Longbourn

Now including the full text of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice! A brilliantly imagined, irresistible below-stairs answer to Pride and Prejudice: a story of the romance, intrigue and drama among the servants of the Bennet household, a triumphant tale of defying society's expectations, and an illuminating glimpse of working-class lives in Regency England. The servants at Longbourn estate--only glancingly mentioned in Jane Austen's classic--take centre stage in Jo Baker's lively, cunning new novel. Here are the Bennets as we have never known them: seen through the eyes of those scrubbing the floors, cooking the meals, emptying the chamber pots. Our heroine is Sarah, an orphaned housemaid beginning to chafe against the boundaries of her class. When the militia marches into town, a new footman arrives under mysterious circumstances, and Sarah finds herself the object of the attentions of an ambitious young former slave working at neighboring Netherfield Hall, the carefully choreographed world downstairs at Longbourn threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, up-ended. From the stern but soft-hearted housekeeper to the starry-eyed kitchen maid, these new characters come vividly to life in this already beloved world. Jo Baker shows us what Jane Austen wouldn't in a captivating, wonderfully evocative, moving work of fiction.

A die-hard fan of Jane Austen novels and the traditional English mystery, Tracy Kiely has combined elements of both for this truly delightful and witty debut. Planning New Year's resolutions to rid her life of all things unhealthy, Elizabeth Parker has dumped fatty foods, processed sugar, and her two-timing boyfriend. Indeed, the invitation to join her Aunt Winnie for a How to Host a Murder Party on New Year's Eve at Winnie's new Cape Cod B & B comes just in time. But when the local wealthy miser ends up the unscripted victim, Elizabeth must unearth old secrets and new motives in order to clear her beloved aunt of suspicion. The suspects include the town gossip, a haughty rich woman, and an antiques business owner much enamored of his benefactress, a Mrs. Kristell Dubois. If that isn't bad enough, Elizabeth must also contend with her childhood nemesis, Peter McGowan---a man she suspects has only matured in chronological years---and her suspicions about his family's interest in Winnie's inn. Yesterday, her only worry was of ever finding her Mr. Darcy. Now she has a murder to solve. Is it any wonder her resolution to achieve inner poise is in tatters? By reimagining characters and themes lifted from the treasured classic Pride and Prejudice, and crafting an expert, intricate mystery, Tracy Kiely has brought to life something very special: a new cozy series that is clever, vibrant, and utterly disarming.

Where Pride and Prejudice ends, a new relationship begins. Good-humoured but detached and taciturn, Mr Bennet is not given to intimacy. Largely content with his life at Longbourn, he spends his evenings in the solitude of his library, accompanied only by a glass of port and a good book. But when his cousin, the pompous clergyman Mr Collins, announces his intention to visit, Mr Bennet is curious to meet and appraise the heir to his estate. Despite Mr Bennet's initial discouragement, Mr Collins quickly becomes a frequent presence in his life. They correspond regularly, with Mr Collins recounting tales of his follies and scrapes and Mr Bennet taking great pleasure from teasing his unsuspecting friend. When a rift develops between the men, Mr Bennet is faced with a choice: he must withdraw into isolation once again or acknowledge that Mr Collins has brought something new and rich to his life. Tender, heart-warming and peppered with disarming humour, The Longbourn Letters reimagines the characters of Pride and Prejudice and perfectly captures the subtleties of human relationships and the power of friendship.

South Carolina, 1948 - Elizabeth Bennet is looking forward to a life of few surprises on her family's farm. Longbourn is a place of comfort and quiet security, a haven from the heartache of her past, where she can sing to heart's content, comfortable in the cage she¿s built for herself. When Charles Bingley buys the property neighboring Longbourn Farms, his best friend Will Darcy sees an opportunity he can't miss. The postwar economy is booming, and the young, ambitious tycoon is determined to reap the benefits...until a chance encounter in the Netherfield woods changes everything, making him question the man he is, and the man he wants to be.If Will can look beyond his own rigid expectations, can Elizabeth learn to forgive and live fully, free from her cage? Longbourn¿s Songbird is a vivid reimagining of Jane Austen¿s Pride & Prejudice, shining a spotlight on the opportunities and injustices of postwar America, a spellbinding tale of loss, of love, and of letting go.

