
Mary B: A Novel
An Untold Story of Pride and Prejudice
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.25
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Marisa Calin
About this listen
“A new, wholly original perspective on [Pride and Prejudice]...the ultimate Austen adaptation for our time.” [Real Simple, “Best Books of 2018 (So Far)]”
Named a best summer read by Newsday, Bustle, and Family Circle
The overlooked middle sister in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice casts off her prim exterior and takes center stage in this fresh retelling of the classic novel.
What is to be done with Mary Bennet? She possesses neither the beauty of her eldest sister, Jane, nor the high-spirited wit of second-born Lizzy. Even compared to her frivolous younger siblings, Kitty and Lydia, Mary knows she is lacking in the ways that matter for single, not-so-well-to-do women in 19th-century England who must secure their futures through the finding of a husband. As her sisters wed one by one, Mary pictures herself growing old, a spinster with no estate to run or children to mind, dependent on the charity of others. At least she has the silent rebellion and secret pleasures of reading and writing to keep her company. But even her fictional creations are no match for the scandal, tragedy, and romance that eventually visit Mary’s own life.
In Mary B, listeners are transported beyond the center of the ballroom to discover that wallflowers are sometimes the most intriguing guests at the party. Beneath Mary’s plain appearance and bookish demeanor simmers an inner life brimming with passion, humor, and imagination - and a voice that demands to be heard. Set before, during, and after the events of Pride and Prejudice, Katherine J. Chen’s vividly original debut novel pays homage to a beloved classic while envisioning a life that is difficult to achieve in any era: that of a truly independent woman.
Praise for Mary B:
“The best part about Mary’s star turn is that it bears little relation to the fates of her sisters. She’s a simmering, churning, smart woman determined to concoct an independent life.”(The Washington Post)
“Pride and Prejudice’s beloved story is re-spun through the eyes of mousy, overlooked - and now feminist - middle child, Mary.” (Family Circle)
©2018 Katherine J. Chen (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc
- By: Katherine J. Chen
- Narrated by: Hannah Morrish
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1412. France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. From this chaos emerges a teenage girl who will turn the tide of battle and lead the French to victory, becoming an unlikely hero whose name will echo across the centuries.
-
-
Fascinating, Beautifully written
- By Anne Sanchez on 06-16-24
-
The Invisible Hour
- A Novel
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Jessie Mueller
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?
-
-
An exquisite story about love and libraries.
- By Lori A Benson on 09-26-23
By: Alice Hoffman
-
The Marriage Portrait
- A Novel
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt, Maggie O'Farrell
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and to devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding, Lucrezia is thrust into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf. Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must make her way in a court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed.
-
-
If You Love Alternate Histories, Get This
- By Jim on 09-26-22
By: Maggie O'Farrell
-
The Forgotten Garden
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-eight year old Cassandra is lost, alone, and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident 10 years ago, feels like she has lost everything known and dear to her.
-
-
Enchanting, intriguing, mysterious, and beautiful
- By Joseph on 12-10-08
By: Kate Morton
-
Learned by Heart
- By: Emma Donoghue
- Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on years of investigation and Anne Lister’s five-million-word secret journal, Learned by Heart is the long-buried love story of Eliza Raine, an orphan heiress banished from India to England at age six, and Anne Lister, a brilliant, troublesome tomboy, who meet at the Manor School for young ladies in York in 1805 when they are both fourteen. Emotionally intense, psychologically compelling, and deeply researched, Learned by Heart is an extraordinary work of fiction by one of the world’s greatest storytellers.
-
-
Absorbing. Believable. Loved it
- By Anonymous User on 02-02-24
By: Emma Donoghue
-
Happiness Falls (Good Morning America Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Angie Kim
- Narrated by: Shannon Tyo, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Thomas Pruyn, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.
-
-
A mixed review, but recommend
- By Andrea B. on 09-07-23
By: Angie Kim
-
Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc
- By: Katherine J. Chen
- Narrated by: Hannah Morrish
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1412. France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. From this chaos emerges a teenage girl who will turn the tide of battle and lead the French to victory, becoming an unlikely hero whose name will echo across the centuries.
