Bridgerton meets Pride and Prejudice: could newly announced BBC drama The Other Bennet Sister offer a modern take on the Jane Austen classic?

Jane Austen could really be quite unkind. While pride and Prejudice tells one of the most famous love stories in literature (the author herself described Lizzie Bennet as “a delightful creature that ever appeared in print”). Numerous supporting characters fall by the wayside in this cross-generational love story, which is brought down by Austen’s razor-sharp wit – a lame fox in front of a horse-drawn carriage.

Take poor old Mary Bennet, for example. “The only unremarkable one in the family,” Austen barely mentions Mary in the book, making only brief asides to remind readers that Lizzie’s sister has “neither genius nor taste,” or noting that she “wanted to say something sensible , but didn’t know. ‘How.’ Pedantic, conceited and not particularly bright, Mary Bennet, writes Charlotte Jones, “neglected by her parents and unmarried, her quiet and vain presence… is the best possible testimony to the ranks of unremarkable women she represents.”

Well: inconspicuous no longer! To save this most memorable of characters from the shame of irrelevance, the BBC has announced a new film pride and Prejudice Spin-off based on the life of none other than simple Mary Bennet herself. The other Bennet sisterbased on the novel of the same name by Janice Hadlow, will make its social debut on our screens at an unknown date. If the synopsis is anything to go by, this new historical drama could have a head start Bridgertonbook and give the classic novel a sharper interpretation.

“Unlike her sisters, Mary is not your typical historical drama heroine,” it says. “She’s awkward, timid, preachy, full of facts, a terrible singer…overlooked by her mother and seemingly destined to have a blank dance card for the rest of her life…until Mary takes matters into her own hands.”