📖 Review
The Household by Stacey Halls

I have read and enjoyed Stacey Halls' previous three novels, so I was really looking forward to starting this.

This story is set in London in 1847. A rich benefactor, Angela Burdett Coutts decides to set up a home to help fallen girls, along with her friend Charles Dickens. Urania Cottage is a second chance at life for prostitutes, petty thieves, and destitute. These women must not leave the house and are not permitted to talk about their pasts. The hope is that after some training, they can go abroad to begin new lives.
Angela has her own past to deal with, however, as her stalker of over 10 years has just been released from prison.

I loved reading about the different women within the walls of Urania Cottage. The characters were brilliantly written and easy to identify with.
The novel is so well researched, and Victorian England is vividly brought to life. I found the links to Dickens and his interest in supporting 'fallen women' fascinating. I hadn't realised until I'd finished that Angela Burdett Coutts and Urania Cottage actually existed, which makes the story even more interesting. I love books that blend fictional and real characters and places.

I enjoyed the final part of the book the most when the plot ramps up and the mystery starts to unravel regarding Angela's stalker, Richard Dunn. The novel really portrays the desperation and struggle young girls faced when trying to build a life for themselves in London and the limited choices available to them.

Overall, I found this book a bit slower paced than Stacey Halls previous novels, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Mrs England is still my favourite book out of the four, but I would highly recommend them all!

As a reader who predominantly reads fantasy, Stacey Halls never fails to impress me with her work. I generally do not read historical fiction but when I read her books I am always captivated to the very last page.

The book mostly takes place in Urania Cottage, a house founded for the ‘fallen’ women of society, by Charles Dickens and funded by Angela Burdett-Coutts. The chapters flash back and forth between some of the girls who joined the cottage, their previous lives as well as their daily struggles. Additionally, we also get a glimpse into the life of Angela and the matron of the cottage.

Stacey Halls has such a raw and compelling manner of storytelling that I could not choose a favourite character - I loved them all. It was heartwarming to read about how the girls went from such difficult circumstances to a life with hope and new opportunities.

I was not aware of Dickens’ involvement nor Angela Coutts before reading this book, but it has definitely sent me down a rabbit hole after finishing the story. It is quite interesting and I cannot wait to see what Stacey Halls has in store for us next!

Thank you to the publisher for a review copy! I appreciate it!

Another absolute belter from Stacey Halls! Idon’t think she could write a bad book if she tried! Gripping and a book I just couldn’t wait to get back to! I’m going to buy a copy when it’s published. Going to recommend to some of my high school student!

I loved this book! It has the upstairs downstairs side of Victorian England. The story follows Angela who has more money than she could ever spend but who is lonely. She decides to create a house for fallen women who will learn how to keep house and also the education they missed out on. The story then follows these fallen women and what becomes of them.
The story was the perfect length, the characters were well thought out and the plot was very believable.
I will be recommending this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, found family books and general fiction as it fits into all those categories.

Loved this one!

I've read all of Stacey halls books and have loved them all.

There is something so atmospheric in her books that I can't put my finger on. I think this is the only historical fiction books that I really read.

I loved the characters and the story line. Then to read at the end that some of it is actually based on fact. So I was learning as I was reading.
Stacey's books are always a must read each one broaches topics that were very real in that time period. It's fascinating.

I’m not sure where the author was going with this book. Obviously she’s done a great deal of research into the subject but then there needed to be a decision on which people and stories to leave out bit there wasn’t. So far too many characters and plot lines. It seemed to end up as a book I was never in a rush to pick up again.

The household is a home for ‘fallen women’, a project set up by Charles Dickens and other philanthropists, one aim being to prepare them to start a new life in Australia. The novel follows the experiences of a varied group of young women, some of whom go their own way regardless of being selected to be part of the project. One of the active philanthropists is Angela Burdett Coutts, who has her own stalking traumas to deal with. This is the first Stacey Halls book I have read and I enjoyed it, will read more of hers. Straightforward to read. I normally keep clear of historical novels based on true events and this is broadly based around sure. However, I knew nothing about these and found interesting. I enjoyed the descriptions of life in parts of Victorian London and the risks even wealthy, and seemingly protected, women could experience, Although having some support from the law, this did still not stop things happening to Angela Burdett Coutts.

