First Post

At the end of Pride and Prejudice, Mary Bennet is the only sister left living with her parents. Jane and Eliza have found marital bliss as Mrs Bingley and Mrs Darcy respectively. Lydia has adjusted to her circumstances as the unfortunate Mrs Wickham and Kitty is said to be take the opportunity to escape home by frequently visiting her married sisters.

Mary is said to be enjoying the solitude or, at least, the fact that she no longer has to be compared to her more conventionally attractive sisters in the local matrimonial market. I like to think of her growing up and older, spending her days reading at the table, in the bath, in trees. At parties she sings out of tune and shares her opinions with any and everyone regardless of what they think of her.

Her sisters would never understand her and, as the years passed, become more reluctant to invite her to visit. Her many nieces and nephews would receive disappointingly difficult books at Christmas rather than lollies.

We never do find out whether there was someone for Mary. But then, maybe Mary preferred it that way. Perhaps she would have started a discreet correspondence with authors of books she liked. Maybe one of these would invite her to share his garrett. But it doesn't really matter.

Mary loved to read and that's a good thing.