The household of the title here is Urania Cottage, a house for 'fallen women', which aimed to train them up for service and provide them with a fresh start and was set up by amongst others, Charles Dickens and Angela Burdett Coutts, (of the banking family). Charles Dickens barely features in the story, but Angela does; at the time she was trying to get the cottage working, she was being plagued by a stalker who had just recently been released from prison.
3.5

We also get the stories of some of the girls who have ended up in Urania Cottage, mainly Martha and Josephine, with the various threads all coming together towards the end.

I found this one less enjoyable than other novels by this author, possibly partly to do with the multiple story lines in this one. That said, Stacey Halls is one of the few contemporary novelists that I always read, so a less enjoyable book from her is still worth my time.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC. This is definitely a book to read if you are a fan of historical fiction. Set in London in 1847, The Household tells the story of a group of women who have been taken out of prison and given a second chance in a reform home set up by 2 wealthy individuals. These individuals happen to be Charles Dickens and Angela Burdett-Coutts.
This is a great story, underpinned by facts from history which really add depth to the story, Stacey Halls really knows how to write a historical fiction book! Would definitely recommend and excited to see Stacey's next work.

This shouldn't have felt boring as the premise was definitely intriguing with real life historical figures and events setting a backdrop for other fictional characters and their stories. The social injustice of Victorian London is something I would normally find interesting.

But this feels too episodic in plot structure. I became quickly bored with things looking like something happening which then turned out to be nothing. The characters were underdeveloped and Halls didn't give me chance to take time to get to know them and connect with them in their troubles. So, therefore, instead I didn't care. The pacing was all wrong tripping through plot with a disposable attitude rather than care in building moments of emotion and significance.

DNFd at 29%. I often feel that books based on fact can fall foul to the level of research and historical accuracy at the expense of good story and character development - it's a hard balance and this book didn't work for me.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

The Household is set in London in 1847 and tells the story of a group of fallen women being taken from prison and given a second chance through life in Urania Cottage in London, the reform home set up by wealthy heiress Angela Burdett Coutts and her friend Charles Dickens. The Household is intended to be the perfect place for the women to reform through learning domestic duties before emigrating to Australia to start a new life.

As we follow the life of these women it becomes clear that reform is not as straightforward as the patrons of the Household assumed. Martha comes from a good family but is desperate to locate her lost younger sister; Josephine cannot settle in the Household as she has been separated from her love Annie; and Hannah runs away because she is terrified of being transported to Australia. Mrs Holdsworth, the Matron of the house, has to try and save these girls, mixing kindness with adherence to the rules laid down by the benefactors. And Angela Burdett Coutts has her own problems as she is being followed by a dangerous stalker.

The Household is based on the true story of the reform house set up by Charles Dickens with the financial backing of Miss Burdett-Coutts with the aim of helping fallen women who wanted to be helped out of their situation. There was room for thirteen women and Dickens insisted it was called ‘a home’ rather than being referred to as an institution as similar set-ups were named around the country. All the inmates of Urania Cottage were given Dicken’s pamphlet ‘An Appeal to Fallen Women’, which promised ‘an active healthy life’ in place of the horrors of the future their current lifestyle would bestow upon them. Dicken’s real life interest in the redemption of fallen women is reflected in the themes of several of his novels.

This was another great historical read from Stacey Halls with strong female characters. I am a huge fan of her work and would buy every book she writes. Thanks to NetGalley, Bonnier Books and Stacey Halls for this Arc.

I read this as it was badged as something that Eve Chase fans would enjoy, and I did enjoy it.

Set against Charles Dickens' home for fallen women, it took me a while to get into it at first as a lot of characters were introduced at the same time. However, it was worth persevering as it really transported you back to Dickens' England and the backstreets of London. And after a while you found yourself rooting for the lives of the main characters to turn out alright.

Definitely one to read if you like historical fiction.

I really wanted to love this book as I love Stacey Halls as an author and all her previous books are some of my favourites but this one just didn’t meet my expectations sadly. I found it quite disjointed and hard to get into, and the plot just wasn’t as interesting as the others in my opinion.

It’s still an ok read and I love how she takes real life history and puts her spin on it but this one was, on the whole, a miss for me unfortunately.

