Mary’s character seemed to straggle about between being something vaguely recognisable as the Mary of the novel (pedantic, anxious for display, dull, tactless) and an entirely new proto-feminist adventure seeker, and other characters (her ‘suitors’, Lizzy, Jane ) likewise. And I simply didn’t believe for a second in Mrs Bennet being reinvented as such a black and white monster.

Plus I kept getting distracted by that terrible green and red dress, especially as the actress playing Mary looked absolutely lovely in the ‘plain’, pastel Regency dresses.

Plus I think I just stopped believing in any of it when the writer had the Merton optician’s assistant attending the Assembly ball!

Mary’s got me there. I’d prefer a book to a party, as well.

Cheapsie doesn't mean it was a poor area. 'Cheap' comes from an old word for market and the street was an important street in London throughout history. Here's an image of it in 1823. And since Miss Bingley is new money coming from trade there is very much a hint of Hyacinth Bucket about her.

Well, he only lives in ‘Cheapside’, lest we forget Miss Bingley’s comment!

Well, it wasn’t mine to bring up my younger siblings, either, strictly speaking, but our parents weren’t capable of it (they far more children than they could afford, financially or emotionally) so it was on me and to an extent on my next sister!

I suppose I just think that for purely self-interested reasons it might have occurred to Jane and Elizabeth that, when Kitty and Lydia came out, they were likely to make a public show of them and damage their own chances on the marriage market.

As things happened, they both almost lost the men they loved because of Lydia’s behaviour, and if Darcy hadn’t intervened in the Lydia/Wickham situation, it’s possible neither Jane nor Elizabeth would have married at all.

”Are Jane and Elizabeth partly at fault for not taking the youngest ones in hand themselves when it was clear their parents weren’t going to intervene?”

It wasn’t their responsibility to educate Kitty and Lydia.

Elizabeth frequently stepped in as a moral compass and voice of reason.

Actually, that’s a fair point. Are Jane and Elizabeth partly at fault for not taking the youngest ones in hand themselves when it was clear their parents weren’t going to intervene? They’re not cynical and indolent like their father, or short-sighted and not that bright like their mother, are well aware of how badly brought up their younger sisters are, after all. And they have more to lose from Kitty and Lydia making exhibitions of themselves than anyone.

I’m the eldest of five, like Jane, and while obviously Regency gentry daughters are not going to be doing the feeding and nappy changing work of nursery maids, older daughters being expected to help teach the younger ones was quite usual.

Or is it that Kitty and Lydia have only registered themselves to Jane and Elizabeth as a real, embarrassing problem since they came out and started appearing at Assembly balls etc? Lydia in particular can’t have been out for long if she’s only fifteen.

(Maybe it helps make sense of her boisterous behaviour in public and Lizzy’s mortification at it if it’s all brand new this season. Dancing, men etc are totally novel to Lydia, and Lizzy isn’t used to being mortified by her at balls because it’s only just started to happen?)

Actually, that’s a fair point. Are Jane and Elizabeth partly at fault for not taking the youngest ones in hand themselves when it was clear their parents weren’t going to intervene? They’re not cynical and indolent like their father, or short-sighted and not that bright like their mother, are well aware of how badly brought up their younger sisters are, after all. And they have more to lose from Kitty and Lydia making exhibitions of themselves than anyone.

I’m the eldest of five, like Jane, and while obviously Regency gentry daughters are not going to be doing the feeding and nappy changing work of nursery maids, older daughters being expected to help teach the younger ones was quite usual.

Or is it that Kitty and Lydia have only registered themselves to Jane and Elizabeth as a real, embarrassing problem since they came out and started appearing at Assembly balls etc? Lydia in particular can’t have been out for long if she’s only fifteen.

(Maybe it helps make sense of her boisterous behaviour in public and Lizzy’s mortification at it if it’s all brand new this season. Dancing, men etc are totally novel to Lydia, and Lizzy isn’t used to being mortified by her at balls because it’s only just started to happen?)

Actually, that’s a fair point. Are Jane and Elizabeth partly at fault for not taking the youngest ones in hand themselves when it was clear their parents weren’t going to intervene? They’re not cynical and indolent like their father, or short-sighted and not that bright like their mother, are well aware of how badly brought up their younger sisters are, after all. And they have more to lose from Kitty and Lydia making exhibitions of themselves than anyone.

I’m the eldest of five, like Jane, and while obviously Regency gentry daughters are not going to be doing the feeding and nappy changing work of nursery maids, older daughters being expected to help teach the younger ones was quite usual.

Or is it that Kitty and Lydia have only registered themselves to Jane and Elizabeth as a real, embarrassing problem since they came out and started appearing at Assembly balls etc? Lydia in particular can’t have been out for long if she’s only fifteen.

(Maybe it helps make sense of her boisterous behaviour in public and Lizzy’s mortification at it if it’s all brand new this season. Dancing, men etc are totally novel to Lydia, and Lizzy isn’t used to being mortified by her at balls because it’s only just started to happen?)

