Longbourn: The unputdownable Richard and Judy pick

What a clever, almost mischievous book this is; to look at Jane Austen's Bennet girls from backstage - or, rather, from below stairs. Jo Baker writes utterly convincingly about the lives of servants labouring in the Longbourn of Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Of the ceaseless, thankless tasks involved in keeping the Bennets clothed, fed, watered and tidied-up after - and not least, helping to prepare the troupe of unmarried sisters, Lizzie and the rest of them, fit for suitable male inspection. A funny, often moving, take on a timeless literary classic. Review From Richard & Judy Book Club.

It is wash-day for the housemaids at Longbourn House, and Sarah's hands are chapped and raw. Domestic life below stairs, ruled with a tender heart and an iron will by Mrs Hill the housekeeper, is about to be disturbed by the arrival of a new footman, bearing secrets and the scent of the sea.