Set in London and its surroundings and centred around Urania Cottage in Shepherd’s Bush , which Charles Dickens established to help fallen women (also borrowing some of their stories in his work). The characters in this book are vividly drawn and memorable-from Angela Burdett-Coutts living less than the full life she should while haunted by a stalker, to the women who come together in the cottage, and develop strong relationships and trust in each other.

This is a fascinating slice of history, with a factual basis, which kept me turning the pages all the way to the very satisfying ending!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I thoroughly recommend this Stacey Halls novel- it completely matched my high expectations of this accomplished writer!

I’ve loved all of Stacey Hall’s books and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. The Household is set in London and surrounds the (true) story of Urania Cottage, a home set up in the then rural Shepherd’s Bush by Charles Dickens as a new start for women escaping hardship or starting over after prison. Dickens himself features only as a shadowy figure in the background, providing money and using the stories of some of the girls to help with his novels. Almost all of the main characters are female, from the wealthy heiress who gives money and support but is facing her own struggles with a stalker, the matron who is paid to run the home and look after the residents, and the ‘fallen women’ themselves who are looking to eventually begin new lives in Australia.

There are few authors of historical fiction who can create a sense of time and place as well as Stacey Hall and the settings in this book were wonderful. The bustle, dirt, noise and danger of London itself contrasts so strongly with the quiet of the home created in Shepherd’s Bush and really adds to what a change it must have been to those who went from one to the other. They are not allowed to discuss their past with one another and many restrictions are placed on their freedoms but they also have a far better standard of living than they are used to and strong bonds develop. The characters are all believable and sympathetic and the central mystery was so good that I found it hard to put the book down.

This is really outstanding historical fiction and highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

I unfortunately DNFd this. It was my first book by this popular historical fiction writer.

While her writing was beautiful, it just wasn’t for me. It’s based on true events and felt too factual and hard to follow for me at times with all the characters and place names.

However if heavy and complex historical fiction is your thing I think you’ll like this.

Urania Cottage is a small house on the outskirts of London, for "fallen women", set up by Angela Burdett-Coutts and some benefactors, eg Dickens. The Household is about some of those women, and Angela, including how some of the women came to be in Urania Cottage and their future plans.

The plot is quite complex, including missing girls, blackmail, prostitution and stalking, but the characters all shine through - particularly, Martha, seeking her sister, Josephine, and Angela herself. The matron Mrs Holdsworth is also a strong character, and the way the different characters and plot aspects weave together is really well done. It's very readable, and I think is Stacey Halls' best book to date!

The Household is a wonderful novel based on fact and given a very human treatment. The story of Urania Cottage and its inhabitants is fascinating, not least because of its set up. Formed by a committee of like-minded ‘reforming’ philanthropists, put together by the writer, Charles Dickens, Urania Cottage was designed with the idea of helping fallen women who wanted to be helped. They would spend a year in the cottage, watched over by a Matron or Housekeeper, and learn basic literacy skills, how to cook and keep house and after that one year period, if they wanted to, they could go to Australia equipped with the skills to build new lives for themselves.

In Stacey Halls’ book there are rules to living this way; no leaving the house unaccompanied. No discussing their past lives. They will take regular religious instruction at the cottage. Dickens himself was instrumental in choosing residents for Urania Cottage. He scoured the prisons and workhouses looking for suitable candidate. He promised the substitution of ‘an active, cheerful, healthy life’ for life in prison or a return to poverty when they were let out.

Though some of the young women felt that they were being offered penal transportation, for many it felt like an opportunity to start afresh and away from the things that had previously brought them low. So they choose a new life in Urania Cottage, situated in Lime Grove in Shepherds Bush, far enough away from the thrumming city to keep them away from temptation. Dickens realises though that not all women who have fallen want to be saved and Urania House will come to understand that is true, too.

Heiress Angela Burdett-Coutts is an enthusiastic funder of the Urania Cottage project, but she has her own concerns to tangle with. Plagued for many years by a stalker until he was finally sent to prison, she has just discovered that he has been released early and she cannot go out or rest easily without a police escort. Constantly on the lookout, her nerves are frayed and her temperament weakened.

She had hoped a good friend would look upon her with favour when she suggested they might wed, but he firmly shut the door on that prospect and Angela feels alone and dejected.