Stacey Halls is mistress of historical fiction and The Household is one of her best offerings to date. Based on historical fact The Household gives an account of Urania House, a safe place set up to house destitute and "fallen women" , a project set up by author Charles Dickens and millionairess and philanthropist Angela Burdett Coutts. It is set in a secret location and gives voice to some of the incredible women who resided therein. Angela herself is an astounding character having been stalked mercilessly by Richard Dunn leaving her traumatised. He spent many years in and out of jail for his exploits. These women are not given voices as weak victims, but as true survivors and mighty women. The Household is a powerful read. #thehousehold #staceyhalls #netgalley #bonnierbooks

Thank you NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for this eCopy to review

The Household is a historical novel focussing on a group of girls who are being given a second chance through educating them at Urania Cottage and giving them a family that has been missing from their life, before sending them to the New World (Australia) to live a new life there.

However, one of the benefactors Angela Burdett-Coutts is being stalked by Ricard Dunn for over 10 years, he manipulates all of them to reach the Angela.

It was a little slow in places, but I really liked the characters and how the plot developed especially at the end. Another great historical novel from Stacey Halls

The Familiars by Stacey Halls was one of my favourite books that I read a few years back and I have bought every one of her books since. Unfortunately they are still on my TBR pile and I've yet to read them. However, I decided to head to The Household straight away.

I don't know if it was a timing issue but we were not bedfellows. I gave up after 40% because I just wasn't invested in the characters.

I don't think this is a bad book I just think it has been a case of right book wrong time. I think I will come back to this book in a few years and love it but at the moment I had to put it down.

The Household by Stacey Halls is available now.

For more information regarding Stacey Halls (@stacey_halls) please visit her Twitter page.

For more information regarding Bonnier Books (@bonnierbooks_uk) please visit www.bonnierbooks.co.uk.

I have read everything by Stacey Halls and loved all of her books. The Household is no exception.

This time we follow a cast of characters as they try to swim against the tide and better their lives in Victorian London. Uranian Cottage is based on an actual endeavour (so says the front matter) made my the social elite of the time to help "fallen women" change their path. The stories are often heart-breaking as it shows how much the deck is stacked against anyone without money or social connections.

The characters that stood out to me were Josephine and Martha - one was in the cottage straight from jail for stealing, the other from a Magdalene laundry, The other girls have similar tragic backstories and the book really shows the prevalence of sexual violence at the time, and how hypocritic society is towards victims. (There could be an analogy made about how sexual assault victims are treated today.)

This book isn't as much of an easy read as other Stacey Halls books, but it did come good in the end and I enjoyed zooming out a bit and getting to see so many viewpoints.

Thank you NetGalley and Bonnier Books for an advance copy of the book.

3,5 out of 5.

I have read Stacey Halls' novels over the years, enjoying her writing style and themes. When I read "The foundling", I felt deflated by a rushed end after all the lovely building up. I would say that "The Household" is successfull where the previous fell short.

Althought I would have loved to hear more from Martha towards the end, I enjoyed the different stories from all the people involved in Urania Cottage and their development. I also feel there is a great opportunity here for a sequel, which I will definitely be eager to read!

Overall, a nice and easy read, perfect for period drama lovers looking for something light to inmerse themselves into.

I really enjoyed this book. An entertaining insight into Victorian attitudes to 'fallen women', many of whom were only guilty of poverty and trying to survive.

Praise for Stacey Halls, I love her writing and this book was truly spectacular! If you love a gothic historical thriller vibe of a book, this is one to add to your reading pile!

Stacey Hall’s novel ‘The Household’ is centred around the real-life Urania Cottage that was established in 1847 by the writer Charles Dickens and philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts. It was a home that was meant to support destitute women, including prostitutes, the homeless or women that had recently been released from prison. The idea was that it could be a place of restoration and encouragement back to the straight and narrow with the end objective of sending them off to the colonies in the hope a new and more fulfilling life would await them. Halls documents the lives of several women who enter the house and we are quickly reminded not only of the difficulties faced by women in Victorian society but also the complexity of humanity. The path does not run smooth for most of these women and so part of the fascination with the book is the desire to see how things will turn out for each of them.

In an interview about the book Halls has explored this complexity and her interest with the women who were, to some degree social experiments. She states, “I just loved how full of life this house was, how its inhabitants didn’t live by the codes of the day and had to work out ways of surviving. I think Dickens was expecting a band of grateful, fragile kittens but instead he got feral cats.” Compliance did not equate to survival and what was particularly compelling about the book was how Hall was able to draw these interesting women and empathetically create a story world that highlighted the perils and methods of survival necessary to be able to live in Victorian London.

