You guys, this month had me worried. During the first two-thirds of this past month I hardly touched this book. We were nearing the launch of our latest e-course (Blog Life), and as deadlines go, it always seems to get crazy at the very end. So, I felt way behind in reading this month’s selection. I was really bummed and feeling like I was probably going to have to admit that this month I didn’t finish the book in time. I’m sure that will happen some month this year, but still.Â
I am happy to report I finished! Trey and I had a family wedding this past weekend and found ourselves on multiple flights headed to California. I can be a fast reader if I have no distractions (I’m super distract-able). So, I flew through the second half of this book. (Pun!)
At first I was worried I had picked a stinker for us this month. I just didn’t get into the story at first. But, once the characters were established and the story really started, I totally got hooked! I’m not sure I loved this book as much as Pride and Prejudice, but I sure did enjoy it. I am a sucker for love stories, and although the ending might not be as happy as Elizabeth Bennet’s turned out to be (in some ways), I thought it was very fitting.Â
Warning: If you’re not done reading yet I recommend you hold off on the following discussion since there will be SPOILERS!
I’d love to hear what you thought of this month’s book. You can comment on the following discussion points. Feel free to reference the number if you like. Or you are welcome to bring up new discussion points or ideas.
1. Did you feel the book felt true to the original Pride and Prejudice story while still (obviously) creating its own narrative and world based on the household staff? It’s been a long time since I read the original story, so I felt like I was re-remembering everything as it unfolded from this new point of view. I really ended up LOVING this. It almost felt like I got to reread an old favorite book. Like, wouldn’t it be fun to reread all the Harry Potter books from new points of view (like from the Hogwarts staff or something)?
2. So much about the era and world of this book can be totally infuriating. Obviously, women’s rights was on an entirely different planet than my world today as well as the division of classes and depiction of slaves. It was also so hard to read the chapters that showed us James’s life before he joined the Longbourn staff. Because he was born to the wrong mother and in the wrong social situation he was destined for a difficult and unfair life, including being wrongfully accused of desertion. What do you think of the depiction of the classes in this tale?Â
3. Were you surprised by the revelation that James was the son of Mrs. Hill and Mr. Bennet? I was! For me, this completely changed how I viewed Mrs. Hill and Mr. Bennet’s relationship and interactions throughout the rest of the book. And when you see them at the end of their lives together, I was surprised by Mrs. Hill’s conclusion, that maybe she wouldn’t have wished for anything different (like to have married Mr. Bennet and raised James instead of how it turned out) since at the end they would have ended up in a similar position anyway, she taking care of him as he aged. Seems a strange conclusion to me. What do you think of their relationship? Of Mr. Bennet’s actions toward her and his son?
Don’t forget in May we’ll be reading The Goldfinch, so pick up (or download) your copy if you haven’t already. Happy reading! xo. Emma
Credits // Author and Photo by: Emma Chapman. Photo edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
I quite enjoyed this book and have already recommended it to a couple of friends. Although it has been a LONG time since I read Pride and Prejudice, I liked the re-introduction to the characters from a different point of view. In reading the comments thus far, I have been REALLY surprised at the number of people who didn’t see it coming that James was the son of Mrs. Hill and Mr. Bennett. I won’t pretend to have predicted the EXACT details of the history between this characters, but from the minute I read the section where Mrs. Hill was yelling and Mr. Bennett over having hired James, and then when she treated him so nicely and gave him the whole pie she had made for supper that day, I began to suspect that he was her child.
On the other hand, I, too, was disappointed with the scene where Sarah left her position with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I would have liked it much better if she had at least told them why she was going. Although I know this might have been frowned upon (for a servant to bother her mistress with her own problems), I feel like Elizabeth’s character would have responded positively and would have wanted to help. i also would have liked if, once Sarah had found James, they could have returned to work for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. It would have been a much easier life for them, and I’m sure that Mr. Bennett or Mr. Darcy could have used their influence to clear James’ name.
As a final note, I agree with those who felt the section about James’ life at war was a bit long. Although I was happy to learn what had happened to him, I felt it was drawn on a bit too long (a chapter or two would have sufficed). I was anxious to get back to the main story and find out if Sarah and James would have their happily ever after.