-
-
Fascinating, Beautifully written
- By Anne Sanchez on 06-16-24
-
The Invisible Hour
- A Novel
- By: Alice Hoffman
- Narrated by: Jessie Mueller
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?
-
-
An exquisite story about love and libraries.
- By Lori A Benson on 09-26-23
By: Alice Hoffman
-
The Marriage Portrait
- A Novel
- By: Maggie O'Farrell
- Narrated by: Genevieve Gaunt, Maggie O'Farrell
- Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and to devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding, Lucrezia is thrust into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf. Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must make her way in a court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed.
-
-
If You Love Alternate Histories, Get This
- By Jim on 09-26-22
By: Maggie O'Farrell
-
The Forgotten Garden
- By: Kate Morton
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-eight year old Cassandra is lost, alone, and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident 10 years ago, feels like she has lost everything known and dear to her.
-
-
Enchanting, intriguing, mysterious, and beautiful
- By Joseph on 12-10-08
By: Kate Morton
-
Learned by Heart
- By: Emma Donoghue
- Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing on years of investigation and Anne Lister’s five-million-word secret journal, Learned by Heart is the long-buried love story of Eliza Raine, an orphan heiress banished from India to England at age six, and Anne Lister, a brilliant, troublesome tomboy, who meet at the Manor School for young ladies in York in 1805 when they are both fourteen. Emotionally intense, psychologically compelling, and deeply researched, Learned by Heart is an extraordinary work of fiction by one of the world’s greatest storytellers.
-
-
Absorbing. Believable. Loved it
- By Anonymous User on 02-02-24
By: Emma Donoghue
-
Happiness Falls (Good Morning America Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Angie Kim
- Narrated by: Shannon Tyo, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Thomas Pruyn, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.
-
-
A mixed review, but recommend
- By Andrea B. on 09-07-23
By: Angie Kim
-
Let Us Descend
- A Novel
- By: Jesmyn Ward
- Narrated by: Jesmyn Ward
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Let Us Descend describes a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. A journey that is as beautifully rendered as it is heart wrenching, the novel is “[t]he literary equivalent of an open wound from which poetry pours” (NPR). Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the listener’s guide. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother.
-
-
Usually I enjoy an author reading…
- By Patio on 11-04-23
By: Jesmyn Ward
-
The Vaster Wilds
- A Novel
- By: Lauren Groff
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A servant girl escapes from a colonial settlement in the wilderness. She carries nothing with her but her wits, a few possessions, and the spark of god that burns hot within her. What she finds in this terra incognita is beyond the limits of her imagination and will bend her belief in everything that her own civilization has taught her.
-
-
Slow torture written too hastily
- By Jennifer on 09-23-23
By: Lauren Groff
-
Weyward
- A Novel
- By: Emilia Hart
- Narrated by: Aysha Kala, Helen Keeley, Nell Barlow
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.
-
-
Awful, Problematic Story
- By Anonymous User on 04-23-23
By: Emilia Hart
-
Trust (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
- By: Hernan Diaz
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Jonathan Davis, Mozhan Marnò, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Even through the roar and effervescence of the 1920s, everyone in New York has heard of Benjamin and Helen Rask. He is a legendary Wall Street tycoon; she is the daughter of eccentric aristocrats. Together, they have risen to the very top of a world of seemingly endless wealth—all as a decade of excess and speculation draws to an end. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune? This is the mystery at the center of Bonds, a successful 1937 novel that all of New York seems to have read. Yet there are other versions of this tale of privilege and deceit.
-
-
Before Purchasing
- By JLDLOfficial on 08-13-22
By: Hernan Diaz
-
The Latecomer
- A Novel
- By: Jean Hanff Korelitz
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Latecomer follows the story of the wealthy, New York City-based Oppenheimer family, from the first meeting of parents Salo and Johanna, under tragic circumstances, to their triplets born during the early days of IVF. As children, the three siblings—Harrison, Lewyn, and Sally—feel no strong familial bond and cannot wait to go their separate ways, even as their father becomes more distanced and their mother more desperate. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna, faced with being truly alone, makes the decision to have a fourth child.
