Longbourn by Jo Baker

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader in possession of a comfy seat and a cuppa, must be in want of a good book.

This was sent to me by a friend, who knows my love of books and Austen. It's essentially the Upstairs-Downstairs of Pride and Prejudice. The problem is I like the originals of each so much that this inevitably fell short. It had moments, but overall, didn't engage me.  I think if someone was unfamiliar with how the things we now depend on appliances and devices to do  were done in days when electricity wasn't around, it might have been a bit more interesting, but I know a little about that, having lived in a third world country for a bit in the days before electricity was around or reliable and a telephone was a new and amazing device. I've heard there's a series on TV now (probably cable or PBS), but I'm not sure I'll watch. I prefer my Austen firsthand.