"Pride and Prejudice" as we know it, is completely reversed in Jo Baker's bestseller. While the servants tread through Longbourn as light creatures made of shadows and smoke in Austen's original tale, they are the main characters in this novel. Austen's beloved characters on the other hand are only shown in brief glimpses throughout Baker's story; in fact they become the ghostly and shadowy background. 
 I am deeply impressed with Baker's very original take on Austen's novel. It is a rare thing to stumble upon Austen-fanfiction with as much as a hint of originality and substance - but this book has it. Baker has a story to tell and a point to make. And she tells it with elegance and grace. 
 The most striking feature of this novel is its choreography. Baker writes herself that every time a meal is served in "Pride and Prejudice", it is prepared in "Longbourn". While "Pride and Prejudice" only serves a background for Baker's novel, the two stories are knitted tightly together with an acute attention to detail. As in a complicated puzzle - every word fits. That way Baker always stays true to Austen's story, while she perhaps does take some liberties of her own. 
 But here, all resemblance to Austen's classic novel abruptly ends. Baker does not mimic the writing style of Austen, neither does her story concern the same topics. Baker writes historical realism (complete with chamberpots, muddy grounds and premarital sex) and does not concern herself with irony, witticism or elegant romances. 
 The tale Baker spins is at times intelligent and observant(view spoiler)[as when she explains Mr. Bennet's marriage with Mrs. Bennet and the affair he has had along the way (hide spoiler)], at other times dreary and bleak, and sometimes very melodramatic and yet captivating. While Baker attempts to pursue a historical realism, her novel leans slightly towards a historical drama instead.