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The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet
The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet | Katherine Cowley
18 posts | 7 read | 4 to read
In Jane Austens revered Pride and Prejudice, Mary, the middle sister, is often passed over. Until now Upon the death of her father, Mary Bennets life is thrown into turmoil. With no fortune or marriage prospects, Mary must rely on the kindness of her relatives. When a mysterious late-night visit by an unknown relativea Lady Trafford from Castle Durringtonleads to an extended stay and the chance for an education, Mary gratefully accepts the opportunity. But even as she arrives at the castle, shes faced with one mystery after another. Who is Lady Trafford really and what is she hiding? Do her secrets and manipulations place the small seaside community at risk of an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte? Always curious, Mary sets out to discover the truth. But when she discovers the dead body of a would-be thief she outed prior to her fathers funeral, Mary jeopardizes her position at the castle and her familys good name in her quest for the truth. Never underestimate the observation skills of a woman who hides in the background.
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review
peanutnine
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Mehso-so

I saw @Crinoline_Laphroaig post about a group read for this and since it was on my TBR I decided to give it a go. I thought it was a slow read. There's a lot of set up, which I do understand for a first in a series but still felt excessive. Mary was too unlikeable for me. She seemed so naive yet very astute, depending on the circumstances. Overall I didn't dislike it and the ending did intrigue me but I probably won't continue the series.

review
Crinoline_Laphroaig
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Pickpick

#Pemberlittens itt's time for #JaneAdjacent Book Club! Spoilers and my answers in comments.
1️⃣ I originally read couple of years ago. Planning on reading rest of Trilogy for #AusteninAugust 2024. So this was a nice refresher. I did all the formats. Swapped between print, ebook, and audio.

2️⃣ Fanny. I just loved her. (See favorite quotes.) ⬇️

Crinoline_Laphroaig 3️⃣ Big reveal when Mary gets everything wrong but somehow everything right.

4️⃣ "In that moment, Mary abandoned everything that she had been taught as a woman of proper breeding: she ran."

“I would give anyone up for five pound. I won‘t make a boffle of it.”

“It appears I‘m late to this discussion,” said Fanny. ⬇️

5mo
Crinoline_Laphroaig 5️⃣ While I would love to speak perfect French wouldn't get to use that talent much in rural Oklahoma. It would however be useful to be able to draw plans for my garden.

6️⃣ Y'all know I love to dress up so definitely new ball gown.

7️⃣ Definitely gave me new prospective. How Jane and Elizabeth being close, as well as Kitty and Lydia being silly together would leave Mary on outside. ⬇️

5mo
Crinoline_Laphroaig 8️⃣ I love how this book and others are making Mary the main character. I actually have a @goodreads shelf dedicated to Mary Bennet retellings. 🎩📖📚

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5mo
See All 18 Comments
Crinoline_Laphroaig Join along in June as we read Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh by Rachael Lippincott.
#12MonthsOfJane is a read at your own pace. Discussion Post is 30th of every month. Join in whenever works for you.

5mo
willaful 1. First read, ebook. It was a little slow for my tastes but I think Mary is very well drawn.

5mo
willaful 2. I liked the plucky woman with the baby. Mary took a lot of risks, especially there, but she definitely picked the right co-conspirator. 😁 5mo
willaful 3. I think mine was also Fanny coming in and regretting missing the earlier events. She's got a good sense of humor and I'll enjoy seeing her again if I continue the series. 5mo
willaful 4, Favorite quote, also “It appears I‘m late to this discussion,” said Fanny. 5mo
willaful 5. I'd love to be able to speak another language but not French. If those are my only choices, I'd pick drawing. 5mo
willaful 6. I'm very lucky in that my mom makes me custom made dresses that are also extremely comfy, so I don't have to choose! 😎 5mo
willaful 7. The author did an excellent job of creating Mary's inner life so we can understand her. I definitely sympathize with her feelings of being out of place and awkward, and especially her grief over her father not speaking to her before he died. I'm so glad she got to read his letter. 5mo
willaful 8. I'm pretty sure Mary is intended to be autistic and I'd say it's very well done. Although I didn't love the book, I might read on to see how Mary's character develops. (edited) 5mo
Crinoline_Laphroaig @willaful it felt like a lot of set up. But now that's out of the way I'm looking forward to book 2. Plan on reading this summer. Will see how it goes. Woman with baby was a hoot. They need to recruit her as a spy. 5mo
Crinoline_Laphroaig @willaful so glad you joined in! 5mo
willaful I forgot to add, I really like all the precise historical details. Fascinating times before envelopes! 5mo
Crinoline_Laphroaig @willaful it was fascinating! And that sender didn't pay postage. 5mo
willaful @Crinoline_Laphroaig Yeah, an odd system. I wonder what the justification was. 5mo
24 likes18 comments
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LitsyEvents
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repost for @Crinoline_Laphroaig

Afternoon tea with Miss Mary. Buckingham Palace Garden Party Tea and homemade blueberry cake that my neighbor baked with berries from my garden.

