This was a very clever and entertaining historical novel - it's a reimagined telling of the Pride & Prejudice story, but from belowstairs - the main characters are all servants in the house. There are some limited interactions with the P&P characters, and the main events of the story progress exactly as the novel does, but the lives of the servants are entwined with that story, a bit. Frankly, the story doesn't need the P&P angle to progress; it's a well-constructed historical novel with plenty to interest the reader regardless of the Austen connection, but it's a nice hook and those of us who are fans will find that extra level of appreciation. One or two liberties taken, perhaps, but in a believeable way, so it's all ok. And, such a relief to pick up and read a well-written novel after trying out something else which was just plain badly written. I really hate that!
No comments:
Post a Comment