This is a story about brave woman in the Dickensian era where women were deemed to be subservient to men regardless of their class.
It is a fantastic read which tells how a group of well to do people from the upper classes which included Charles Dickens set up a house to reform fallen women and set them on a course to improve themselves.

This was my first Stacey Halls book, and it did not disappoint! I was gripped from the beginning, constantly reading and anticipating what would happen next. The twists and turns shocked me each time! I loved the historical context, rich characters and interesting settings. I highly recommend this novel.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 | 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑦 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠 | 𝟒*

𝑆𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑆𝑦𝑛𝑜𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑠
A story centered around Charles Dicken’s fallen home for women: Urania Cottage, which offers a second chance to prostitutes and petty thieves. Inspired by real historical figures and events, this story explores how much women have to pay for freedom.

𝑇𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑠
❥ historical fiction
❥ set in 1846 london
❥ follows a series of women
❥ found family
❥ stalking

𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑
I genuinely really loved this. This isn’t my first Stacey Halls but it is my new official favourite. The story that has been crafted is ridiculously compelling and I loved how the author has taken inspiration and explorations of real historical figures and moments.

One thing I adored was how this book subtly explores the villainizing of women and the advantage society takes with them. Whilst quite a subliminal piece of storyline subtext, I loved how the girls were sold the idea of redemption as a form altruism from Dickens and benefactor, Angela Burdett-Coutts, when really Dickens was clearly collecting novel inspiration (though this is denied in reality) and Coutts assuages her loneliness.

Despite the subtext and the storyline being full of suspense with a missing sister and a stalker freed from prison, there is a sense of warmhearted ambience. there is a sense of found family even if it feels fragile and teeters on the edge of fracturing. The characters were flawed and multilayered, finding comfort in each other whilst the reader finds enjoyment through them.

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑
One thread of storyline was left quite open and this felt incongruent to how fully the rest of the story was explored.

𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑄𝑢𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑠
“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵, 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘹 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬?”

The Household is another gripping historical novel from Stacey Halls.

I love the way she juggles multiple characters’ perspectives together, weaving the strands together into one compelling narrative. Most of the story is pretty predictable (you can see the big twist coming a mile off), but I was so invested in all the characters that it didn’t matter. Fast-paced, with palpable tension, I devoured the book in a day.

Another must-read for fans of feminist historical fiction.

I love Stacey Halls’ books and this one was no exception. If you have enjoyed any of her previous work then you will not be disappointed. I feel Halls books have a certain feeling to them - even when the content is unnerving there is still such a lovely feel to her words.
The Household follows the inception of Urania Cottage - a house for fallen women to be taught life skills and skills suitable for domestic service, with the view to then moving to colonies and working/becoming a wife. Behind the Cottage is a company of benefactors including Charles Dickens and Angela Coutts - a single lady who inherited great wealth. The story follows a number of the girls who come to live at Urania Cottage, as well as Angela and the house mistress at the Cottage, Mrs Holdsworth. Problems within Angela’s own life collide with the problems the girls have at the Cottage. I won’t spoil it but it is very well done and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to Halls next!

The Household is based on Charles Dickens house for 'fallen women's in Shepherd's Bush named Urania Cottage. This was funded by Angela Coutts a very rich single woman friend of Dickens. The story flits between the lives of the girls in Urania house, the Housekeeper there and Miss Coutts. Very different women with different lives but all restrained and controlled by men and Victorian society. I really enjoyed this book as I have all Stacey Halls books. They are easy to read, informative, well researched and not sensationalised just to get readers. A nice twist at the end as well. Recommended by me definitely.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Stacey Halls writes such good books and this is another hit with me. A great sense of time and place with the atmosphere of early Victorian London almost tasteable and smellable. Josephine and Martha are great characters, as are the rest of the cast. Highly recommended to lovers of well written historical fiction. I shall have to buy this one to read the Acknowledgements and Author's Notes as I am fascinated to know the back story to the house set up for the fallen women,

Another really lovely book from Stacey Halls. The characters are rounded, and have some interesting storylines. It would have been nice to have a bit more fleshing out of one or two of the characters, Martha and Polly in particular. There was an interesting twist towards the end that I hadn’t seen coming, and then the story sort of hurtled a bit quickly towards the end then. Maybe another chapter or two would have been nice.

I'd previously read and enjoyed The Familiars, so was looking forward to reading this. Unfortunately it was pretty slow paced and by the time any action or the three separate povs began to come together I was kind of bored of it. There was a lot of set up and the way it connected was a bit outlandish for me. I was also slightly put off by it mentioning real people, I think it would have been less jarring to have not used the names of real people (Charles Dickens) and the actual cottage name. I also work in a similar industry to the overall vibe of Urania cottage and so it felt a bit like a bus man's holiday at times.

