tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post7631934620608581677..comments2024-03-23T12:38:46.260+00:00Comments on The History Girls: LONGBOURN by Jo Baker: the Servants' Story. Review by Penny Dolan.Mary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-78456127407057451872017-07-24T09:08:52.679+01:002017-07-24T09:08:52.679+01:00I'm reading it now, Penny, and loving it! It h...I'm reading it now, Penny, and loving it! It had been sitting on my to-be-read pile for an unaccountably long time, but your review has prompted me to move it to the top. So thank you for that!Linda Newberyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03378908274663919794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-27432115345871310242017-07-21T12:20:52.331+01:002017-07-21T12:20:52.331+01:00I enjoyed the book too, but the part I remember be...I enjoyed the book too, but the part I remember best is when Elizabeth came back from her walks with the hem of her dress so muddy, the servants knew it would be their job to get it clean again. I really felt for them!Lynne Bentonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14412874594191347503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-62638804067285758662017-07-18T19:11:30.235+01:002017-07-18T19:11:30.235+01:00I read it when it came out and loved it! Even thou...I read it when it came out and loved it! Even though I found the "secret" totally unconvincing.<br />Mary Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-87532492681399521712017-07-17T18:20:40.217+01:002017-07-17T18:20:40.217+01:00My grandmother used tea leaves to clean the carpet...My grandmother used tea leaves to clean the carpet! And the maid beat them outside over a frame. I really enjoyed Longbourn but was surprised and disappointed that Ptolemy was portrayed as a man Sarah shouldn't get together with. Makes me think of the removal of the marriage of the black servant and a white female servant from Edgworth's Belinda. Or one of her novels. I think it was Belinda..Leslie Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105465949970430998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-66909015704439425822017-07-17T18:12:28.067+01:002017-07-17T18:12:28.067+01:00Glad you all like the sound of LONGBOURN, and hope...Glad you all like the sound of LONGBOURN, and hope that the readers enjoy it. (It was Joan's lady in white that set me off on the quest.)<br /><br />I'd already heard of using tea-leaves to collect the dust, Becca, but rather wish I hadn't wondered whether disreputable housekeepers might rinse the leaves out afterwards and sell them further downwards to the poor as "tea". Some things are best not dwelt on!Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-36379662670205908902017-07-17T17:21:51.232+01:002017-07-17T17:21:51.232+01:00One of the tiny details that stood out for me was ...One of the tiny details that stood out for me was the throwing of damp tea leaves onto a dusty floor to stop the dust from flying everywhere while cleaning.Becca McCallumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09339982441409936532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-55729899666623788202017-07-17T10:06:56.760+01:002017-07-17T10:06:56.760+01:00Thanks for introducing me to this book!Thanks for introducing me to this book!Joan Lennonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15763862159032836768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-75008537119069155162017-07-17T09:25:29.857+01:002017-07-17T09:25:29.857+01:00Thanks, Penny - I went straight to Amazon and boug...Thanks, Penny - I went straight to Amazon and bought this book. (Currently, the kindle edition is at £1-99.) It sounds a fascinating and - to me, as to you - entirely sympathetic read.Susan Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738737493756183909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-27617419861386471422017-07-17T09:11:12.959+01:002017-07-17T09:11:12.959+01:00Exactly! There's fantasy and there's the l...Exactly! There's fantasy and there's the likely reality. <br /><br />I was really struck by the anxiety the servants feel,in this book, for their futures if Mr Collins moves into the house, partly balanced by his own fears of losing his living if he offends his patron. Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-31618464006653035042017-07-17T07:44:40.667+01:002017-07-17T07:44:40.667+01:00Sounds like an interesting exploration of the serv...Sounds like an interesting exploration of the servants' world in Jane Austen's time. I rmemeber many years ago that it came as quite a shock to realise that, if I'd been living in the time of many of the books I loved reading, I wouldn't be the heroine, Lady Susan, but a kitchen maid or something similar!Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.com