Yes I think (and to be fair it's speculation, there isn't much in the text), the far superior education and moral sense of the older two Bennet girls comes from Mr B - I imagine he took quite a lot of interest in Jane and Lizzie, maybe their mother taught them their basic ABCs but once they were old enough to read properly it was their father who got them books, encouraged them, talked to them about what they were reading - as today I think it's parental interest and encouragement that makes the difference. I doubt he was having birds and the bees chats with them but he probably directed them to books that covered this directly/indirectly that covered it. By the time of Mary I'm suspecting his interest and energy was waning and she wasn't as quick at learning or interesting as the older two so she probably got a little bit of help but not much (the other Bennett girl was fun but made Mary way too clever, in the book she's not truly a lover of reading and music, just seeming accomplishments for the sake of attention plus pedantic and addicted to 'threadbare morality', just repeating maxims and truisms she's copied out or memorised from books rather than truly enjoying learning, the fact she finds Mr Collins interesting and insightful says it all). Poor old Kitty and Lydia didn't get any of his attention at all, he left them to whatever Mrs B and their older sisters could be bothered to teach them which wasn't much clearly!

And on the governess, although the Longbourn estate was a reasonable one, it is mentioned that they were near constantly exceeding their income as it was, so although a governess' salary wasn't huge and would have been viewed as essential by most mothers of 5 daughters, I suspect Mrs B wasn't prepared to foresake some of her ribbons-and-bonnets budget or give up one of her servants to afford it, and Mr B couldn't be bothered to push the point. It was also often a point of some botheration finding and then having a suitable governess in the house, it was an awkward thing because she occupied a sort of half-servitute position, not a proper servant who would eat meals in the kitchen or servants room like the housekeeper or maids, but not properly one of the family either, so it made difficulties about where she'd have her meals and sit in the evenings and so on, which in a medium sized and already quite full house like Longbourn was no small thing. I can well imagine some half-hearted arguments on the part of the Bennetta about it but the status quo of no governess eventually prevailing!

This thread has made me think abour this & I think the household was probably happier when J & E were young. Their parents would have been getting on better, the favouritism not so much of a problem (Mrs B favoured J & Mr B E), they were hoping for a son so not so worried about the future & the 2 older girls were easy children (pleasant, hardworking, intelligent (esp E) & caring) with their aunt Gardiner as a clear & interested role model.

Later, this all changed as the younger 3 are more challenging children in their different ways & Lydia is clearly spoilt by her mother. Plus financial worries with both parents disappointed in each other.

Arguably, the household does sound happier at the end of the novel. The financial issues are resolved; Kitty benefits from being with her sisters in the same way that the latter benefitted from being with their aunt; and Mary benefits from being the main focus of her mother’s attention (which might still not be great parenting but is probably exactly what she needs). Even Mr Bennet spends less time in his library if only to go to Pemberley.

I suppose that might make sense, too. He’s fond of the two eldest, particularly Elizabeth, but he treats the younger three more or less as he treats their mother — as irritating comic relief that he clearly doesn’t think is much to do with him, or anything he should do anything about.

Though I can’t see Mr Bennet giving them a lecture on the birds and the bees and keeping their knees together till they have a ring on their finger!

Absolutely, which would make palming his five daughter’s upbringing off on a governess quite natural!

Imagine elegant, refined, not-very-robust Jane Fairfax being hired to educate Kitty and Lydia! Though she and Mary might find common ground over music, and she’d probably like Jane and Elizabeth…

Yes I think (and to be fair it's speculation, there isn't much in the text), the far superior education and moral sense of the older two Bennet girls comes from Mr B - I imagine he took quite a lot of interest in Jane and Lizzie, maybe their mother taught them their basic ABCs but once they were old enough to read properly it was their father who got them books, encouraged them, talked to them about what they were reading - as today I think it's parental interest and encouragement that makes the difference. I doubt he was having birds and the bees chats with them but he probably directed them to books that covered this directly/indirectly that covered it. By the time of Mary I'm suspecting his interest and energy was waning and she wasn't as quick at learning or interesting as the older two so she probably got a little bit of help but not much (the other Bennett girl was fun but made Mary way too clever, in the book she's not truly a lover of reading and music, just seeming accomplishments for the sake of attention plus pedantic and addicted to 'threadbare morality', just repeating maxims and truisms she's copied out or memorised from books rather than truly enjoying learning, the fact she finds Mr Collins interesting and insightful says it all). Poor old Kitty and Lydia didn't get any of his attention at all, he left them to whatever Mrs B and their older sisters could be bothered to teach them which wasn't much clearly!

And on the governess, although the Longbourn estate was a reasonable one, it is mentioned that they were near constantly exceeding their income as it was, so although a governess' salary wasn't huge and would have been viewed as essential by most mothers of 5 daughters, I suspect Mrs B wasn't prepared to foresake some of her ribbons-and-bonnets budget or give up one of her servants to afford it, and Mr B couldn't be bothered to push the point. It was also often a point of some botheration finding and then having a suitable governess in the house, it was an awkward thing because she occupied a sort of half-servitute position, not a proper servant who would eat meals in the kitchen or servants room like the housekeeper or maids, but not properly one of the family either, so it made difficulties about where she'd have her meals and sit in the evenings and so on, which in a medium sized and already quite full house like Longbourn was no small thing. I can well imagine some half-hearted arguments on the part of the Bennetta about it but the status quo of no governess eventually prevailing!

Can't be arsed is an explanation of a lot of Mr Bs behaviour I think.