Discussion post will be up sometime tomorrow. Until then, author @kathycowley has some lovely extras for The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet on Author's Website. https://bit.ly/4e4r4bx 🫖📖🫐

#12monthsofjane
#pemberlittens
#janeadjacent

43 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
Crinoline_Laphroaig
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Afternoon tea with Miss Mary. Buckingham Palace Garden Party Tea and homemade blueberry cake that my neighbor baked with berries from my garden. Taking my tray out to the porch to work on questions.

Discussion post will be up sometime tomorrow. Until then, author @kathycowley has some lovely extras for The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet on Author's Website. https://bit.ly/4e4r4bx 🫖📖🫐

#12monthsofjane
#pemberlittens
#janeadjacent

wanderinglynn What a lovely tea set! 5mo
See All 6 Comments
Crinoline_Laphroaig @wanderinglynn it's all odd and ends I've found a junk stores except for the teacup. It's from Jane Austen Centre. https://janeausten.co.uk/products/bone-china-teacup-and-saucer-extra-large-jane-... 5mo
rabbitprincess @Crinoline_Laphroaig That‘s so cool! All the pieces go really well together 💙 5mo
julieclair I LOVE your blue and white collected china. Poking around for treasures in junk stores is such fun!! 5mo
31 likes6 comments
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willaful
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Anyone else think so? #Pemberlittens

julieclair Starting this one tomorrow. I‘ll be on the lookout… 😁 5mo
Crinoline_Laphroaig My Holiday Weekend read! 5mo
Crinoline_Laphroaig I'm reading now. Definitely get that vibe. 5mo
22 likes3 comments
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CrowCAH
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#PemberLittens #12MonthsOfJane

Each month a new “Jane Austen” book!

Join @Crinoline_Laphroaig for the discussion!

51 likes1 comment
blurb
LitsyEvents
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repost for @Crinoline_Laphroaig

#Pemberlittens May is for Mary. The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet by Katherine Cowley is #JaneAdjacent read. Grab your favorite format. Read at your own pace. Join discussion post on May 30th. 🎩

#12MonthsofJane

Add your name to the taglist on the original post:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2733929

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Crinoline_Laphroaig
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#Pemberlittens May is for Mary. The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet by Katherine Cowley is #JaneAdjacent read. Grab your favorite format. Read at your own pace. Join discussion post on May 30th. 🎩

#12MonthsofJane

*PS Let me know is you would like to be tagged for discussion.



See All 6 Comments
julieclair Yes! Please tag me! 😀 6mo
willaful I already own it, so might as well join in. 6mo
32 likes6 comments
blurb
CrowCAH
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KadaGul Thank You for sharing 🤝. #KindleFreeFinds 7mo
CrowCAH @KadaGul thanks for giving it a Litsy tag. I didn‘t know about that hashtag #️⃣ 7mo
BarkingMadRead Thank you for sharing!! 7mo
CrowCAH @BarkingMadRead you‘re welcome ☺️ 7mo
rubyslippersreads Thanks! 7mo
47 likes5 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Mr Bennet has died and Mr Collins comes to claim the house, displacing Mrs Bennet, Kitty, and Mary. During the funeral process, a mysterious distant relation appears and offers Mary an opportunity. This leads into a mystery after a body is found washed up. I really enjoyed this! I found it charming and have discovered there are two more books in the series that I very much look forward to reading.

47 likes1 stack add
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CrowCAH
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jenniferw88 It's a #99ponkindle #ukkindledeal too - thanks for sharing! 2y
CrowCAH @jenniferw88 good to know! 👍🏻 2y
44 likes2 comments
review
Crinoline_Laphroaig
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Pickpick

#Pemberlittens I'm so onboard for Mary Bennet being a spy! It's always the quiet ones like The Wallflower in Gail Carriger's books. Little slow in the middle. There was a lot to set up but worth it for the Ending. I look forward to the next book. 😊
#AusteninAugust

Crinoline_Laphroaig Audiobook Note: This is not a critique of Book or Author strictly the Narrator. She mispronounced Maria Lucas's name repeatedly. I looked her up. She done a ton of Austen. She should know better. Fortunately Maria only features in a few scenes. And after the first one I had switched to Kindle. 2y
44 likes1 stack add1 comment
quote
Crinoline_Laphroaig
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I'm enjoying this but Audio book narrator is mispronouncing Maria Lucas's name. 😔
#Pemberlittens #AusteninAugust

https://janeaustentextposts.tumblr.com/post/166585088101/in-the-1995-pp-they-pro...

review
bookaholic1
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Mehso-so

#36
This was just ok

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BookishBelle
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Pickpick

This has been making my commute much better for the past little while. I really enjoyed getting to spend more time in the world of P&P with one of the Bennett sisters. Very well done! #audio #audiocommute

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CrowCAH
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review
Preciouz29
Pickpick

I loved everything about this except Mary. However, she did improve at the very end, so let‘s see how she does next book!

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CrowCAH
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#BookBub deal
$00.00 on Amazon - FREE

Snag your copy today!

**note the tagged book is not the same as the picture.**

#PemberLittens

DivineDiana Thank you! I got it! It is volume 3 in a series. Hope it can stand alone! 3y
CrowCAH @DivineDiana yay glad you got it! 😊 3y
44 likes1 stack add2 comments