Series: The Other Bennet Sister
Episode: 8
Based on: The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow
Setting: The Lake District
Main character: Mary Bennet
Having decided that marriage may not be necessary for her happiness, Mary Bennet heads north with the Gardiners in search of a new beginning. Instead, the Lake District brings an unexpected reunion with Tom Hayward and the possibility that Mary may not be finished with love after all.
Unexpected news about Tom
On the journey north, Mary unexpectedly bumps into Anne Baxter at a coaching inn. Anne has startling news; her long understanding with Tom has ended, and she is now engaged to Mr Powell, whom she met at William Ryder’s supper.
Anne explains that she cared deeply for Tom, but they were ultimately not suited. Tom had spent years trying to advance his career so that they could afford to marry, which ultimately put strain on them both.
Mary is sympathetic, buat the news also changes everything.
Tom joins the Gardiners
Mary arrives the Lakes determined to build an independent future. She is even considering becoming a governess outside her own family. Then Tom appears.
Mrs Gardiner has encouraged him to take a break from work and join them, and Mary is clearly delighted to see him. Tom gives her Wordsworth’s guide to the Lake District and promises a combination particularly suited to Mary: geography and poetry.
When Mary admits that Mrs Bennet remains disappointed in her, Tom is genuinely upset. He tells her he is sorry that anyone has ever made her feel like a disappointment.
Mary then tells Tom that she encountered Anne and knows about their broken engagement. Both carefully avoid saying what they are actually thinking.
Mary discovers the Lakes
Mary and Tom spend more time together, fishing and sketching the landscape. Neither proves particularly gifted at drawing. Tom’s attempt at a duck appears to have too many legs, while Mary decides they might enjoy the scenery more if they stop trying to reproduce it.
Their conversation becomes more serious when Mary tells him that William Ryder’s visit to Pemberley did not result in an engagement. She is considering a future as a governess instead.
Tom seems strangely reluctant to accept that Mary has abandoned marriage altogether. Perhaps, he suggests, she should have “one last look about”. Mary insists she has learnt her lesson. Romantic hope only leads to disappointment.
Mary finally understands Wordsworth
That evening, Tom finds Mary struggling with Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey. She asks him to read it aloud.
As Tom reads Wordsworth’s meditation on nature, memory and human feeling, Mary initially tries to analyse the poem and take notes. Tom gently tells her to stop. For once, Mary simply listens.
Surrounded by the landscape that inspired the Romantic poets, something finally clicks. Mary understands that poetry does not always need to be dissected intellectually.
Tom admits that despite having read the poem countless times, he has never felt its power as strongly as he does now. Mary quietly agrees.
The moment between them is unmistakable.
Tom tries to tell Mary the truth
Tom finally explains what happened with Anne. Ending their understanding was actually a relief. They had made the agreement when they were young, but over the years his feelings changed.
Recently, he says, they changed “quite significantly”. He hopes Mary might feel the same way. Before he can say anything more, someone shouts from across the water.
It is William Ryder.
William makes a spectacular entrance
William has followed Tom to the Lakes, supposedly because he requires legal advice. Rather than wait onshore like a normal person, he promptly enters the water and tries to reach their boat.
Chaos follows. Tom attempts to pull William aboard, Mary loses an oar, and eventually the two men have to swim back.
William’s arrival is bad enough. Then the Hursts appear, and with them comes Caroline Bingley.
Mary’s peaceful escape from society has suddenly become very crowded indeed.
Two men, one mountain
Tom and Mary have already planned to climb Scafell together the following day. Now William announces that he will join them. So do the Hursts and Caroline, despite Tom’s warnings that the climb requires preparation.
Before retiring, Tom quietly asks Mary if they might walk together, away from the others. At the summit, he hopes they can finish the conversation William interrupted.
Then William approaches Mary. He apologises for his proposal at Pemberley, but hasn’t given up.
William believes he has discovered a way for them to have the life he proposed while still satisfying society’s expectations. Finding Mary unexpectedly in the Lakes seems, to him, like fate. He promises that when they reach the summit of Scafell Pike, he will make amends.
Mary came to the Lakes having finally decided that she did not need to marry at all. Now, to her astonishment, she appears to have the admiration of two men she cares about.
And both intend to settle matters at the top of a mountain.
Historical notes
Wordsworth’s guide to the Lakes: Wordsworth really did publish a guide to the Lake District. His Guide through the District of the Lakes grew from an earlier introduction published in 1810 and eventually became a guide in its own right. Wordsworth wasn’t simply writing poetry about the landscape; he helped shape the way nineteenth-century visitors understood and experienced the Lakes.
Dorothy Wordsworth and walking: Dorothy Wordsworth was an adventurous walker herself. William’s sister travelled extensively on foot and recorded the landscapes she encountered in her journals. Her writings show just how important walking and direct experience of nature were to the Wordsworth circle, making Mary’s enthusiasm for climbing particularly appropriate in an episode about discovering Romanticism outside books.
Tourism in the Lake District: The Lake District was becoming a tourist destination. Improved roads, published guides and the growing Romantic fascination with dramatic landscapes brought increasing numbers of visitors to the region during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Travellers came to walk, sketch, fish, boat and admire the scenery, almost exactly the programme Mary and the Gardiners follow.
Where to watch The Other Bennet Sister
The Other Bennet Sister is available on BBC iPlayer in the UK, BritBox in the US and Canada, and BINGE and Foxtel Now in Australia. Availability varies in other countries.
