From the Sunday Times bestseller and winner of the Women's Prize Futures Award, the captivating, highly anticipated new novel, inspired by real historical figures and events. In a quiet house in the countryside outside London, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women. The house and its location are top secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in common: they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life - but how badly do they want it? Meanwhile, a few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the benefactors of Urania Cottage, makes a discovery that leaves her cold: her stalker of 10 years has been released from prison . . . As the women's worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . . The Household is the new novel from the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars, The Foundling and Mrs England. Set against Charles Dicken's home for fallen women and inspired by real figures from history, it is Stacey Halls' most ambitious and compelling novel yet. PRAISE FOR STACEY HALLS 'Stacey Halls is a writer of great originality, great imagination and great sense of place. Atmospheric, intelligent, accessible, every novel is worth reading, then reading again and again' Kate Mosse 'The new Hilary Mantel' Cosmopolitan 'Outstanding. Haunting, compelling, atmospheric' Emma Stonex 'Utterly compelling. Menacing and marvellously written, this is hugely accomplished' Daily Mail 'Shimmers with menace... enticing and beautifully written' Sunday Express 'Jaw-droppingly brilliant. Exquisitely written, incredibly atmospheric, a masterclass in rising tension' Liz Hyder
| ISBN: | 9781838776817 |
| Publication date: | 11th April 2024 |
| Author: | Stacey Halls |
| Publisher: | Manilla Press an imprint of Bonnier Books Ltd |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 378 pages |
| Primary Genre | General Fiction |
| Other Genres: |
A detailed fast paced read. Thoroughly enjoyed.
In 1847 a home for “homeless women" was established in Shepherds Bush by Charles Dickens and financed by his friend Angela Burdett-Coutts. This novel explores an imaginary story regarding some of the inhabitants of the home at Utopia Cottage.
The young women (well, girls really) who were selected for life at Utopia Cottage had to follow a strict daily routine, were taught household management and were given basic reading and writing skills. Not all of the girls were appreciative!
Most of the young women were shown as well rounded characters, with interesting back stories and their own storyline going forward within the narrative. It was hard not to have sympathy for these young individuals who found themselves at the very bottom of society.
There is also a sub plot concerning the patron Angela Burdett-Coutts.... Read Full Review
Beautifully written, extensively researched and brilliantly tied together, daily life in Urania Cottage and the different women’s battle to survive against all odds had me gripped from beginning to end.
History: Charles Dickens, the famous novelist, and Angela Burdett-Coutts, the heiress of Coutts bank, open the doors of Urania Cottage, offering fallen women a second chance, in November 1847.
The Household: Mrs Holdsworth welcomes her charges - former prostitutes and petty thieves, the broken, the homeless and the vulnerable – to a new life while millionairess, Angela Burdett-Coutts, faces the terror of her old life a few miles away when she discovers her stalker of ten years has been released from jail.
I loved the way the lives, thoughts and actions of Mrs Holdsworth and Angela Burdett-Coutts were reimagined and interwoven with those of the fictional characters, sisters Martha and Emily and soul sisters Josephine and Annie.
I read The Household in two sittings.... Read Full Review
A well-researched historical novel.
I found this an immediately engaging, easy to read and page-turning story. Having read ‘Charles Dickens: A Life’ by Claire Tomalin, I was already aware of the ‘Urania Cottage’ project and so was keen to find out how the author would fictionalise this social experiment. It soon became clear that the author had done a considerable amount of research into this period of Victorian history, as well as into the joint philanthropic project of Dickens and Angela Burdett-Coutts (millionairess and co-owner of Coutts Bank), which offered an alternative future to young women who had, for one reason or another, spent time in prison, and whose prospects looked bleak.... Read Full Review