-
-
Conservatives and religious are the villains
- By Ashley on 09-01-22
-
Birnam Wood
- A Novel
- By: Eleanor Catton
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A landslide has closed the Korowai Pass on New Zealand’s South Island, cutting off the town of Thorndike and leaving a sizable farm abandoned. The disaster presents an opportunity for Birnam Wood, an undeclared, unregulated, sometimes-criminal, sometimes-philanthropic guerrilla gardening collective that plants crops wherever no one will notice. For years, the group has struggled to break even. To occupy the farm at Thorndike would mean a shot at solvency at last. But the enigmatic American billionaire Robert Lemoine also has an interest in the place.
-
-
Outstanding thriller w/ exceptional character development
- By Bradley T. Collins on 04-21-23
By: Eleanor Catton
-
Autumn Masquerade
- Timeless Regency Collection, Book 1
- By: Josi S. Kilpack, Donna Hatch, Nancy Campbell Allen
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lila overhears her uncle talking about a man coming to look for property in the county, she doesn't think twice, until her uncle says he hopes Lila will find enough interest to marry the man. How can she marry someone named Mortimer Luthford, not to mention that his advanced age of thirty-three, and especially since she's already in love with her absent cousin Neville?
-
-
Happily Ever After
- By J. Byerly on 02-11-20
By: Josi S. Kilpack, and others
-
Hester
- A Novel
- By: Laurie Lico Albanese
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Edinburgh for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic—leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible. When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other.
-
-
Exquisite
- By Bird Miller on 10-08-22
-
Five Daughters Out at Once
- A Pride & Prejudice Variation
- By: Jayne Bamber
- Narrated by: Stevie Zimmerman
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After the untimely death of their parents, Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters are left to make their own way in the world, and the dubious decision to stay at Longbourn until they are forced out leads to chaos and confrontation. Will the Bennet sisters find love and happiness? What other Jane Austen heroes and rakes might appear in the once dull village of Meryton? Will Darcy and Lizzy overcome the obstacles of their own making? Find out in this reimagining of the classic novel.
-
-
Somehow the mashup of all mashups comes out like fine cuisine
- By MHTex on 01-30-22
By: Jayne Bamber
-
Amy Snow
- A Novel
- By: Tracy Rees
- Narrated by: Melody Grove
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1831 when eight-year-old Aurelia Vennaway finds a naked baby girl abandoned in the snow on the grounds of her aristocratic family's magnificent mansion. Her parents are horrified that she has brought a bastard foundling into the house, but Aurelia convinces them to keep the baby, whom she names Amy Snow. Amy is brought up as a second-class citizen, but she and Aurelia are as close as sisters. When Aurelia dies at the age of 23, she leaves Amy 10 pounds. But Aurelia also left her much more.
-
-
Don't miss out on this one.
- By laurie eller on 01-24-17
By: Tracy Rees
-
Act of Oblivion
- A Novel
- By: Robert Harris
- Narrated by: Tim McInnerny
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1660 England. General Edward Whalley and his son-in law Colonel William Goffe board a ship bound for the New World. They are on the run, wanted for the murder of King Charles I—a brazen execution that marked the culmination of the English Civil War, in which parliamentarians successfully battled royalists for control.
-
-
I've loved Robert Harris' Books; but...
- By Lucy on 10-16-22
By: Robert Harris
-
The Heiress Companion
- By: Madeleine Robins
- Narrated by: Ione Butler
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rowena Cherwood did not go around boasting of it, but she had a tidy legacy from her parents. Free to choose the life she wanted, and unwilling to live with her overbearing aunt, she accepted a position as Lady Bradwell's companion. A spinster of twenty-seven, Rowena gave little thought to marriage - until Lyn Bradwell, Lady Bradwell's long absent son, returned to England.Love was the last thing on Rowena's mind - or Lyn's.
-
-
Short and sweet.