I think when talking about “tolerance” in the past, it is easy to forget that what we see as important social issues today did not carry the same weight 200 years ago. This is especially true because our view of the past tends to be colored by the upper classes, whose lives were better documented. Generally, what we now call homosexuality was frowned upon, but was often something of an ill-kept secret that was, in fact, tolerated if not accepted. Sex and love among the lower economic classes, too, was generally more open than we might imagine, since marriage wasn’t necessarily based on family ties and inheritances (for the upper classes, a woman’s virginity was considered more important because a man must be sure that his heirs are actually “his”). Sarah even notes in the context of the novel that many women were already pregnant when they married. Just a few historical notes from a labor and gender historian!
I really enjoyed this book. I loved P+P, so reading about the servants and how the underprivileged lived was a really good insight into this era, which I have to say I know very little of. It was also nice to read a book that doesn’t just focus on the nicey nice positive things of proposal and happily ever afters (even thought this did have one!). I was a bit surprised about Mrs Hill and Mr Bennett but I could see it coming from how she reacted when she heard that he was coming that there was something amiss. Sarah I found to be extremely child like in her actions towards needing attention which I thought was a bit annoying the way she handled it all, but I loved how her character grew to be this strong minded woman by the end.
Hello Emma,
I have been reading this blog for sooo many years. Followed through the old shops you gals have had, the clothing design, weddings houses etc. I have drawn so much inspiration from your posts, houses, diys, yet have never commented. When you mentioned that you were starting a book club I was so stoked. My book club disbanded 2 years ago due to everyone being busy and having children to care for, so I loved the idea of reading your posts and trying to keep up 🙂 I had been wanting to read the fault in our stars for a year, and was stoked to follow that one.
Longbourn was a book I had never heard of before which I liked – delving into something completely unknown, apart from the fact that I adore and am well-read in Austen. I really enjoyed Longbourn, and devoured it pretty quickly. I was so shocked by the Hill and Mr Bennet revelation. Like you, there were hints I should have picked up on ie. Hill being permitted to argue with him, but I just assumed Hill didn’t want James there. The revelation was stunning, and made so much sense in the book. For Baker to be able to convince an audience who are so attached to the peripheral characters, that her new additional story line was congruent with P & P, and that we would believe the new level she takes the story to, despite being written in a completely different style – that is an achievement I think. Thanks for choosing this book.
Additionally, I had also been wanting to read The Goldfinch since Feb, but didn’t want to read 760 pages if I didn’t have anyone to talk it over with… yeeha you solved that problem for me. I am halfway through, and have no idea where the story will lead to. Thanks so much for making a ABM Book club. – And know that there must be many silent readers who like me, although not registered followers, check you guys out almost daily and feast on your creativity and inspiration. THANKS!! 🙂
I enjoyed the modernity of the story. It wasn’t afraid to get nitty gritty in ways Jane herself may have avoided. I loved that we saw a side of Mr. Bennett that was new, I think it gave him more depth honestly, and I enjoyed viewing his relationship with Mrs. Bennett in a different light. Honestly after the sexual tension between Sarah and James became mutual love I *did * lose a bit of interest, but mostly because my favorite parts of stories is the longing: the wanting and not having and the brilliant tension it creates. But yes, it was a great pick!
I was slow to liking this book as well. When I first started I was like oh dear this book could be so boring,but like others have said once the characters were more established I got into. I loved James and Sarah. At first when she was liking Ptolemy I was like no..she’s supposed to like James,but it worked out in the end. I would have hated this book had they not ended up together. I like happy endings.
I first read P&P at 13 and have read it (and studied it) many times since then, each time noticing something new, and still finding myself suspending belief that Lizzie and Darcy will get together. That is the genius of Austen’s writing – she really pulls you into her created worlds.
My feeling on reading Longbourn is that Jo Baker has had a very similar relationship with P&P that I, and many thousands of other readers, have. Her writing is often playful and even a little irreverent to P&P, and in particular to the characters of the Bennet household, in a way that I think Austen would have found amusing. I loved that she used actual P&P dialogue here and there in her own narrative and that much of her (quite dramatic) story was told with a lightness of touch quite similar to Austen’s.
What I most enjoyed about Longbourn was how it seemingly sits alongside P&P as a historical romance whilst, at the same time, being in direct juxtaposition to P&P in genre given its VERY gritty realism. Baker throws politeness right out of the window in her style of storytelling and shows us the Miss Bennets’ dirty laundry in a very literal way, alongside the dirty laundry of Mr Bennet and Mr and Mrs Hill in a not so literal way. I guess you could argue that we should expect the servants’ world to be more tawdry generally than that of their ‘betters’, but Baker doesn’t just look at the servants that way, does she? She looks at everyone with those same eyes – even to the extent of taking Austen’s arch villain Wickham from naughty and irreverent young man gambling with the virtue of young ladies to a paedophile! I like to think this is more about Jo Baker’s smartness as an Austen reader and critic who has spent a lot of time thinking about the reality of life for everyone in that world that Austen would never have been able to directly / realistically depict at the time she was writing. It is as if she has tried to give Austen a modern voice to speak honestly about her world, and I applaud her for that, even though I think she may have gone a little far with her references to modern life – I felt as if I was being hit over the head with it at times: “look – there were homosexual people in Georgian times” felt a bit patronising.
I definitely didn’t enjoy reading the section with James at war – in fact I speed read many of the pages. I felt bad about this as I can imagine how much time and effort Baker invested in the research and writing of it, but I simply found it dull and irritating – I wanted to get back to the main story and not sit through a lecture on the horror of war – which is not, of course, to denigrate the actual experience of many millions of people who have suffered and died in wars…
All in all, I did enjoy the book, but I question how much a non P&P lover would – the story isn’t hugely believable or entertaining in and of itself. This was the first book of Jo Baker’s that I have read and I will definitely read something else of hers as the writing was good. What I fervently hope is that Longbourn will inspire those of its readers who haven’t read P&P to do so as soon as possible – it is a wonderful novel of its time! 🙂
I really enjoyed the beautiful and sometimes poetic writing in this book as much as the characters. The story also made me think, “what did the Bennet girls do with their time?” Compared to all the work Sarah did the Bennet girls seemed very sedintary. It made me love Charlotte Lucas’ character, because she helped in her family’s kitchen and actually had skills to recommend her to her future husband.
I also felt Sarah’s tediousness as I read about her work in the Darcy’s household. After being responsible for so much to only be allowed to sit in the same room everyday and sew. It was painful to read.
I enjoyed this book. As soon as I finished it I started rereading P & P.
I loved this! Just finished listening to the audiobook (which was kind of lovely as it was read by an English woman.) but I’m the kind of person who loves almost every book I read. It did take a while to get into it, but towards the end I was really hooked.
I sort of understand Mrs. Hills opinion at the end… The feeling that once everything’s said and done, it seems like there’s no other way it could have gone and no other place you would have ended up. I do wish there had been a little bit more about Sarah and James’s relationship after she found him—surely it would have been hard to revert to their earlier way with each other?
I enjoyed how the plot paralleled with P&P although I was a bit sad that Elizabeth didn’t really seem happy in her marriage… It seemed like she got more timid after marrying. And I was also surprised that Sarah didn’t tell Elizabeth the truth about why she was leaving. (Although I suppose all her upbringing tells her that servant problems aren’t worth bothering her mistress with. So it is, begrudgingly, believable.)
Thanks for the introduction to this book!
I picked up this book without having previously read Pride & Prejudice, and I was a little worried that my minimal P & P knowledge would affect my reading experience of Longbourne. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed reading Longbourne, and didn’t find it hard to follow the story at all. I just thought I’d put that out there for anyone in the same boat as me. Also, if you like Downton Abbey, you’ll probably enjoy this book!
James being the illegitimate son of Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Bennett came as a complete surprise to me. In fact, when Mrs. Hill first refers to James as her son, I didn’t take her literally! I do question the reality of their arrangement though – could the relationship between Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Bennett really have been kept a secret over so many years? Did James have any inkling about his family roots? Did anyone else suspect?
As hard as the class depictions were to read sometimes (some of the descriptions of the housemaids’ work had me gagging), the day to day struggles of the servants were one of the things that kept the book compelling.
I really enjoyed this book. Like you it took me a while to get into it but within a few chapters I was dying to find out what happened with Sarah and James. I enjoyed the style of writing, with the author giving little clues as to what what you might discover by the end of (the argument between Mrs Hill and Mr Bennett and James’ fear of the militia)
I also questioned if Sarah leaving a good job was realistic but it is important to remember that servants were still people and make don’t always make rational decisions.
I struggled reading some of the passages regarding the treatment of the servants (I think its in the first chapter that she describes laundry day and the bleeding chilblains Sarah suffered), women in general and illegitimate birth. I feel very lucky to have born in the 20th Century!!
I’ve had the Goldfinch on my Kindle since January but haven’t managed to read it yet, delighted it’s your May choice!
It also took me a while to really get interested in this story. As I did I began to enjoy it but then things seemed to take a turn and left me mostly irritated and upset. While I appreciated viewing the pride and prejudice story from a different angle I felt that Baker abused the characters a bit and just made use of the story line for her own purposes. I felt deeply disappointed by the way she portrayed Mr Bennett and and the choices he made, it was so in contrast to how Austen actually wrote him. The same goes for Mr Darcy in Sarah’s final interaction with him and Lizzy. They came across as very cold and uncaring which was exactly what Austen showed that they weren’t.
The war scenes came as quite a shock too and the build up to it in no way prepared you for the harsh and vulgar world you were about to be transported to. One page you were listening to conversations about cake in the kitchen and the next you were privy to the very disturbing realities of war. This really threw me off as it also seemed like she was taking a dig at the Bennett’s for not knowing what was really happening in the world. The whole tone of it was so disruptive to the story. Perhaps this was the point Baker was trying to make, but it felt a little forced to me.
I also felt that she was trying to make too much of a point about the hardships of the staff and their unpleasant duties, as if to say that no one ever gave them any thought. We do of course give thought to the staff, but it doesn’t mean that while reading a love story I also want to know about the disposal of faeces and the cleaning of menstrual blood!
So I am sorry to be writing such a negative review but I guess this is what book clubs are about, reading what others are thinking and responding with your own thoughts!
I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice but now I will. The first 2 parts of the book I really enjoyed. I liked the gritty descriptions of how the servants hands were affected by their work and was pleased that the author didn’t try to wash over the realities of their work.
In regards to question 3 I agree I think the revelation of James being the some of Mrs Hill and Mr Bennet was a bit odd. It just didn’t sit well I thought. Not seeming like a true conclusion. I thought that for the time the book was set that although today Mr Bennet seems arrogant back then his letting Mrs Hill work for him was a huge deal, acknowledging that he owed her something. I don’t really have any conclusions regarding the relationship between Mrs Hill and Mr Bennet, it confused me a little. I felt that the book was able to stand on it’s own without it.
Also the time spent describing James’ prior life was very slow for me, i like a bit of mystery to some characters, and I felt that this was un-needed info.
This is not to say I didn’t enjoy the book as I did, but I didn’t love it. It was an easy read though which was good.
I don’t know if you’re into fantasy books (you did mention Harry Potter), but I just started reading “The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss and thought I’d recommend it to you. I don’t know if it’d necessarily work for the book club because the book is HUGE (and has an even bigger sequel).
I also like Jasper Fforde’s books, which could work for the book club. He wrote this detective series called the “Thursday Next” series. Thursday Next is a book detective – she has the unexplainable power of being able to jump into books and police them from within. Kind of similar to how Baker gives us a different look into “Pride and Prejudice”, Fforde gives us different looks into several classic books, like “Great Expectations” and “Jane Eyre”. 🙂 I’ve read almost all of his books.
I enjoyed getting a different look at the characters in “Pride and Prejudice”. I also thought it was an interesting twist that James was the bastard child of Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Hill.
I thought the parts with Elizabeth after marrying Darcy odd. She seemed to completely change as a character, and she didn’t seem as happy as in the original book. In this book, she seemed constantly worried about having to live up to having a lot of money now. She also worried about pleasing Darcy all the time, which doesn’t sound like the strong, opinionated, confident woman that Darcy fell in love with.
I haven’t read this book yet and actually didn’t know it existed until I saw your post! I’m a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice so I will definitely put this on my reading list. Thanks for the recommendation!
Nikki
nikkibydesign.blogspot.com
I didn’t read the book, but it’s one I’m putting on my list!
I only glanced at the discussion points, but I just wanted to put it out there that your idea of new points of view for the Harry Potter books would be the best thing ever! Totally cool idea.
I haven’t read the book, but after reading these comments, I don’t think i want to. I don’t particularly like books that are written now but are about historical events. Modern authors have such a different perspective – no matter how hard they try to be historically accurate, it won’t be.
I had kind of difficult time getting into the story, but finally I was pulled in and fell in love with the characters. I also learned so much about what it must’ve been like for the servents work life. When Sarah had to wash the weekly laundry, I just cringed at how awful their works conditions were and they were paid practically nothing. It made me so thankful to be a modern woman.
I wasn’t totally crazy about this book, to be honest. I felt it was fairly simplistic and predictable, especially when compared to Pride & Prejudice. The characters just seemed so surface-level and acting far more modern than I think they really would have been for the time. I just think the tone didn’t match Pride & Prejudice at all. It also made the Bennets seem much more unlikeable. It’s been a while since I read P&P, so maybe I’m remembering it wrong, though. It just kind of felt like above-average fan-fiction to me. Looking forward to Goldfinch!