Longbourn

"Felt a bit one note and I didn’t love the switch to the story about the James character towards the end (should have happened earlier?). But I liked being back in the P&P world "

"A terrific novel, but I fear hardcore Janeites will be disappointed. There is little humor and none of the sparkling wit characterizing the originals: instead this is a sobering, unsentimental look at the thankless work and suffering endured by the near-invisible servant class in Austen's fiction.We may cheer Lizzie's intrepid march through the Netherfield mud, but for housemaid Sarah it means lye soap, "biting into her hands, already cracked and chapped and chilblained, making them sting. If Elizabeth had the washing of her own petticoats, she'd be a sight more careful with them". The Bennet circle, viewed through a servant's eye come off very differently: Sarah sympathizes with the socially awkward Mr Collins and is terrified that Lizzie's rejection means he may wed a stranger who will dismiss the old servants. Mr. Darcy and Colonel Forster are cold, callous and forbidding, Lizzie and Jane self-absorbed, and Mr. Wickham can treat a young servant girl far worse than he did Miss Darcy or Miss Lydia. For the Bennet girls,happiness in marriage may be entirely a matter of chance, but their whims could threaten a servant's very survival."

"A literary historical fiction that is beautiful in its yearning and its examination of the working class people that made Lizzy and Darcy’s love story possible. It wrote with a kindness that broke my heart, and I feel as if it deserves a place next to Wide Sargasso Sea in your literary lexicon. Its commentary on class, and the feminism of the original text is amazing, and doesn’t take away from Pride and Prejudice, but rather enriches it."

"I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written and it was great to imagine full lives for these periphery characters at the edge of one of my favorite stories. I guess I'm not too much of a traditionalist, because I loved the twist that was thrown in (which I won't mention 'cause it's a spoiler!)."

"I have mixed feelings for this book which is separated just like the book is separated.<br/><br/>Volume One I kept wondering why the author even bothered to have the Pride and Prejudice connection since it seemed so tenuous. Mostly we just get lots of detail about Sarah's daily chores. And I had never heard of chilblains before, but because they got mentioned so much I had to look them up. (For those wondering: They're painful sores on your skin caused by warming up after being exposed to cold temperatures.) Overall I found it as tedious to read about as Sarah felt doing the chores. I get that it sucked and it wasn't the rosy life we see in Pride & Prejudice but once again all it did was make me long for the joy and humor in the original novel. <br/><br/>Volume Two got a bit better with the romance aspect and I was enjoying the novel and seeing more connections to Pride & Prejudice. I questioned some of the choices Jo Baker made in that regard, but they were small enough I could go with them.<br/><br/>Volume Three slowed things down again by going to the past--we got a little bit of Mrs. Hill's past and bit more of James. But honestly...I didn't care. I kinda had already figured out both of their pasts and I really didn't need the violent detail of James'. I also don't care for her portrayal of several Pride & Prejudice characters. <spoiler> Wickham is almost described as a pedophile, which he's certainly no saint but was it necessary to take him down even more? And Mr. Bennett having the affair with Mrs. Hill? Granted it was before he got married and I've never held him up as some great ideal, but just didn't really need that. And to go on and on about Mary pining for Mr. Collins. Yes, I'm sure many Pride & Prejudice readers have felt they would make a good match, but not to sound mean, but I really don't care about that either. I was indifferent to Mary in Pride & Prejudice and this didn't change that. They tried to make Mr. Collins in a more positive light but it just didn't work for me. </spoiler> I think the biggest issue is that I love Pride and Prejudice and would hold Jane Austen as the one to know her characters so to give them details that kinda skew that perception makes it hard to swallow. If I were maybe indifferent to the novel I might be more willing to go with it but with Longbourn it made me either roll my eyes, skip ahead or just not "believe" the perspective given. <br/><br/>Overall I think my problem was I didn't come to care for the characters as I did in Pride & Prejudice. The times I felt most interested were the small moments we saw of Jane or Elizabeth. Sarah was fine and James was fine, but I didn't get swept up in their romance, and every other character I was indifferent to. Jane Austen has an enjoyable writing style, filled with humor and just a lightness and this certainly wasn't either of those. And that's not to say it's bad--but if you're coming to the book expecting a similar tone you're not going to find it. <br/><br/>So my rating for this book was constantly in flux--perhaps 3 in the beginning, up to 4 in the middle, and then down to 2 at the end. So I'll give it a three overall."

"Well, for Pride & Prejudice fan fiction, this was probably the best one I've read. It wasn't bad - it was pretty much exactly what I was expecting. I hated the ending though. If you are going to tie everything up in a neat little bow, it could have been done much better than it was."

"A very different take on the Bennet family and the outlook of servants. Anytime I read a book that off-handedly mentions a maid or servant "fetching" something with no regard to them, I think about this book and how the maid has an entire life and feelings."