Many, many authors have tried to capture the genius that is
Jane Austen (and more specifically, the delight that came from the characters
in Pride and Prejudice). But
Longbourn by Jo Baker isn’t an Austen rip-off. It isn’t even a story that tries to answer
the question “What happened after Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy got married?” Instead, Baker has told the story of the
Bennet household from the point of view of a rather unlikely character: the
Bennet’s housemaid, Sarah.
Sarah (about Ms. Elizabeth Bennet’s age) has been with the
family since she was a little girl. She
does everything that is expected of a housemaid including: soaking and
scrubbing muddy petticoats, feeding the pigs, emptying chamber pots and washing
the never-ending supply of dishes being used by a family of seven. She does not complain. But she does wonder
what it would be like to live a life where no one expected you to do anything
and you could act on your own free-will.
The joyous thing about this novel is that we see only
glimpses of the Bennet family; a line of conversation here and there, but not
much more. The pages are filled with
Sarah’s daily activities and those of the other staff: Mr. Hill and the
housekeeper Mrs. Hill, the young housemaid Polly and a new hired man, James, who
has a shadowy past. There is little here
of Jane’s pining for Bingley or Elizabeth’s annoyance with Darcy. Sarah slowly sets off down a path towards her
own romance but will she end up with the mysterious James or Mr. Bingley’s
handsome and charming servant Ptomely?
Baker takes us with Sarah on her journey from young lady to
woman and we get to see just how much she longs for a world outside of
service. We see her set off with
Elizabeth to Kent to visit the Collinses and her amazement at the metropolis
that is London. When she is given the
opportunity to leave Longbourn and serve at Pemberly, will the grand house be
the new responsibilities and distractions she needs? Will she marry in order to get out of
service? Or will she go a direction all
her own without the help of her benefactors and friends?
Longbourn by Jo
Baker is a fun and new twist for even the staunchest Jane Austen fans.