Angela Burdett-Coutts was also a fascinating figure, and to my shame someone I knew absolutely nothing about. As a woman who inherited a vast fortune from her grandmother, she was inundated with proposals from men wanting to align themselves with her wealth. In the novel, Hall presents her as a figure who is supportive of these women, as someone who doesn’t demean or patronise but instead goes to extraordinary lengths to help these individuals. Her relationship with Martha, one of the occupants at the cottage is particularly well done. Martha’s younger sister had disappeared in service and so Burdett-Coutts wants to support her with this loss. Their relationship is complex and sometimes fraught, moving away from perhaps a more stereotypical representation of benefactoress and grateful recipient.

There is also the unsettling presence of Richard Dunn, Burdett-Coutts’ stalker who terrorised her for nearly 18 years. He is mentioned from the very beginning and is an eerie unseen presence throughout. You experience as a reader the sense of his closeness throughout the text, due not only to Burdett-Coutts’ paranoia that he is watching her every turn but also through and awareness of the vulnerability of these women who earn a living by being ‘looked at.’ Watching and being watched feels a strong thematic presence within the text. The work of a prostitute is to draw attention as is being in prison, where the women are kept under surveillance. Once they walk through the doors of Urania Cottage, they are then looked at and scrutinised for the behaviour. It is an interesting dynamic to think about and as the novel moves towards its climax, this early tension helps to build the suspense even further.

Urania Cottage seems to have had mixed success and I am keen to read more about it. I just picked up Jenny Hartley’s ‘Charles Dickens and the House of Fallen Women’ which I am looking forward to exploring and so I am grateful to Stacey Halls for writing such an intriguing book, full of characters that demand our attention.

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 really enjoy some historical fiction and after enjoying her previous books decided to read this one and wasn't disappointed I actually enjoyed it more than Mrs England she writes historical fiction very well and I'm looking forward to the next book would recommend if historical fiction is your thing

This beautifully researched story, set in the nineteenth century, follows the fortunes of several young girls fallen on hard times, who live in a community house founded by Charles Dickens, with a view to educating and bettering them for life in the colonies. Their rich patron Angela Coutts may have money and power, but she has her own challenges in an unrequited love for an older man, and the persistent attentions of a stalker.
I found the first few chapeters slow, but I was finally drawn in by the richness of the description and getting to know each of the young women, who are all sympathetic in their various ways. As the narratives unfolds, the threads of each woman's story draw together, with pivotal plot points that are by turn tender, dramatic, exciting and even dangerous.
The book comes to a satisfactory resolution, and establishes Stacey Halls even more firmly as one of the best twenty-first century writers of historical fiction.

Harsh, Hopeful and Heartwarming

The Household is a story based on Urania Cottage, a home established in Shepherd's Bush in the mid 1800's by Charles Dickens, well known author and funded by Angela Coutts, a member of the banking Coutts family.

A place of safety for women that had fallen through the cracks of society, had fallen into a life of crime, and who had nowhere else to go.

A step back into Victorian London with simple beautiful writing and creation of wonderful characters such as Mrs Holdsworth, her son Frank the Constable, Josephine and Martha, who brought this story to life.

Stacey Halls really does pull you into the story she creates and makes you fall in love with her wonderful characters and despise her villains.

A brilliant depiction of the men and women who lived during this harsh and stark period in history.

A captivating story with a touch of mystery and suspense which I adored. Love, love, love her storytelling.

I will definitely be reading her other books.

Five Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher/author for this ARC.

As a fan of historical fiction I’m not sure how I have gone so long without reading any Stacey Halls books, despite having her first three books in my TBR pile.

The Household is set in the mid 1800s, at Urania Cottage where fallen women are given sanctuary and the opportunity for a new life.

We meet young women such as Josephine and Martha, and follow their stories, and their benefactor Angela Burdett-Coutts who has her own challenges.

Charles Dickens features as a member of the board governing the endeavour, and I discovered half way through reading that Urania Cottage’s existence, and Dicken’s involvement were real.

I really enjoyed this. I felt like I’d been transported to the time period and felt really connected with all of the women whose stories we followed.

I will be prioritising Stacey Halls other books soon.