The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet

If you are a fan of Pride and Prejudice you will be extremely disappointed. As a work of fiction, the book is interesting to a certain extent but you will be kept busy keeping up with all the characters and plot twists. Ms. McCullough's morbid treatment of the characters gives you the impression that she has something against Jane Austen. I wish I had read the reviews for the hardcover edition before I bought the book; I just threw away $5.97 (Wal-Mart price).

This novel is just plain offensive to any true Jane Austen fan. It's an insult to her to have her characters smeared the way McCullough has done. She used Austen's beloved characters to write a smut novel. She should be ashamed of herself, and shame of the publishers for not having more literary integrity than to sell a trashy novel with a Jane Austen cover. I mean seriously using the "F" word at Pemberly! Painting dear Darcy as a honeymoon rapist! Do not waste your time or your money on this garbage. So glad I only paid $2 at Big Lots...now I know why!

There are some books that are so bad as to become good. You share them around with others so they can enjoy a good laugh at the author's expense. This is not that book.
The characters are warped beyond any recognition from their originals in Pride and Prejudice. The plot line is unbelievable. Really. Mary is kidnapped and held prisoner in a cave for weeks transcribing the religious manifesto of a crazy monk before she is rescued by an earthquake and WALKS HOME TO PEMBERLEY. Meanwhile Darcy (called Fitz) is plotting to become prime minister and has a boyhood friend who is so desperately in love with him that he wanders the countryside killing anyone who makes Darcy's (oops, FITZ'S) life difficult.
The writing is of the tell don't show variety. So many scenes that could have been interesting if described were summed up with one line. There is none of the spark or wittiness that Jane Austen has. The point of view jumps from character to character randomly enough to make you dizzy.
This is very possibly the worst Pride and Prejudice knock off that I have ever read. Unfortunately, zero stars were not an option. I recommend not reading this book, even if it was given to you free. There are much better things out there to do with your time.

Set as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, Colleen McCullough's "The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet" narrates the story of the forgotten Bennet sister, Mary. Assigned to take care of her mother after all her siblings have left, Mary spends years of her life shut out and cooped up in a tiny world at home, with only the library to keep her company. When her mother passes away, Mary, 38, is entrusted with a sum of money to live on by her brothers-in-law, and it is then that the urge for freedom overtakes her. Her unconventional, daring spirit pushes her to start living life her way, after being denied it for so long. She decides to embark on a journey to write a book about England's poor. The mission is borne out of her admiration for Argus - an unknown character who writes in a newspaper and criticizes the ills of society.
Meanwhile, Mr. Angus Sinclair, a friend of Mary's brother-in-law, meets her and feels very strongly for her, but is unable to take it further due to Mary's obvious temperament of resisting love and marriage. She has just turned down an excellent marriage proposal by a successful lawyer, and Angus tries to be only a good friend, at the start, in order not to frighten her away. To do this, we see him struggle to curb his emotions, wondering all the while when the time would come for Mary to soften and open up to love.
Unknown to Mary, Angus is actually Argus, her hero journalist, and when he hears her talk about him so avidly, he curses his writings, because they are the impetus for Mary to go on her wild journey. She embarks, but is completely unprepared to take on the world, having been sheltered for too long. She is mobbed, robbed and kidnapped by a psychotic, who holds her hostage for weeks. Meanwhile, Angus is frantic, and he and members of her family conduct a long search for her, a journey through which many of the family relationships are mended as they come closer together.
Charlie, Mary's nephew, reaches a new understanding with his father, Fitz, who is a very harsh character at the outset, but who softens greatly after Mary's ordeal. He repairs his damaged relationship with his wife, Elizabeth (Mary's sister) and his son. Fitz is dealt a heavy blow with the death of his half-brother, whom he loves greatly, and he emerges a changed man.
The story focuses for too long on the ordeal of Mary's kidnapping, and on Father Dominus, the perpetrator. It is an unpleasant part of the book, one which the reader skims through as fast as possible to get to the more interesting parts of the story: the lives of Mary's sisters, the changes happening to them and the family's evolving towards more harmony.
A happy ending delights the reader: Mary is rescued from her plight and eventually discovers that she is very much in love with Angus, whose marriage proposal she joyfully accepts. She has closed the circle and come to some important truths in her life, which she is finally living after being shut out for so long.
A lovely, heartwarming story with lively, gripping characters, told in a beautiful, classical tone that plays deliciously on language and is a delight to read.

