COLLEEN McCULLOUGH TAKES UP JANE AUSTEN’S PEN

I picked up a 2008 novel by Colleen McCullough in one of our local street libraries. It was titled The Independence of Mary Bennet. My first thought was how brave it was to continue  the lives of the  Bennet sisters after  Jane Austen put down her pen  at the end of  Pride and Prejudice.

McCullough always was brave, and not one to care much about the opinion of others. That may have been just as well, because Austen fans are fiercely loyal. Mind you, I couldn’t even remember the book being published, let alone how it was received.

The story begins  twenty years on from where we left the characters in Pride and Prejudice. Mary is now 38, and remains unmarried. Following the death of her obnoxious mother she is free to live her own life. Her looks have improved dramatically, but finding a husband is not on her agenda. Her  worthy ambition  is to travel the country documenting social injustice.

McCullough’s idea of transforming  the  plainest of the sisters was inspired, but on page 31 there was a discordant note that reminded me of poor Mary  hitting the wrong note in one of her infamous musical performances.

Discussing her sister Jane’s multiple pregnancies, McCullough has Mary comment to Elizabeth;

‘I know I am not supposed to know about such things Lizzie, but can’t someone tell brother  Charles to  plug it with a cork?’

Now I know the book is not meant to be taken too seriously,  but I just cannot imagine Mary saying such a thing, no matter how emancipated she is meant to have become. Anyway, I pressed on.

I read another 100 pages before hitting a second, even more  unlikely bit of dialogue. To be fair, the story was engaging, so since I’d committed to writing  this review I thought I should finish the novel.

Unfortunately, despite my good intentions, I just could not do it.   It was  drunken sister Lydia’s  outburst that ‘did me in’.  It was not  so much her ludicrous use of the ‘c’ word, but the whole scenario.   Imagine a book written by a deranged Charles Dickens and you may have some idea of what I mean.

I decided there were too many other books to read and things to do to waste any more time. Skimming through the rest was enough, and I made a few notes between splitting wood and eating cake.

I needed something stronger than tea while reading the novel!

BACKLASH FROM THE PURISTS

Here is an extract on the book from Wikipedia;

McCullough’s 2008 novel, The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet engendered controversy with her reworking of characters from Jane Austen’s Pride and  Prejudice. Susannah Fullerton, the president of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, said she ‘shuddered’ while reading the novel as she felt that Elizabeth Bennet was rewritten as weak, and Mr Darcy as savage. Fullerton said [Elizabeth] is one of the strongest, liveliest heroines in literature…[and] Darcy’s spirit and nobility of character make her fall in love with him…why should those essential traits in both of them change in 20 years?

Well, despite my inability to finish the book, I’m not sure I entirely agree with Fullerton. People do change within a long relationship and women of thar era and class were utterly naive about sex and marriage.

McCullough was unrepentant about upsetting Austen fans and scholars. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald she said,

‘I only did it because I wanted to get that response. In all honesty, Jane Austen’s overrated.’  😎

Look at McCullough’s wicked smile! (Source – Amazon.com)

The overall  premise of the story was  credible enough given the north’s ‘dark satanic mills’ and the country’s links with slavery. However,  the telling of it, even allowing for humour,  was a bit of a disaster. It takes a lot for me to abandon a book and surely no writer wants that result. I’ve since returned it to the street library.

Here is one of many single star reviews on Goodreads;

In fairness, there are many more four and  five star reviews, proving that we all have different opinions.

FOR INFORMATION ON THE LIFE AND  CAREER OF COLLEEN McCULLOUGH, CLICK HERE.