Hi friends! I’m so thrilled to welcome back the lovely Katherine Cowley to Austenesque Reviews today! I know so many of us have a soft spot for Mary Bennet and love to see her become the heroine of her own stories! If you haven’t heard yet, Katherine Cowley is the author of The Secret Life of Mary Bennet series. And in this series, Mary Bennet becomes a spy! 🔍

Book Two of this series – The True Confessions of a London Spy – just released earlier this month and Katherine is here to share a perceptive post about the Bennet sisters. We hope you enjoy! 🤗

My newest novel, The True Confessions of a London Spy, features Mary Bennet as a spy. But it’s not just about her solving a murder mystery: it’s also a story about her relationship with her sisters.

As I was writing this novel, I reread Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and thought a lot about the overlooked qualities of each of the Bennet sisters.

Jane Bennet

The eldest sister, Jane is well-loved for her kindness and her ability to see the good in other people and in the world. She is self-sacrificing and always helps others, even when she herself is in pain.

Her overlooked qualities:

Jane also be very persuasive, and can convince both her mother and her father to change their minds, even when they are set on something.

Quote from Pride and Prejudice:

[Mrs. Bennet] was then proceeding to all the particulars of calico, muslin, and cambric, and would shortly have dictated some very plentiful orders, had not Jane, though with some difficulty, persuaded her to wait till her father was at leisure to be consulted. One day’s delay, she observed, would be of small importance; and her mother was too happy to be quite so obstinate as usual.

Quote 2 from Pride and Prejudice:

[Lydia’s] request, for such it might be considered, of being admitted into her family again before she set off for the North, received at first an absolute negative [from Mr. Bennet]. But Jane and Elizabeth…urged him so earnestly yet so rationally and so mildly, to receive her and her husband at Longbourn, as soon as they were married, that he was prevailed on to think as they thought, and act as they wished.

Elizabeth Bennet

The second sister, Elizabeth is witty and clever. She’s confident, and she’s not willing to bow to the supposed superiority of others. She’s very good at managing social situations.

Her overlooked qualities:

Elizabeth is very loyal, both to her family members and her friends. Though she initially cannot believe that Charlotte has chosen to marry Mr. Collins, her loyalty to her friend wins out, and she puts up with all sorts of inconveniences and annoyances at Rosings because of her loyalty. She is also loyal to Mr. Darcy even though they have often been at odds—she does not publicly share what she has learned about the past between Mr. Wickham and Georgiana Darcy.

Quote from Pride and Prejudice:

As soon as they had driven from the door, Elizabeth was called on by her cousin [Mr. Collins] to give her opinion of all that she had seen at Rosings, which, for Charlotte’s sake, she made more favourable than it really was.

Mary Bennet

Mary is the middle sister. She’s known for saying the wrong thing, being judgmental and insensitive to social norms, and over-rating her own skills on the pianoforte.

Her overlooked qualities:

Mary is intelligent and inquisitive. She wants what is right and good to prevail, and she uses her moral sense to try to understand the world. She also has secret hopes and desires that most people don’t notice.

Quote from Pride and Prejudice:

Mary might have been prevailed on to accept [an offer of marriage from Mr. Collins]. She rated his abilities much higher than any of the others; there was a solidity in his reflections which often struck her, and though by no means so clever as herself, she thought that if encouraged to read and improve himself by such an example as hers, he might become a very agreeable companion.

Kitty Bennet

Kitty is a follower, imitating her younger sister Lydia in both silliness and flirtatiousness.

Her overlooked qualities:

Kitty can be quite persistent, and she is willing to stand up for herself when she feels others are being unreasonable. She also is good at changing the flow of a conversation by directing attention to something new.

Quote from Pride and Prejudice:

Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply; but, unable to contain herself, began scolding one of her daughters.

“Don’t keep coughing so, Kitty, for heaven’s sake! Have a little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces.”

“Kitty has no discretion in her coughs,” said her father; “she times them ill.”

“I do not cough for my own amusement,” replied Kitty fretfully. “When is your next ball to be, Lizzy?”

Lydia Bennet

The youngest sister, Lydia is silly and boy-hungry, and ends up being the first to get married after she runs off with Mr. Wickham.

Her overlooked qualities:

Lydia is willing to lean in to what she wants and seize opportunities. She also has the ability to make do with what she has and to see the potential in things.

Quote from Pride and Prejudice

“Look here, I have bought this bonnet. I do not think it is very pretty; but I thought I might as well buy it as not. I shall pull it to pieces as soon as I get home, and see if I can make it up any better.”

And when her sisters abused it as ugly, she added, with perfect unconcern, “Oh! but there were two or three much uglier in the shop; and when I have bought some prettier-coloured satin to trim it with fresh, I think it will be very tolerable.”

Writing About the Five Sisters

The True Confessions of a London Spy occurs several years after the events in Pride and Prejudice. Mary has spent some time away from her family, but now that she is with Elizabeth and Kitty again, she must decide if she is satisfied with their relationships as they have always been, or if there is the possibility of friendship between them.

Thank you so much for this thoughtful post, Katherine! I love that you found some overlooked and less obvious qualities for each Bennet sister. It just goes to show you that Jane Austen created them all with depth and dimension. I look forward to seeing Mary’s relationships with her sisters explored more in your series! All the best with your release of The True Confessions of a London Spy!

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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

In conjunction with her visit, Katherine is giving away 1️⃣ paperback copy of The True Confessions of a London Spy to 1️⃣ lucky winner!!

  To enter this giveaway leave a comment, a question, or some love for Katherine below!

• This giveaway is open worldwide.  Thank you, Katherine!
• This giveaway ends March 21st.