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Matilda

(6,384 posts)
Tue May 6, 2014, 11:02 PM May 2014

Pride and Prejudice from another angle.

I am currently reading "Longbourn" by Jo Baker. It's about the characters in Pride and Prejudice from the point of view of the servants at Longbourn.

The main characters of Austen's novel are incidental - we read about the day to day work and doings of the servants - how they feel about having to scrub the dirt out of Miss Elizabeth's petticoats after she's been rambling through the fields, for example. Jo Baker has done her research well - I'm fascinated about the way people lived back then, and she's come up with all sorts of angles that I've never thought of before.

She's also a good story teller - obviously her style is not the same as Austen's, but the book flows well, the characters are finely drawn, and the story is one that involves the reader from the start.

If you enjoy Austen and her times, I highly recommend this book.

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Pride and Prejudice from another angle. (Original Post) Matilda May 2014 OP
Thanks for the suggestion. I will look for it. Tuesday Afternoon May 2014 #1
Sounds like an interesting read. Curmudgeoness May 2014 #2
Looks interesting. I'll go to my library tomorrow SheilaT May 2014 #3
Does It Have Zombies? Wolf Frankula May 2014 #4

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
2. Sounds like an interesting read.
Wed May 7, 2014, 08:26 PM
May 2014

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books, and the time that they live in is fascinating. And I always love books about the ordinary people instead of the wealthy. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
3. Looks interesting. I'll go to my library tomorrow
Sun May 11, 2014, 05:45 PM
May 2014

and check it out.

Of course, I only currently have 13 books checked out, although one is ready to be returned to the library. I could finish at least one other book today, if I didn't waste so much time on DU.

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