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ON OUR BOOKSHELVES
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NOVEL: The Longbourn Letters
AUTHOR: Rose Servitova
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2017
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I was predisposed to like this book. Rose Servitova emailed me, since she’d read my review of The Making of Jane Austen by Devoney Looser, and was wondering if I’d like a review copy of her Jane Austen book sent my way. Since I always love hearing from readers, especially when they are doing creative pursuits themselves, I gladly said yes. And since we had in common that we liked Jo Baker’s Longbourn and disliked P.D. James’ Death Comes to Pemberly, I thought it quite likely that I would enjoy her book. Not too long after our exchange of emails, a parcel arrived from Ireland, with the book signed by the author, and I read it straightaway.
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The Longbourn Letters is an epistolary novel consisting of the correspondence between two characters in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennet (Jane and Elizabeth’s sardonic father) and Mr. Collins (Mr. Bennet’s heir, the pompous clergyman who married Charlotte Lucas after Elizabeth turned his proposal down). Unlike much Austen-inspired fiction, this book is not a romance. The unmarried Bennet sisters and Lady Catherine’s daughter, Anne de Bourgh, are, in time, married off, and various children do arrive as the years go on, but the focus of the story is on the relationship between the two men. Despite Mr. Bennet’s sarcasm and Mr. Collins’ occasionally ridiculous behavior, they do eventually, and rather delightfully, form a genuine relationship, with shared interests (their children and grandchildren, gardening, news of their relatives and neighbors), conflicts, sympathy and advice, and ultimately a close and meaningful friendship. Occasionally quite funny (a description of Mr. Collins under the influence of cognac did make me laugh), and surprisingly touching (Mr. Bennet’s sincere worry when Mr. Collins’ firstborn was ill with smallpox was sweetly done), fans of Pride and Prejudice should definitely investigate this unlikely story of meaning, redemption, and human connection.
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RATING (one to five whistles, with five being the best): 3 Whistles
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HOW TO PURCHASE: Amazon
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Laura LaVelle is an attorney and writer who lives in Connecticut, in a not quite 100-year-old house, along with her husband, two daughters, and a cockatiel.
Laura can be contacted at laura@newswhistle.com.
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Lead-In Image (Quill) Courtesy of Militarist / Shutterstock.com
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