Author - Jo Baker
ISBN - 978-0-552-77951-7
My Copy - Purchased
My Rating - 4 / 5
Where You Can Find It - Goodreads - Amazon UK - Amazon US - Waterstones - Barnes & Noble
Longbourn by Jo Baker is a re telling of Pride & Prejudice from the Servants point of view it follows Mr & Mrs Hill, the two maids Sarah and Polly and they are joined by a mysterious man who comes in the darkness and smells of the sea and Mr Bennet give him the job of the new footman. James Smith has many secrets when he meets Sarah a relationship ensues but with a meddling George Wickham will he ever be safe and free to live his life.
Going into this book i had quite high expectations and i will admit it didn't really reach most of them. Some parts of this book was very predictable and if you want a book that has the Bennet's painted in a good light, this is not the book for you. This is a very real depiction of life under the stairs in the regency era. Most of the story was told in the POV of Sarah one of the maids and personally to me it came across as the woman were always horrible and the men were on a pedestal. I figured out James' story almost straight away. James and Sarah's relationship to me was very rushed and for the time no one seemed to bat an eyelid, Mrs Hill and the rest of the staff just ignored it and SPOILERS ***** when James left and Mrs Hill just asked her practically over dinner if she was with child *****.
I did like aspects Longbourn, it was cleverly written the way it follows Pride & Prejudice. I also was very happy with how real it the life people lived back then was depicted. With cleaning of clothes and "Napkins" used during their times of the month, and in a house with up to 8 woman that is a lot of washing. We also find out more about the Bingley's and how they came into money by using Slaves and importing Sugar and his butler is the other man in a love triangle that doesn't really take off.
So overall I gave this book 3 Flags because it was enjoyable but very predictable
**** full SPOILER review coming soon ****
Until Next Time
Happy Reading
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