I absolutely love Stacey Halls and I haven't found a novel of hers I didn't like.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Household. I enjoyed how Stacey transports you into the world of the story.

I have loved all of Stacey Halls previous works so was excited to have the opportunity to read her next historical fiction, The Household, set in Victorian England. The main focus is Urania House, a place which offers charitable help to women in need, and is owned by Angela, but is essentially 'run' by the matron, Mrs Holdsworth. I loved the characters and the plot twists and didn't find it too complex to follow despite all the different characters. With the book having its links to Charles Dickens was a lovely bonus and it was definitely a book worth reading in winter for the atmosphere.

Sadly ,I've had to do a soft dnf for now and come back to the book in the future. I think the writing was very good. Based on what I've read so far I would still recommend this to people I know would love this type of story.

Set in the 1840s at Urania Cottage in then-rural Shepherd’s Bush, a philanthropic experiment where ‘fallen women’ get a second chance, and in London’s fashionable Piccadilly, it revolves around Martha and Josephine (two of the cottage’s first fallen residents) and the cottage’s patron Angela (one of the wealthiest women in Britain). It’s inspired by the real Urania cottage, brainchild of banking heiress Angela Burdett-Coutts and administered by Charles Dickens.

Most of the fallen females want to leave parts of their past behind, but can’t bear to leave other pieces of their former lives. In spite of her wealth, Angela, their benefactor, has problems of her own in the form of a stalker who has just been released from prison. She also has a massive, semi-requited crush on the Duke of Wellington (hugely relatable).

The plot follows several expertly drawn strands - a missing sister, a no good lover, a family tragedy, and the poverty trap - before drawing everything back together in a clever and immensely satisfying climax.

I loved every moment with Martha, Josephine, Mrs Holdsworth, Frank, and Angela and found them so deftly drawn I felt I had a sense of who they were from the word go. The historical detail was also in the sweet spot for me: perfectly chosen to give an immersive read without swamping the action.

This was my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was drawn by the historical fiction elements and the sinister atmosphere was perfect.

I loved the multiple points of view, and all of the main characters. I wanted more from each of the characters although was very satisfied with the way the story wrapped up.

I really enjoyed The Household—a solid 4 stars for me! 🙌🏼

It’s historical fiction, but it didn’t feel too heavy, making it easy to get lost in the story. The characters were so well-developed, and I felt like I truly got to know all the girls. Despite their different backgrounds, they’re smart, loyal, and just looking for a place to belong and start fresh. You can’t help but root for them.

What made it even more fascinating was the fact it’s based on real historical events! Charles Dickens did indeed set up a home for ‘fallen girls’ in an attempt to reform women who had been led astray, and Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the richest women in Victorian England, really did have a stalker who tried to worm his way into her life, tied up with a rather dramatic inheritance scandal.

There’s also a great plot twist towards the end that totally caught me off guard—I actually gasped! 😮 The only thing that holds it back from being a 5-star read is that I sometimes found the plot a bit hard to follow. But overall, it’s a gripping read for fans of historical fiction with strong female characters.

Thankyou to netgally and the publishers for an arc.

I'll be honest some of this might be because historical fiction is not really my thing.

This story follows multiple characters as a group home for women who have had difficult pasts in order to have a second chance at life. We also follow a wealthy upperclass socialite who's living a life in fear fater her stalker gets released from prison.

The major issue I had with the book was that the beginning was a whirlwind where I struggled to keep all the characters staright as I feel like the book just kind of jumps in and I didn't feel like I had a solid foundation on the plot or the characters. And it made it hard to get into the story throughout.

I also had a really hard time liking Angela who is caring enough to help set up the house but also ignorant to the girls true struggles. I honestly didn't fully connect with any of the other chracters either, they were..... fine I guess.

Thats my overall feeling of the book to be honest "alight I guess" it feels very middling and average and I had a very hard time pushing through it.

I love Stacey's books, so when I got the chance to read this I, jumped at the chance.
Unfortunately, it became confusing remembering all the names of the girls and whose back story was whose.

Thank you Bonnier Books and Netgalley.
Stacey Halls never fails to deliver - I am usually a crime person but I really enjoy Stacey's books.
This may be Stacey's best book yet.
Brilliant characters, the atmosphere she creates makes you think you are there and the plot mixes fact and fiction.
This is absolutely first rate and not to be missed.
You must read this - I will be buying this for my mum.

