Title: Longbourn  

Author: Jo Baker

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Random House Canada

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 352

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A brilliantly imagined, irresistible below-stairs answer to Pride and Prejudice: a story of the romance, intrigue and drama among the servants of the Bennet household, a triumphant tale of defying society’s expectations, and an illuminating glimpse of working-class lives in Regency England.

The servants at Longbourn estate–only glancingly mentioned in Jane Austen’s classic–take centre stage in Jo Baker’s lively, cunning new novel. Here are the Bennets as we have never known them: seen through the eyes of those scrubbing the floors, cooking the meals, emptying the chamber pots. Our heroine is Sarah, an orphaned housemaid beginning to chafe against the boundaries of her class. When the militia marches into town, a new footman arrives under mysterious circumstances, and Sarah finds herself the object of the attentions of an ambitious young former slave working at neighboring Netherfield Hall, the carefully choreographed world downstairs at Longbourn threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, up-ended. From the stern but soft-hearted housekeeper to the starry-eyed kitchen maid, these new characters come vividly to life in this already beloved world. Jo Baker shows us what Jane Austen wouldn’t in a captivating, wonderfully evocative, moving work of fiction.

Review:

Here is my last read of March!! This book was an interesting read! It follows the lives of the servants of Longbourn, and how they experienced certain events in Pride and Prejudice.

I loved the characters created by the author. Sarah is the main character, who is one of the female servants who serve the young ladies of the household. She has a sense of innocence about her, and experiences many different life events throughout the book. Then there is a footman, James, who arrives on scene and causes quite a stir! The characters lead interesting lives themselves, and it was cool to see the book and the characters through other lives. The beginning of the book was really cool, but by the end, I felt like the author had stretched the story a bit much to wow the readers, and I was a little disappointed in the ending. I finished the book thinking that’s it? (Even though yes, I know how the actual story ends). I just felt like there was so much more potential to the ending of this story!

Overall though, a fascinating read that I would recommend to all Jane Austen fan!
Happy reading bookworms.