Longbourn Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

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Longbourn by Jo Baker

Longbourn

by Jo Baker
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  • First Published:
  • Oct 8, 2013, 352 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jun 2014, 352 pages
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Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Rinse and Repeat: Laundry in the Nineteenth Century and our BookBrowse Review of Longbourn.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

  1. What did you think of Jo Baker's stylistic choice to include multiple characters' perspectives in a single chapter? Do you think it enhanced the book?
  2. What were your thoughts on the beginning of Volume Three, which was dedicated entirely to James Smith?
  3. How would you compare and contrast the love stories between Sarah and James, and Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy?
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  1. How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
  2. What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
  3. Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?


Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Vintage. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

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Reviews

Beyond the Book:
  Rinse and Repeat: Laundry in the Nineteenth Century

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