Sadly lacked something for me, maybe wanted more information about Dickens' involvement than the background cameo role.
As other books, the writing and main character development is strong, but this one lacked plot, and some of the multi layered storylines seemed to become lost and unresolved. However, the two main characters' stories shone out beautifully.
The book seemed to want to show that not all 'fallen women' wanted to be saved, but their seemingly continued reliance seems to fail to achieve this. The story lacked a strong feminist lead. Angela herself, separately, experiences the vulnerability of continued stalking and harassment.
Maybe I was seeking more about Dickens' potential philanthropy, or wanted the duet to win over the exploitative power and poverty?

A good book for me has strong characters that you can connect to. Bonus points if they are strong women. This book had so many strong women it was right up my street. I felt connected to each of them in a different way and loved them all.

I received an ARC of this book via netgalley. It fictionalises an actual event - the 1847 opening of Urania Cottage funded by Charles Dickens. There were parts of this book that I enjoyed and it opened an event in history that i had not heard of before. We meet the girls, staff and supporters of the venture over the course of the novel. My difficulties arise in that it felt like two different novels - that of the household and that of the life of one of it's mains Supporters Angela Coutts. These were eventually drawn together but for the most part it felt disconnected.

Excellent read, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this title in exchange for my feedback.

Stacey Halls has once again captivated me! She is the author of The Familiars, The Foundling and Mrs England, all are amazingly brilliant books. This new book The Household did not disappoint and actual exceeded my expectations.
Stacey takes historical events and adds her own fiction to them to create a bewitching retelling. I loved the characters and their stories. I couldn’t get enough of them.
I have given this a 4 star review just because it took me a chapter or two to get hooked.

Stacey Halls brings moments of, mainly forgotten, history alive. I always eagerly anticipate another book and this one did not disappoint. I always find that the characters are easy to connect to and feel like I’m travelling along their journey with them - testament to the incredible writing.

I loved this book - I have got into period, historical fiction more and more recently and this is a perfect read.

It's a great premise, reminiscent of Charles Dickens, really engaging characters, plenty of intrigue, compassion and kindness.

It's a yes from me!

A great premise from a sure-footed author who has a brilliant ability to bring an age to life in a modern, but still authentic, way. I felt I knew the characters like my own family.

Having loved The Familiars and Mrs England I was very excited to read The Household and while I liked it, I just couldn't quite connect with it quite as much as the other titles.

Based on real historical characters, the story had great potential, but I felt it didn't have a great impact, it was more of a slow and meandering story. Which isn't a criticism, as there are times when a slow burn is wholly satisfying. It probably says more about my struggles with my attention span.

But for fans of historical fiction, this will be a winner I'm sure.

I really love Stacey Halls writing and I always enjoy how she makes historical fiction so accessible. This story is about fallen women that are almost rehabilitated in a women's home that was set upb y Charles Dickens and the Coutts family? I would be interested to know if that was true...
Anyway, the story highlights some of the womens stories and how they have walked down their own paths in lives. I love how Halls always seamlessly melds fact and fiction to give an immersive historical experiece.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC! I was so excited when I was approved for this and I admit I am guilty of “saving” it which is why I didn’t finish it until now.

Stacey Halls is one of my favourite authors and so I savour her books. She researches and plots her novels so thoroughly and incredibly well. Her characters feel like real people and you are invested in their stories and their lives. I was rooting so hard for these girls. I’d never even heard of Urania Cottage or the work that Dickens did with fallen women so that was really interesting to read about. I love reading about lesser known parts of history. Angela was also a badass and it was great to read about a strong female character that actually existed in that time period and who used her wealth to do good.

This book has a real found family feel to it and watching friendships bloom between the girls was so heartwarming. That being said this is definitely not all uplifting. The book follows poor “fallen” women from the 19th century so there are obviously some trigger warnings that need to be checked. Some parts were hard to read but it was such a rewarding experience. Despite “saving it for a special occasion” I devoured this in two sittings! A beautiful book with themes of friendship, class, found family and a bit of mystery thrown in there as well. This was released on 11th April and I highly recommend you check it out! I ended up ordering a signed copy!