Named in many surveys as Britain's best-loved work of fiction, Pride and Prejudice is now a global brand, with film and television adaptations making Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy household names. With a combination of original readings and factual background information, this Companion investigates some of the sources of the novel's power. It explores key themes and topics in detail: money, land, characters and style. The history of the book's composition and first publication is set out, both in individual essays and in the section of chronology. Chapters on the critical reception, adaptations and cult of the novel reveal why it has become an enduing classic with a unique and timeless appeal.

From the much-buzzed-about author of THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB (already blurbed by Stephenie Meyer, Lauren Myracle, and Jen Calonita), a prom-season delight of Jane Austen proportions.It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date. After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn't interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be - especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London. Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles's friend, Will Darcy, who's snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk - so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Jams Austen (1775-1817)Jane Austen Has Been Regarded By Critics As The Moot Perfect Artist In English Fiction. George Saintsbury Compared Her To Shakespeare Whose Detachment And Elusiveness She Certainly Shares. She Was A Truly Great Novelist Of Manners Among The Country Gentry. Born In The Family Of A Rector Of Steventon In Hampshire, Jane Austen Had Her Early Education In Oxford And Reading. She Started Writing Early In Life. Between 1792 And 1798 She Completed Her First Four Novels, Lady Susan, First Impressions (Later Entitled Pride And Prejudice), Elinor And Marianne (Later Called Sense And Sensibility) And Northanger Abbey. Later She Produced Three More Novels: Mansfield Park, Emma And Persuasion. She Contracted Tuberculosis And Died Tragically Early At The Age Of 41. Although Not Recognized In Her Time, Her Popularity Has Increased, Rather Than Faded, With The Passing Of Years, Which Will Be Evident From The Remark Of F.R. Leavis: Jane Austen Inaugurated The Great Tradition Of Fiction. Pride And Prejudice Was Jane Austen S First Novel. She Started Writing It In 1797 Under The Title First Impressions. Later She Revised It And It Was Published In 1813 Under The Title Pride And Prejudice. It Is A Novel Mainly Concerned With The Problems Of Marriage. Four Pairs, Elizabeth And Darcy, Jane And Bingley, Charlotte And Collins, Lydia And Wickham Are Married On Different Considerations. The Main 3Tory Concerns The First Pair Who Are First Separated Because Of Their Pride And Prejudice And Later Reconciled And United As Their Misunderstandings Are Removed. This Novel Has Been Accepted As The Masterpiece Of The Novelist Having A Superbly Balanced Plot-Construction And A Well-Defined Character Development. Jane Austen Here Succeeded In Wedding Realism To A Lively Dialogue And Evolved A Witty Narrative Style To Express In The Most Vital Manner The Story Of A Young Girl And Her Love.

This book offers to delineate a key phenomenon in contemporary Anglophone fiction: novel expansion, when the plot and characters from a finished novel are retrieved to be developed in new adventures set before, after or during the narrative time of the source-text. If autographic and allographic sequels are almost as old as literature, prequels – that imagine the anteriority of a narrative – and coquels – that develop secondary characters in the same story time as the source-text – are more recent. The overall trend for novel expansion spread in the mid-1980s and 1990s and has since shown no sign of abating. This volume is organised following three types of relationships to the source-texts even if these occasionally combine to produce a more complex structure. This book comprises 11 essays, preceded by an introduction, that examine narrative strategies, aesthetic, ethical and political tendencies underlying these novel expansions. Following the overview provided in the introduction, the reader will find case studies of prequels, coquels and sequels before a final chapter that encompasses them all and more.