I really enjoy Stacey Halls books, I am left wanting to learn more about a subject and the existance of the real life Urania Cottage was no exception. You can tell that an enormous amount of research has been conducted by Halls but you arent force fed information. The characters are well written and your absorbed into their world. I particularly liked the character of Martha and found her search for her sister really moving. The novels shows how little agency women have during this time, even Angela with all her money is not really involved in decisions about the house and its inhabitants. The female friendships are really important in the book but not everyone is what they seem. Another great read from Halls and I look forward to reading her next book.

As a big fan of Stacey Halls’s previous work I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an early copy of ‘The Household’. I'm pleased to report that it lived up to my high expectations. I didn't know that Charles Dickens was a benefactor to disadvantaged women and I enjoyed how some characters, and places, in the book were based on real life. I loved all the characters and found the story really heartening and uplifting. I'm sure this will be another hit for Halls!

I was introduced to Stacy Hall's books by our Reading Group choice of The Foundling and really enjoyed it; I was therefore delighted to be given the opportunity through NetGalley to read he latest novel, The Household.

How fabulous to learn about historical facts in respect of Urania Cottage in Shepherd's Bush, it being established by Charles Dickens and Angela Burdett-Coutts (banking)?

This is a great book, I thoroughly enjoyed this advance copy and will be reading the missing ones from her list.

A captivating historical story set in Victorian London. Stacey Halls has produced another superb well-written book. The characters of the girls are so engaging, I felt I just had to keep reading to find out what happens to them. The story starts with a gentle, sustained pace and gradually speeds up towards the end. There are plenty of surprises as the story progresses and the atmosphere of Victorian London is clearly captured. This is a book about prisons in their various forms and the struggles women face to find a sense of freedom. Highly recommended.

Excellent historical fiction written by a skillful author. This is a genre that I really enjoy so it was a complete pleasure to read. The characters, setting and concept were engaging throughout and I didn't want the book to end.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Set in 1847, Urania Cottage provides a refuge and safe haven, a second chance at life for a group of previously criminalised young women.

Based on real places, people (Charles Dickens was a benefactor of Urania Cottage), and events, accompanied with wonderfully imagined characters and relationships, Stacey Halls brings Urania Cottage to life.

Halls creates atmosphere and setting, building a dark and gloomy, intimidating London, offset with a busy, warm, and inviting safe place for both the women who live there, and its beneficiaries to visit.

I did feel that there were a few too many characters, which meant at times it was a little difficult to keep track of each, and also, whilst each was endearing in their own way, I didn’t feel each of them received the full character development or story arc they deserved. I think this could have been developed quite easily into a longer series exploring the characters moving in and out of Urania Cottage.

I really enjoyed this book, I looked forward to picking it up, and was fully invested in the characters. It’s only my second Stacey Halls, but won’t be my last, and it’s my favourite so far! The Household is released on 11th April, but is available for pre-order now.

Thank you Netgalley, Bonnier Books and Stacey Halls for an advanced copy of this book to read.

I have already read all of Stacey Halls’ previous books, The Familiars, The Foundling and Mrs England. I loved them all and so I was excited to receive an arc of this book, based on historical fact. It is set in the Dickensian period at Urania Cottage, a home set up by Charles Dickens and Angela Coutts for fallen women. The purpose of this was to teach the girls to read and write, instruct them in the ways of looking after a household and give them religious teaching. The aim was to send them to Australia to begin a new life there.. We are introduced to some of the girls and follow their friendships and day to day lives. We have Martha, whose sister has disappeared, Josephine who is scarred, Polly and Lydia to name a few. Martha’s aim is to find her missing sister Emily. We also are introduced to Mrs Holdsworth, who is in charge of the cottage. I found I was engrossed in each of the characters and was rooting for them to be successful in their exploits. For anyone who enjoys historical fiction, I would recommend this book. My thanks go to NetGalley, Stacey Halls and Manilla Press for an e-arc of this enjoyable book.

This book was nothing like the rest of Stacey’s other books. I was really excited for the one because the previous books were all 4 to 5 stars for me. This one left me disappointed. There were no surprise elements to the book. The entire time we are trying to figure out why he’s so obsessed with one of the characters, but it’s never revealed to us, which I think is what frustrates me the most. There are many plot holes and elements that just didn’t need to be added.

Loved this fictionalised version of something real, involving real people - a real house that Dickens set up with some other people, which helped 'fallen women'. These women have not had easy lives and it is easy to sympathise with them even while you know they need second and third and fourth chances. Equally, Angela needed sympathy even in her gilded cage

This book was just so much fun. It was fascinating to say the least. It was easy to get through. Every time I put it down, I couldn’t wait to pick it up again. Overall, this was a full 5 stars read.

This is my favourite of Stacey Halls's books so far (although I haven't yet read The Foundling)! A really good work of historical fiction, it tells the story of a number of people all involved somehow in Urania Cottage, a house designed to rehabilitate 'fallen women' in the Victorian era. I thought everything was really great: the writing, the atmosphere, the characterisation, the historical detail, and especially the way it was all woven together. Less plotty than her other books but I think this is why I enjoyed it more!