Never say never? It seems this adage comes true at least once in our lives.

Stacey Halls has written some of my favourite Historical Fiction novels. Beautifully written, ‘populated’ with characters that stay with you. Therefore, I was delighted to be approved for an ARC of her latest novel The Household. Alas, we were simply NOT meant to be.

The story is based on true events and, without a doubt, the vast majority of readers will find it interesting, moving even. To me? It was utter boredom on pages. A heiress with money to waste chooses to ‘’create’’ a ‘’household’’ for fallen girls instead of a hospital or an orphanage. The ‘’girls’ feel as if they have been locked up - never mind that most of them have recently arrived from prison - screaming ingratitude towards Angela with every sentence. Her keeper desperately tries to resemble Mrs. Danvers and poor Angela (the only character who is remotely interesting) tries to escape her stalker while pining for a man 30 years her senior.

Not impressed.

I am sorry to say that the toils, woes and troubles of prostitutes did not attract my sympathy or my interest. In addition, Mrs Holdsworth was irritating to the core. Certain parts of the plot ‘’felt’’ fake and cheap. For example, the remarks about colonization from a girl who can’t write her own name seem to serve a gimmick urge to satisfy a portion of the so called ‘’modern’’ audience. And don’t even get me started on the atrocious dialogue.

Yes, well, I doubt these people even KNOW how to read…

The atmosphere is excellent, and the sense of setting is beautiful. And that’s just about it. Unfortunately, this novel was not for me but I have no doubt it will appeal to the majority of today’s readers.

And that says a lot about today’s readers.

Many thanks to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I have read all of Stacey Halls books and this one I found just ok. The story follows Angela Burdett-Coutts, a wealthy women who teams up with Charles Dickens. They open Uraian Cottage and house fallen women, ex prisoners and prostitutes for rehabilitation.

The story is based on true facts such as the cottage and Angela was a real person. I would say though a lot of fiction has been added such as the girls the story follows such as Martha and Josephine.

I found this book just ok. It plodded along and at times I felt not a lot happens. The story did pick up eventually especially towards the end.

I do enjoy fiction based on true events and knew nothing about Angela or the cottage at all. I know a little about Charles Dickens but he does hardly feature in this story.

Thank you to Readers First and the publisher for the book. ( )

1847 and the novelist Charles Dickens has partnered with a philanthropic rich young women to set up a house in Shepherds Bush to rehabilitate female prisoners on release, to educate and train them to begin new lives in Australia but not as convicts. The Matron of the house is experienced and mostly the young women make excellent progress. Their benefactress, Angela, suffers herself from a stalker who haunts her and when one of the women, Martha, loses her sister it sets into place a chain of events that will change the lives of all involved.
It would have been so easy to make Charles Dickens the subject of this novel, as his founding of Urania Cottage is well-known. However, Halls has instead chosen to make this story about the difficult lives of young women in early Victorian England, the perils of being in service, the temptations of theft or prostitution for those without family support etc. It's a really good plot, meticulously researched and engaging to read. ( )

I read Stacey Hall’s first book, The Familiars, and loved it. I made a mental note to keep an eye open for her future work. I'm ashamed to say that I still haven't read The Foundling or Mrs. England but I will. And if I needed any extra motivation reading The Household was the best thing I could have done!
The book is what I like to call 'faction' - it's an historical novel based on true facts. The titular household refers to Urania Cottage, the property that Charles Dickens founded with the aim of helping 'fallen' women. He did this with the help and financial assistance of Angela Burnett-Coutts.

The residents of that cottage, selected from inmates of prisons and workhouses, provide the substance of the novel and their stories unfold alongside that of Angela Burdett-Coutts which offers a neat balance between two different social groups.

Although Dickens is referenced many times in the story centre stage is given to the female characters. What I enjoyeded very much was that the supposed 'fallen' women were portrayed, not as victims to be pitied, but as resourceful, and determined people trying to make the best of the lives they were leading. Their stories nestle alongside that of Ms. Burdett-Coutts as equals.

In some ways I had the feeling that it was what I like to call a 'big house' story but that may have been because of the moneyed Ms.Burnett-Coutts!

All the women have their stories and they interlink very cleverly with some tight plotting. But you can’t have an historical novel without some serious research; not just the facts of the period but the essence of the period. Dialogue, locations, attention to the smallest detail bring the narrative to life and transport the reader back to Victorian England.

There are mysteries to ponder, obstacles to overcome and the notion of freedom explored between the rich and the not so rich. There’s compassion and drama, in fact there’s a little of everything! A most absorbing and captivating story. I’m off to procure copies of Mrs.England and The Foundling.

My thanks to Readers First for my prize copy. ( )

The History: in 1846 the famous novelist, Charles Dickens, and his friend, Angela Burdett-Coutts, determined to found an asylum for rehabilitating fallen women. An application leaflet was distributed to jails, workhouses and hospitals. Urania Cottage in Shepherd’s Bush was purchased and furnished. Food, clothes and shelter would be provided. A strict daily timetable would be planned to include lessons with slate and chalk, all household tasks, gardening, needlework and music. Burdett-Coutts, the heiress of Coutts bank, footed the bill and in November 1847 Urania Cottage opened its doors to the first inmates.

The Household: Mrs Holdsworth is responsible for the well-being, education and retention of her charges at Urania Cottage. If the young women - former prostitutes and petty thieves, the broken, the homeless and the vulnerable - obey the rules they will be given a second chance - but how badly do they want it? A few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts receives shocking news. Her stalker of ten years has been released from prison early and she knows it’s only a matter of time before he shows his hand again. As the women’s worlds collide in ways they could never have dreamt of, they quickly discover that freedom always comes at a price.

I loved the way the lives, thoughts and actions of Mrs Holdsworth and Angela Burdett-Coutts were reimagined and interwoven with the sadness, anxiety and traumas suffered by the fictional characters, sisters Martha and Emily and soul sisters Josephine and Annie.

I read The Household in two sittings. The detailed descriptions of open sewers and hooves clattering over cobblestones, guttering candles and porcelain bedpans, squalid living conditions and sumptuous, glazed swan feasts transported me back in time to Victorian London, vividly picturing the fashions and furnishings, people and places. The growing tension and suspense as the multiple plots thickened kept the pages turning.

Beautifully written, extensively researched and brilliantly tied together, day-to-day life in Urania Cottage and the stories of these very different yet equally determined women fighting to survive in the face of adversity had me gripped from beginning to end. ( )