History Literature / Longbourn

* {{Deconstruction}} : The antics of all the upper class characters - yes, even Elizabeth - aren't nearly so funny and quirky when their servants have to wash their clothes, go out in the pouring rain to buy shoe-roses for their outfits for a ball, prepare rooms and food for Mr. Collins at a moment's notice, etc.

Longbourn is what happens when ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' gets hit head on by ''Series/UpstairsDownstairs''. While the Bennet sisters are busy trying to find suitable husbands, obsessing over the militia or just aiming to continue with their lives, their existence is maintained by the servants of Longbourn, who are often less then impressed with their 'betters'. Sarah the housemaid in particular chafes against the boundaries of her class, and when a new footman arrives at the house under mysterious circumstances, her carefully structured world is rocked.

* RealityEnsues: Everything that happens in Literature/PrideAndPrejudice is deconstructed here, to show how the whims and minor quibbles of the upper classes have much more serious, or tedious, consequences for those who have to maintain the style to which they're accustomed.

** Mr. Bennet [[spoiler: had an illegitimate son with Mrs. Hill (before she was Mrs. Hill) and brings him to be a servant in Longbourn.]] He also treats Hill and the other servants not exactly with cruelty, but certainly fairly callously. For instance, his neglecting to announce that Mr. Collins would be visiting ''until the day of his arrival'' creates a lot of inconvenience for Mrs. Hill and the other servants; they have to rush to prepare a room and make sure there's enough food for the guest as well as the family.

Longbourn is what happens when Literature/PrideAndPrejudice gets hit head on by Series/UpstairsDownstairs. While the Bennet sisters are busy trying to find suitable husbands, obsessing over the militia or just aiming to continue with their lives, their existence is maintained by the servants of Longbourn, who are often less then impressed with their 'betters'. Sarah the housemaid in particular chafes against the boundaries of her class, and when a new footman arrives at the house under mysterious circumstances, her carefully structured world is rocked.

** Wickham, more than running off with Lydia when she's only fifteen, is now a straight up paedophile who shows unsettling interest in the underage maid, trying to bribe her with sweets.

** [[spoiler: Mr. Bennet had an illegitimate son with Mrs. Hill (before she was Mrs. Hill) and brings him to be a servant in Longbourn.]] He also treats Hill and the other servants not exactly with cruelty, but certainly fairly callously. For instance, his neglecting to announce that Mr. Collins would be visiting ''until the day of his arrival'' creates a lot of inconvenience for Mrs. Hill and the other servants; they have to rush to prepare a room and make sure there's enough food for the guest as well as the family.

** [[spoiler: Mr. Bennet had an illegitimate son with Mrs. Hill (before she was Mrs. Hill) and brings him to be a servant in Longbourn.]] He also treats Hill and the other servants not exactly with cruelty, but certainly fairly callously.
** Wickham, more than running off with Lydia when she's only fifteen, is now a straight up paedophile who shows unsettling interest in the underage maid.
* {{Deconstruction}} : The antics of all the upper class characters - yes, even Elizabeth - aren't nearly so funny and quirky when the servants have to wash their clothes, go out in the pouring rain to buy shoe-roses for their outfits for a ball, prepare rooms and food for guests at a moment's notice, etc.
* RealityEnsues: Everything that happens in Literature/PrideAndPrejudice is deconstructed here, to show how the whims and minor quibbles of the upper classes have much more serious or tedious consequences for those who have to maintain the style to which they're accustomed.

* {{Deconstruction}} : The antics of all the upper class characters - yes, even Elizabeth - aren't nearly so funny and quirky when the servants have to wash their clothes, prepare rooms and food for guests at a moment's notice, etc.