The Other Bennet Sister starts tonight on BBC1 8pm

[IwantToRetire]

Seemingly unremarkable and often overlooked, Mary Bennet longs to win her family’s approval.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002qkp3

Is this going to be a spoof or some sort of spin off ?

2nd episode tonight at 8:30

Couldn't see a thread so hope this isn't a duplicate!

@Needlenardlenoo@Rictasmorticiai also recommend Introducing Mrs Collins for P&P fan fic which tells the story of Charlotte Lucas’s marriage to Mr Collins

Thanks for that

I'm a big Austen fan but had never read this book (have now reserved it at the library!)
I binged the series over a few days and absolutely loved it. Pure pleasure to watch. Well written (apart from the minor grammatical errors which I noticed too), very well cast and acted - both funny and moving. I am going to rewatch it and savour it! At first watch I'm always too impatient to find out what happens.

Did anyone else think that Mary was very obviously autistic?! (Sorry if I missed it up thread!) I really enjoyed her inadvertently funny comments in social situations, and her confusion when Mrs Gardiner was talking in analogy (about bonnets instead of gentlemen).

I didn't find Mr Ryder particularly believable in terms of his motivations or actions. He was eligible, handsome and (I think) wealthy even before Lady CdB made him her heir? Much as he clearly found Mary refreshing and engaging, they didn't seem physically or emotionally compatible at all. If he genuinely loved her, why on earth propose travelling and living together without getting married? And then why on earth did he then change his mind and propose after all? Was it a competitive thing (he saw Mary and Tom Heywood and was jealous) or what? I think that merited a bit more explanation (explicit or implied).

Charlotte was clearly miserable but I didn't feel too sorry for her tbh, it was karma for encouraging Mary to play/sing so she could snag Mr Collins and steal Longbourn from the Bennet girls (who she was supposed to be friends with). We only ever saw her interacting with Mary and not Lizzie, but I thought she was supposed to be good friends with Lizzie?

A few other minor quibbles - Jane is supposed to be the beautiful one, but wasn't (terrible hair) and she's also supposed to be lovely to everyone, even to a fault, so I would have expected some kind/tender moments between her and Mary. I also think that surely Mrs Bennet would have spent more time at Netherfield with Jane and Mr Bingley than at Pemberley with Lizzie and Mr Darcy, but that's minor.

@AnotherEmma i agree with all your points, I always assumed Mary was autistic just from reading the book (and it would make sense that Mr Collins was as well). I’m reading Anne on Green Gables at the min who I also think is autistic, she even has sensory processing difficulties! Anyway I digress 🙈😂

I agree re Mr Ryders motives, I thought when he said he had a legal issue to resolve it was going to be that he was already married!

Totally agree about Anne of GG @Girliefriendlikespuppies

That hadn’t occurred to me about Anne of Green Gables, but it’s many years since I read the books. What made you think that? I just thought she was quite traumatised from her early life

@JumpLeadsForTwo there’s loads of things, she gets overwhelmed really easily, finds it difficult to cope if plans get changed, struggles to process emotions, is acutely aware of colours, smells and textures, she’s extremely intelligent but lacks common sense. When she talks of meeting a ‘kindred spirit’ I think what she really means is meeting another neurodiverse person 😁

Yes I know she’s a fictional character 🙈😂

Ah, I see what you mean! I might give the books another read - used to love them!

Although thinking about it, maybe AuADHD - she was very impulsive and talked non stop as well!

Me and DH are watching this at TV pace, although we are tempted to finish it off this week. It is absolutely wonderful, beautifully cast and acted, no swearing or shoehorning in unnecessary diversions, just a lovely story.

I've read the book and loved that as well. The segment with Mr Collins was really touching, and although they managed to get a sense of it in the series I agree that it was really pivotal in the book.

@AnotherEmma There was an interesting discussion up thread about Mr Ryder being influenced by the Romantic poets - particularly the Shelleys and Lord Byron living unconventional lives on ‘the Continent’.

I think that he felt that Mary, being quite unlike the other young women that he knew, was unconventional enough that she might accept his offer, even though they’d had a conversation at a dinner in London where she pointed out that the shame in the situation would be borne by the woman (‘often quite literally’).

I found it interesting that when he leaves Pemberley, you could see him twitching/ picking fingernails on one hand, which was something we see Mary doing. I wondered if they were trying to suggest that he was neurodivergent, as Mary seems to be.

Just finished this series and absolutely loved it. Perfect casting for the lead roles, great acting and a gripping storyline.

I don’t think Mary was autistic, she just wasn’t allowed to blossom because of her overbearing mother and being compared to her sisters. Women were not encouraged to use their brains or be independent in those days. Once in the middle of a loving family, she comes out of her shell and finds people she can be herself with.

I loved the proposal scene, brilliantly done.

I don't think he was neurodivergent; possibly, but he seemed very at ease socially (could be an expert masker!)

I just don't understand why he fell for Mary tbh, it wasn't believable in the same way that it was with Tom Heywood. Mr Ryder seemed very confident and possibly a bit big-headed; I can imagine he wanted to marry someone who wasn't just "not like the other girls" (like Mary) but also more conventionally beautiful, and a "good" match in terms of family status / wealth, and Mary wasn't. I could understand inviting her to Italy because he enjoyed her company, but not because he truly loved her, as that was a frankly insulting offer for someone you're supposed to love. Even if we could be persuaded that it makes sense, it
doesn't then make sense for him to propose to her after all. What changed?! That wasn't shown.

s this is great.

But all your points can be true and she can be autistic. I agree that she blossomed when treated kindly at last and encouraged to be herself, but "herself" was still autistic IMO. Autistic people can still be sociable and blossom, which she was doing - just in her own way.

@RoseTulips2023 thank you for sharing that podcast, it was really interesting!

@Girliefriendlikespuppies I think Anne was more ADHD. Uncle Matthew is definitely autistic.

I wonder if Mr Ryder thinks Mary would go away with him judt to get away.
She's naive and vulnerable.

s

I was late to the party and only finished the series on iplayer last night. I loved it.

The cliff-hangers at the end of the episodes were great.

It made me realise how lucky I am to have been born after the sexual revolution. Not only can I not imagine losing my family’s inheritance because there are no boy heirs, I got really sad when Mary had only two options on the table: travel to Italy for a bit of fun with a boyfriend (and ruin her entire family’s reputation, not to mention the possibility of being destitute/in a workhouse with a baby in an era before birth control), or live in the middle of the countryside as her mother’s companion. If those were my only two options on the table, it’s nice to know that we live in an era that choosing an adventure in Italy is a valid option.

I don't think she would have suited Mr Collins! I don't know the book, but just going by the series I thought they were very sweet together when they found common ground over Aristotle.

Yes, she's great in this. She tweeted something along the lines of how nice it was to be playing a 'good' character for once!

She has perhaps matured since him coming to Longbourn to marry one of the sisters?

I think she would only have been about 18 in P&P.

Old enough to marry but responsible enough to be a vicar's wife?

Of course when Lizzy refused him was it likely that he'd ask another sister anyway firstly being interested in Jane?

They are such interesting characters though!