I discarded reading this half the way through. I thought it was trash and I wonder what would be the reaction of Jane Austen if she should read Colleen McCullough's assault of some of her best loved characters, brought to life by Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

I bought this book at a used book store in Amsterdam and felt obligated to finish it since I paid 6 euros for it (and because I had nothing else to read). How I wish I had read the reviews here first!

Colleen McCullough is a decent author--I loved the Thornbirds and have heard good things about her other books. Therefore, I was really excited to stumble upon this book!

Unfortunately, she does not seem to have actually read Pride and Prejudice, since the characters in this book bear no resemblance to those in Austen's book other than their names. Although, poor Mr. Darcy doesn't even have that--everyone in this book referred to him as "Fitz".

I'm don't even want to mention how disappointed I was by the plot--I was expecting Mary to have interesting experiences in the slums of London or Manchester; instead I got cave people.

I also disliked how Mary had become a beauty with violet eyes. I would have preferred a plain woman who became more appealing on close acquaintance.

The only thing I really didn't dislike in this book was the characterizations of the Darcy children. I found them more interesting than any of the horrible main characters.

I felt slightly guilty taking this book back to the used bookstore where I got it. Part of me wanted to burn it so that nobody else would be subjected to it.

I had high hopes for this "fan fiction" from Coleen McCullough of "The Thornbirds" fame -- she's usually a good story teller. But this is trash.

Many authors have attempted to write books chronicaling what happened after the last page of Pride and Prejudice Some have succeeded in being amusing, some have not, but I cannot think of a book has been a bigger failure that Colleen McCullough's The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet.

McCullough seemingly has a dislike of most of the characters of Austen's signature novel. In this book, Darcy (disconcertinly known by all as "Fitz") is an overbearing prig of the first order who has clearly fallen out of love with Elizabeth. Jane is a sniveling brood mare who has the vapors at the least provocation. Lydia has devolved into a crass, dunken common slut. And even poor Elizabeth is a pale shadow of her former self. But Mary, last seen bespeckled, spouting pieties and singing badly off-key, is now "a beauty" turning the head of every man she meets, and full of heretofore unimagined intelligence and spunk.

Following the death of Mrs. Bennet, Mary takes her meager inheritance and decides to travel unchaperoned throughout England researching the problems of the poor. She travels via common stage coaches and stays in the rudest country inns. In the course of her travels she is set upon by a group of drunken fellow passengers, robbed by a highwayman and finally kidnapped and kept captive in a cave by the leader of a strange religious sect. Did Ms. McCullough forget that she was supposed to be writing a novel a la Jane Austen and migrate to her comfort spot of gothic novels? Who knows, but it makes for very strange reading.

Everything about this book is bad from the lack of real characterization, to the too modern dialogue, to the preposterous plot. Save your time and your money and read something else.

I could not believe that the author who writes generally good historical fiction and created the sweet, uplifting and heart warming story, The Ladies of Missalonghi, could write such tripe. I'd give it no stars if possible and ask for a refund.
It's an insult to Austen's memory and hard work - a lie, a cheat to use Ms. Austen's characters in such a morbidly vulgar manner. Shameful.

Unlike other Austen fans, I was not dismayed by this book. I watched the latest Pride and Prejudice on TV a few weeks ago and thought this book would be a fun follow-up. I thought it was interesting. Yes, I didn't like Darcy's resumption of haughtiness, but it was an interesting twist. I thought the plot, characters, and language were fine. Overall, I enjoyed it and will recommend it to my book club.