3.5
The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet
ByPublisher Description
Jane Austen meets Bridgerton in this sapphic romance between Charlotte Lucas and Mary Bennet that begins four years after the end of Pride and Prejudice.
When Mr. Collins dies after just four years of marriage, Charlotte is lost. While not exactly heartbroken, she will soon have to quit the parsonage that has become her home. In desperate need of support, she writes to her best friend, Lizzie. Unable to leave Pemberley, Lizzie sends her sister Mary Bennet in her stead.
To Charlotte’s surprise, Mary Bennet is nothing like she remembers. Mary’s discovery of academia and her interest in botany (as well as getting out from under her mother’s thumb) have caused her to flourish. Before long, Charlotte is enraptured, and with each stolen glance and whispered secret, their friendship quickly blossoms into something achingly real.
But when her time at the parsonage begins to dwindle and a potential suitor appears, Charlotte must make a choice—the safety and security of another husband, or a passionate life with Mary outside the confines of the ton’s expectations.
The Austentatious Series
• Book 1: The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet
• Book 2: The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley
When Mr. Collins dies after just four years of marriage, Charlotte is lost. While not exactly heartbroken, she will soon have to quit the parsonage that has become her home. In desperate need of support, she writes to her best friend, Lizzie. Unable to leave Pemberley, Lizzie sends her sister Mary Bennet in her stead.
To Charlotte’s surprise, Mary Bennet is nothing like she remembers. Mary’s discovery of academia and her interest in botany (as well as getting out from under her mother’s thumb) have caused her to flourish. Before long, Charlotte is enraptured, and with each stolen glance and whispered secret, their friendship quickly blossoms into something achingly real.
But when her time at the parsonage begins to dwindle and a potential suitor appears, Charlotte must make a choice—the safety and security of another husband, or a passionate life with Mary outside the confines of the ton’s expectations.
The Austentatious Series
• Book 1: The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet
• Book 2: The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet Reviews
3.5
“Sapphic yearning! I repeat, sapphic YEARNING!! Okay what a crazy headcannon to have confirmed. This book was just LOVELY it gave me such a warm and cosy feeling from start to finish. I really loved how the writing felt like it came straight from Jane Austen herself.
I do wish I’d saved this as a spring read I think it would have made for a really immersive read :)”
About Lindz McLeod
Lindz McLeod is a queer, working-class, Scottish writer and poet who dabbles in the surreal. Her short prose has been published by Apex, Catapult, Pseudopod, and many more. Her longer work includes the short story collection TURDUCKEN (Spaceboy, 2023), as well as her books BEAST (Hear Us Scream, 2023), SUNBATHERS (Hedone Books, 2024), THE UNLIKELY PURSUIT OF MARY BENNET (Harlequin, 2025), and AN HONOUR AND A PRIVILEGE (Stanchion, 2025). Her work has been taught in schools, universities, and turned into avant-garde opera. She is a full member of the SFWA, the club president of the Edinburgh Writers' Club, and is currently studying for a PhD in Creative Writing. She lives in Edinburgh with her fiancee and their two internet-famous cats, Fitzwilliam and Dane. Find out more at www.lindzmcleod.co.uk or follow Lindz on social media @lindzmcleod
Other books by Lindz McLeod
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