Bookseller Reviews
View all
A great read!
This is Baker's attempt at telling us the servants side of Longbourn, and what a good attempt it is. She has clearly done her research well and painted a c... READ MORE
Outstanding
Many authors have attempted to write about the world of Jane Austen's fiction including most recently P.D James whose Death Comes to Pemberley left me a bi... READ MORE
a view of the Bennets from Downstairs
This book has already been given a fair amount of hype, and with a film already in the pipeline it is bound to do very well. It is not really a new concept... READ MORE
Synopsis
If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah thought, she would be more careful not to trudge through muddy fields. It is wash-day for the housemaids at Longbourn House, and Sarah's hands are chapped and bleeding. Domestic life below stairs, ruled tenderly and forcefully by Mrs Hill the housekeeper, is about to be disturbed by the arrival of a new footman smelling of the sea, and bearing secrets. For in Georgian England, there is a world the young ladies in the drawing room will never know, a world of poverty, love, and brutal war.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
- ISBN: 9780857522016
- Dimensions: 240 x 161 x 30 mm
- Weight: 612g
Customer Reviews
View allRealistic and well researched
I was not prepared to like Longbourn as much as I did, purely because I thought it was an attempt at sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Previously I have found... READ MORE
A below stairs view of Pride and Prejudice
As I’m not a great fan of Pride and Prejudice, I was wary about reading this book. I needn’t have worried as I was drawn in almost from the beginning into ... READ MORE
No Jane Austen wit
When I first heard about Longbourn - a kind of Downton Abbey meets Pride and Prejudice, telling the stories of the staff serving The Bennet family - I was ... READ MORE
A good book, just forget about Pride and Prejudice
I was looking forward to reading this, as I thought that it was an interesting idea and would be a good addition to the Pride and Prejudice cannon. I was l... READ MORE
good
I loved pride and prejudice while growing up, and this was a lovely twist on the classic, but needs to be read by not judging on the classic to appriciate ... READ MORE
A different read!
It took me a while to get into this book but I'm glad I stuck with it as from about a third of the way through you really start to race through it. As a fa... READ MORE
A modern classic?
I was a little wary of this book as a fan of Pride and Prejudice, but I was really pleased I read it. It is written from the point of view of the servants ... READ MORE
Excellent
We are taken through the kitchen door and into the parallel universe of the servants at Longbourn, a totally different experience from the world of Jane Au... READ MORE
Longbourn revisited
Fabulous! A beautifully written book. I really enjoyed the descriptive style which evoked strong visual pictures in my head. At one point I felt as if I wa... READ MORE
Pride & Prejudice meets Downton Abbey
At first I worried that this would be yet another rehash of a classic novel with nothing very much added to the story. And yet the world below stairs at Lo... READ MORE
A Keeper
Beautifully timed to coincide with the 200th Anniversary of the first publication of Pride and Prejudice, Jo Baker’s Longbourn takes you behind the gentile... READ MORE
Fantastic!
When I first began reading this book I felt it was a little irrelevant that the book was set at Longbourn during the events of Pride and Prejudice - this w... READ MORE
Wow such a good novel
Longbourne for me was a such a special read.I found I could just picture the servants in what they were wearing and what the house throughout looked out. I... READ MORE
Well written
I haven't read Pride and Prejudice and don't normally read books of this genre. I found the book to be very well written with excellent, believable charact... READ MORE
best novel for August 2013
This story has exceptional drama in the company of the servants of the Bennet household. A story deliciously filled with romance.Here is Georgian England w... READ MORE
A very good book
It is always good to read a story from a different angle and this is indeed different. It is good to know the story of those who reside downstairs! and I t... READ MORE
Intriguing read...
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters are believable and the language as well as the story flows beautifully. The author manages to make the d... READ MORE
A perfectly beautiful love story!!
This book is a little bit slow to start, but persevere because once it gets going this story becomes a real insight into love and loyalty and ends with a v... READ MORE
Pride and Prejudice not as you know it
If you are buying this book because you want a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of the servants then you should still buy this book... READ MORE
A fabulous retelling
Review: wow! What a fabulous retelling! When I first heard about this book I thought it was a wonderful concept and knew that I would have to read it. Now ... READ MORE
A wonderful read
An absolute delight. A great and compelling insight into life below stairs in early 19th century England. A fitting tribute to Pride and Prejudice told fro... READ MORE
Brilliant Book. Very gritty story.
I really like the story in this book. In a fictional setting. Very much a Downton Abbey type book. It is very descriptive in the story of what life is like... READ MORE
The Servants' Story behind Pride and Prejudice
Among the huge pile of Pride and Prejudice sequels and associated books available, this one really stands out. Covering the period of the novel, it tells t... READ MORE
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