She does however gain enjoyment and satisfaction from her visits to Urania House, where Mrs Holdsworth runs the house well and looks after the girls. They are in a quiet country location, where they do not advertise what goes on in the house and the women’s outdoor pursuits are mainly limited to keeping the garden.

Stacey Halls brings it all to life as we meet each girl and understand their situations, where they have come from and their hopes and dreams for the future. Told from multiple perspectives, including Angela’s, we understand the hardships these women have endured and how they have had to learn to survive. But these are not weak women or silent sufferers, rather they have the will to take a chance or to realise when it is not working for them. Seeing Urania House for the first time, Martha is reminded of ‘a doll’s house, of a staged domestic life where, upon closer inspection, the fire is a pile of ribbons and the windows are pasted shut.’ None of the girls think this is a normal way to live, however much it may be better than the prison they have just left.

The Household starts slowly with wonderful settings of Victorian London brought to life by Stacey Halls trademark imagery which spills from every page to illuminate the lives of these women. That slow burn gains tempo as the plot takes on new twists and turns and more than one woman finds herself in jeopardy.

Verdict: I really enjoyed this historical fiction and I loved learning about Urania House, how it came about and the lives of the different women who lived there. Stacey Halls makes it all live and breathe and brings us a captivating, emotional tale of friendship courage and resourceful determination.

📖 BOOK REVIEW 📖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

#TheHousehold by @staceyhallsauthor @bonnierbooks_uk

➡️synopsis

This was actually a really lovely to read; as already a fan of this author, I was used to quite intense plots to her stories - not a bad thing, but my tired and over stimulated mind found peace here. This read like a saga without an overload of dates and history. Nothing was overdone and while you did had a few characters/stories to keep track of they were all afforded a decent chunk at a time which made it feel easy to follow. Like I say nothing was over egged and it all came together neatly at the end. Although this was historical fiction it definitely had thriller feels and demonstrated that really some stories are as old as time! I’d definitely recommend this one!

With thanks to author #StaceyHalls #bonnierbooks and @netgalley for allowing us to read this one early!

RELEASING: APRIL 11th

-EMILY

@the_book_girls_1

I loved Stacey Halls' previous novels but unfortunately I'm a bit disappointed this one. While it is an interesting historical fiction novel, it just fell short of the expectations I had.

One aspect of the book I did enjoy, which is true of all Stacey Halls' novels, is how she champions women, especially those who have fallen on hard times. I could feel the anxieties and aspirations of the women at Urania Cottage, and I could sympathise which each of them as they yearned for a better future. Angela's storyline added another layer, as she dealt with the constant threat of her stalker. Her story highlights that wealth doesn't necessary guarantee safety and security for women at that time.

Another aspect where Stacey Halls excels is the vivid depiction of Dickensian London. She expertly brought the bustling streets to life, from the opium dens to grand mansions, making the city itself feel like a character in the story. She seamless blends fact with fiction as I felt fully immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of the era.

However, for me, the pacing was slightly off with this book. It lacked the tension I was expecting and for the first 75% of the book, I found it quite hard going. There was so many characters and different perspectives and I felt the plot suffered because of it. It found it hard to connect to some of the women and would have preferred more character development, which admittedly is difficult when there are so many of them.

I did find that the final quarter of the novel picked up the pace and effectively tied together most of the loose ends. However, I just didn't find myself as invested in the characters or the storyline as I would have hoped.

I usually love this author but this one was sadly a miss for me. I find it really hard to get into, there didn’t feel like it had much plot or direction and there were far too many similar characters in it.

Great story based on true events (Urania Cottage set up buy Charles Dickens for 'fallen women' & funded by Angela Coutts ' heiress of Coutts bank).
If you don't mind historical inaccuracies (I'm not sure Angela Coutts would have become so personally involved & real historic figures having fictionalised storylines) then the story bowls along!

This is the second book I have read by Stacey Halls, The first book I read was the familiars. I loved this book being a mixture of fact and fiction it kept me gripped right from the start. The characters are extremely well written and the fact that Charles Dickens is in it kept me hooked. I shall certainly be reading more by this author.

Mesmerising book.

Urania Cottage in Shepherds Bush is being kitted out, everything brand new for the purpose of the young girls who will move into there for a while, whilst being trained for a better life. To leave behind a life of vice or crime. To hopefully start a fresh page of life.
A committee is behind this including Miss Angela Burdetett Coutts and the writer Mr Charles Dickens.
Will it go according to plan?
Set in the mid nineteenth century.