- By AC-US on 09-09-19
By: Madeleine Robins
Critic reviews
“Mary is an adventurer, a lover, and a heroine with far more gumption and grit than meets the eye.” (Bustle)
“Perhaps not even a newly discovered Austen manuscript could exceed the delicious pleasure of Mary B. From an unswept corner of literature, Katherine J. Chen has conjured a heroine whose story is heartbreaking, hilarious, and, finally, thrilling. Mary B is a delight.” (Susan Choi, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of American Woman and My Education)
“Katherine J. Chen has dipped into Pride and Prejudice to pluck out and celebrate the seemingly most unpromising of the Bennet sisters. In giving Mary Bennet a resonant voice of her own, Chen has fashioned a luminous and enlightening novel that will entrance even, or especially, those who have not read Jane Austen’s masterpiece.” (John Banville, Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Sea and Mrs. Osmond)
What listeners say about Mary B: A Novel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Therese Van Arsdale
- 05-26-19
Hear, Hear Mary B
This is an interesting take on Pride and Prejudice and although I can't agree with all of Ms Chen's choices, I did find them refreshing. There are some mistakes that really annoyed me. The Bennets are not poor, they are undowered because neither of their parents is any good at managing money. They are in the top fifteen percent of earnings of their era. The descriptions of shabbiness at Longbourne comes more from the Keira Knightley film than they do from the novel. Why did she make Mr Collins short when Jane Austen said he was a tall heavily built young man? Plain isn't a discrete way of saying ugly. It simply means ordinary, nondescript, not pretty, May Bennet wouldn't have broken any mirrors. No mother as dedicated to marrying off her daughters as Mrs Bennet would allow her daughter to dress like a governess in greys and browns--just wouldn't happen. There is no Bedfordhire County, this is an American usage. Any UK County ending in ---shire is simply ---shire i,e, Hampshire, Lincolnshire, Herefordshire. Counties without the ---shire ending are County Whatever; i,e. County Durham, County Devon and so on. This grated because this is easily researched and someone should have caught it. Yes, I am capable of being as pedantic as Mary Bennet.
That said Ms Chen does create a compelling character in her Mary Bennet, she's as witty as Lizzy and has her own take on the world around her. Often a caustic take. This frees her of some of the constraints of her society and allows her to forge her own path. Seeing the events of Pride and Prejudice through her eyes adds new dimensions to the well-loved story and makes us reconsider the characters JA fans know and love so well. This, however, is only the first part of the novel. Most of the story is set at Pemberley where Mary has been invited for a long visit as Lizzy awaits the birth of a child. While staying at the great house she meets and befriends Col. Fitzwilliam and Mr Darcy himself. I don't want to give away to much of the story but this part of the story asks a question that is both old and new: Can a woman attract a man with something other than her look? Mary uses her abilty to make friends as a way to forge relationships. Will it work?
This is a sprightly novel full of wit, and Ms Chen delivers her tale with a light touch and wonderful character descriptions. She's thought through her plot well and uses it to raise interesting questions.
Loved it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- celeste curley
- 08-14-18
Not sure what to say....
I liked parts of this book very much. I disliked parts equally as much. I think I just couldn’t accept the turn the futures, particularly of Lizzy, took in the book. The ending came quickly and rushed. And, although I think it was meant to be uplifting and triumphant I found it a bit mean-spirited and ungrateful .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 03-08-20
It's a big fat NO for me!
I normally don't write reviews but I had to with this one.
What can I say, I was so incredibly disappointed in this! I've read many retellings and sequels not all were great but this one had to be the most disappointing one I've ever read. Just the way the author changed key characters personalities was quite horrible.
*Spoilers* Elizabeth & Darcy were not great at all in this one. They aren't even nice. Very selfish portrayals. Also the author made you feel sorry for Mr. Collins and Lydia REALLY!!!! that wasn't necessary at all but to each it's own.
If you are an Austen purist do not read this book! You have been warned.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- carole thorn
- 08-28-18
LOVED IT! Completely transported me far away.
Listened four times. Didnt want it to end. Wished I could have stayed with Mary.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tag
- 01-27-24
A fun romp
The author has turned Mary Bennet into a sort of naughty librarian archetype on these fun pages.
I enjoyed it rather a lot.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 11-21-18
Unfortunate novel
While this book was well written it seems arrogant and foolish to deprecate one of the great classics, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin just to further one character (Mary Bennett). It was difficult to like Mary, who was dour, boring, and just hard to like. While I liked the feminist theme of the novel, the fact that the author had to denigrate everyone else so Mary could shine was unfortunate.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Grandma SS
- 08-01-18
Disappointing
The story started off good but quickly turned into a terrible romance novel. If you are a Jane Austen fan skip this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful