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Hardcore fans of Pride and Prejudice may not like this book. For one thing, the main characters of Pride and Prejudice are hardly in this book, and most of the main plot is barely touched on. There is an entirely new plot in this book. This book is a period piece about the home life of servants more than it is about the events of Pride and Prejudice. The servants in this book not dependent on their masters for problems-- they have enough of their own, because Regency-era England, as glamorous as it is in Jane Austen’s novel, was hard work for most people.
Another reason fans of the Austen classic may not like this book is because it shows how a typical regency-era family like the Bennets would have likely treated their staff. This book, while using Pride and Prejudice as a jumping-off point, is less worried about being true to the novel than being true to the time period. In that world, the staff were to be treated fairly, but they were generally not to be considered outside of some physical comfort needing attending. As in Pride and Prejudice, Lizzie Bennet is kind, but she is also a mistress with needs, and her maid Sarah is exhausted. It is hard not to resent Lizzie or her kind sister Jane sometimes when they forget Sarah’s workload or thoughtlessly send her out into a storm (with Lydia’s encouragement) for unnecessary fripperies.
However, fans of historical fiction that will not be offended by a flawed Lizzie Bennet will likely enjoy this book. Longbourn does drag on a little in places, but it is a fascinating look into the homelife of servants in Regency England during the Napoleonic wars. The fact that it involves some bit parts by characters from a favorite book just makes it more enjoyable. It is not necessary to have read Pride and Prejudice to enjoy this book, as it stands well enough on its own. However, reading Austen’s novel first would lend an extra layer to the novel for the reader to savor.