Longbourn - Jo Baker

A surprisingly gripping story with a compelling plot as well as the expected fascinating detail about life below stairs. The meshing of the maid Sarah's story with the original tale of Pride and Prejudice was cleverly done, and the insights into the precariousness of servants' lives (and how lucky they felt themselves to have a safe position in conditions that seemed harsh to me) were eye-opening. This story added further crimes to those of the 'bad' characters, but also revealed the casual thoughtlessness of many of the 'good' ones. Rather unfairly, I don't think I'll ever be able to see Mr. Bennett in the same way again...