Tuesday Tea and Tomes: Jo Baker's Longbourn - Pride and Prejudice from the servant's point of view

Longbourn by Jo Baker imagines the world of the Bennet's servants in Austen's Pride & Prejudice

Having a mother whose nerves are the family's constant companions, younger sisters who are incurably silly, and a suitor who initially found her “not too tempting” are certainly challenges for Elizabeth Bennet. but at least she didn’t have to cook, clean, or empty chamber pots.

In Longbourn, author Jo Baker takes us “downstairs” into the world of the Bennet family’s servants—a staff of four who work tirelessly for Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters. Housekeeper and butler Mr. and Mrs. Hill, along with young housemaid Sarah and the even younger Polly, form a family of circumstance, bound by love and care. Their laborious, routine lives are upended when a new footman, James, is hired to assist the household—much to Mrs. Bennet’s delight, as she sees him as a sign of elevated status.

Barb G. with Jo Baker at the Jane Austen Festival in 2014

My daughter Rachel and I met Jo Baker in 2014, a year after Longbourn’s publication, at the Jane Austen Festival hosted by the Louisville JASNA chapter. Before reading excerpts from her book, Baker shared how she meticulously annotated Pride and Prejudice for every mention of a servant, then began crafting a narrative that extended beyond their brief interactions with the Bennets.

Sometime after the Louisville event, Rachel and I read Longbourn, but it had been so long that we both needed a refresher. In this year of Jane Austen tributes—honoring her 250th birthday—it felt like the perfect time to reconnect not only with the Bennets, Bingleys, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, but also with those shadowy figures who serve them all.

Jo Baker reading excerpts from Longbourn

Although I’m deeply familiar with Pride and Prejudice, I believe Longbourn stands on its own and can be enjoyed independently. Still, the real fun lies in spotting the references and connections to the charming, awkward, and sinister characters who cavort through Austen’s most famous novel.

Like Pride and Prejudice, Longbourn is structured in three volumes and isn’t afraid to delve into scandalous behavior. It swings from vivid depictions of the servants’ oppressive toil—such as fetching shoe adornments in town for the Bennet ladies on a cold, rainy day—to treasured moments of escape, like a quick puff on a cigarette or a romantic kiss near the stables.

Longbourn isn’t a backstory—it’s a below-the-stairs story, spotlighting the often forgotten and unglamorous figures dismissed by the gentry but given care and consideration by Jo Baker. She pokes holes in their suffocating environment to reveal that they share the same hopes, intelligence, and drive as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy—just without the fancy wrapping and shoe roses.

A clever approach to a much-loved classic, we recommend Longbourn—whether it’s your first read or a long-awaited reconnection.

Spoiler alert:

Longbourn ventures into some dark places and situations, and I feared it might end in a way that felt very un-Jane Austen. But I found the conclusion satisfying and true to the tone of Austen’s novels.