What a mesmerising book, I was hooked throughout.
A range of different characters from all walks of life come together. Miss Angela Burdett Coutts an extremely wealthy woman from the Banking industry and also a real life character of the times, features more prominently than Mr Charles Dickens who’s character is brief, more in the background of the book.
I don’t want to delve into the story and spoil the plot for anyone, suffice to say this book for me was so hard to put down. I wanted to know what would happen next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

I absolutely devoured The Household by Stacey Halls. It is a brilliant read, with twists and turns and interesting characters.

The story intermingled several stories at the same time, allowing the central characters to develop fully. The story starts by following an heiress and some "fallen women" and then follows to show how their lives interconnect and add balance and rythym to each others.

I don't want to say too much as it may contain plot spoilers.

I loved Mrs England by Stacey and had initial concerns, before opening the book, that this may not reach the same heights but I was wrong

This novel cements Stacey Halls place as an excellent writer. I loved it

My review of The Household by Stacey Halls (5 stars) - out on the 21st of April

Thank you Bonnie Books and Stacey Halls for this advanced readers’ copy of The Household in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic historical fiction novel set in Victorian London. Loosely based on true events, this is a story about Urania Cottage, a house of redemption for “fallen women” founded by Charles Dickens and Angela Burnett-Coutts.

We follow a group of women from different classes and backgrounds, and with different stories. Each of them has to fight… and not just for their happiness, but for their security. We follow our characters through the dangers of Victorian society that offers such few opportunities for women who strive to be safe and secure.

We follow the story from multiple POVs, as our characters try to find their loved ones and reconnect with their families in the utter chaos that is London in the 1840s. Stolen identity, forged correspondence, thievery, opium dens and brothels, right across the street from grand mansions where esteemed ladies and gentlemen attend parties and drink champagne. The streets of London have been described so vividly, that I felt like I was with our characters, walking through the hustle and bustle of Soho and Piccadilly. The city is a character in its own right.

“The city is cruel but not heartless; it always offers a step to sit on, a secret corner to tuck oneself in. There are thousands of people doing thousands of jobs, fine parks and wide streets in which rich and poor may walk side by side. In London, a cat may look at a king.”

Though not fast-paced, I loved the way this story unfolded through a series of interconnected events coming together like puzzle pieces. This is such a well-thought-through and developed piece of writing, that I don’t think I will ever stop thinking about it.

This is also a character-driven story, and I grew to appreciate the women of Urania Cottage. Every single one of the characters has been developed so well, I would love to find out what happens to them next.

“She knows she will never think of London as home, will never truly think of anywhere as home again. Home was a whitewashed cottage with sheets in the kitchen, hollyhocks in the garden, three sisters in a bed. Home is only a memory. And she is grateful for it, because to have had it and lost it is better than never having it at all.”

I extend my gratitude to NetGalley, Bonnier Books UK, and the author for providing me with an E-ARC to offer my candid review of this book.

Having been a fan of the author's previous works, I eagerly requested this book upon seeing it advertised on NetGalley. Securing an ARC of this book felt like a true honor, and I can confidently say that the author did not disappoint; this may even be her best work yet.

"The Household" delves into the story of Urania Cottage, a sanctuary established to offer women facing adversity a chance at redemption and reintegration into society. Drawing inspiration from Charles Dickens's real-life philanthropic efforts, the novel authentically portrays historical events and figures.

The narrative unfolds through various perspectives, offering insights into the lives of the women residing at the cottage, each grappling with their own challenges. Additionally, Angela's viewpoint sheds light on her decade-long ordeal with a persistent stalker.

This book poignantly highlights the plight of women in 1846, showcasing their struggles and the societal pressures that often led them to resort to desperate measures. Through the lens of Urania Cottage, Dickens's belief in redemption and the value of empowering women is vividly portrayed.

Furthermore, the narrative underscores the systemic disregard for women's voices, as Angela finds herself excluded from crucial decisions despite her status and wealth.

In conclusion, "The Household" is a compelling work of historical fiction by Stacey Halls, offering a captivating narrative for fans of Charles Dickens and enthusiasts of historical fiction alike.