My first Stacey Halls book and a rear visit for me into the world of historical fiction. I loved how we were transported to the time of Charles Dickens and how he became a reference point in the book which added to the fictional story. For me a very quick read I completed the book in a day and I see from other reviewers that this book is going to be a winner with fans of Stacey Halls. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Based on the Victorian principle of improving those less fortunate, Urania Cottage is designed to rehabilitate young ladies providing them with the skills to begin again in the new world of Australia. Organised by a wealthy socialite, Charles Dickens and other dignitaries, the enterprise is destined to succeed.

However, the girls come with a past and although all share the misfortune to have been in prison, their lives are complicated and there is no quick solution.

Halls has created memorable characters and a powerful narrative. The various plot twists work well and don't feel too neat or contrived. If you like historical fiction this will suit you well.

Headlines:
"Fallen" women
Support and interference
Strange plot device

I have mixed feelings about The Household, the premise of which sounded very promising but the execution felt unpleasing and sometimes lacking in lustre. The story was based on a house for rehabilitating women who had been in prison for various reasons, not all criminal. There were a few benefactors, Charles Dickens and a rich spinster, Angela.

The young women, especially Martha and Josephine were the most interesting characters. Where the plot went a little strange was where the story did full circle related to a stalker that Angela had had for over a decade. The whole story of Angela and Mr Dunn didn't appeal to me and then when that linked up with the household, I was even less keen. The side story of Angela and the Duke was poorly explained and I disliked the wrap up. The ending felt a little rushed and again, a lack of depth to how it culminated left it feeling weak.

The story is supposed to be feminist and yet it lacked an empowering female stance. In fact, the way the women from lower classes were characterised when it came to men, portrayed them as jumping for attention and proposals from a man.

This book isn't bad but it was slow to start and the plot wasn't to my taste. Overall, I wanted to love this book but ended up somewhat disappointed.

Thank you to Manilla Press for the review copy.

The Household is the much anticipated new release from Stacey Halls , whose previous books Mrs England and The Familiars are firm favourites in the historical fiction genre.
Once again the author is inspired by real historical characters and events , in this case Urania Cottage, a sort of half way house for " fallen women" founded by Charles Dickens and with the patronage of Angela Burdett- Coutts, one of the wealthiest women in England at the time. While Angela features as one of the major characters in the book, Dickens is only fleetingly alluded to here and there and I have to say I think this is a brave choice as the temptation to centre the story around such a well known figure must have been immense. However this is a book about women, and so as well as Angela we also follow the stories of several of the so called "fallen" women who move to Urania Cottage in order to prepare for a move to the colonies and a new future. Unfortunately I felt like we were following so many characters that the book became disjointed and at times I struggled to stay interested, which is a shame as I enjoyed the writing style and the author's ability to set the scene and bring Victorian London to life on the page.
Overall a good premise that just didn't work for me this time.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

The Household focuses on Urania Cottage, an almost 'half-way house' for young women with the aim of giving them the skills they need to help them make a fresh start. Some of the women each have their own missions - Martha wants to reunite with her sister's and Josephine is hoping to find her love. We also meet the main benefactor of the house Angela Burdett-Coutts who, along with supporting these young women, has troubles of her own that she has to confront.

It was interesting to see how these very different women came together, and I especially enjoyed when the pace picked up towards the end. Highly recommended if you like your historical fiction with a twist of mystery!

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 ✨

I was very excited to receive this arc last week as I have all of Stacey Halls books on my bookshelf. I am now really looking forward to reading them, after reading The Household 📖

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤…
Based on the real Urania Cottage, a home established by Charles Dickens and Angela Coutts for “fallen women”, the story follows Angela, and some of the women who live in the house.

Expect twists and turns, with a stalker thrown into the mix.

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬…
This was my first real introduction to historical fiction, so I was apprehensive, and wasn’t sure what I’d think of it. But honestly, I really enjoyed it. The way everyone’s stories interwove, and the likability of most of the characters was refreshing. I really enjoyed the suspense, and it had a lovely conclusion.

The Household tells the story of Urania Cottage, a new enterprise set up by author Charles Dickens and Heiress of Coutt’s bank, Angela Burdett-Coutts. Home to girls down on their luck, the household aims to educate and train the girls for a better life in the colonies. However, not all the girls adjust well to life in the cottage. Freshly out of prison, Martha is determined to find her missing sister Emily, and Josephine longs to reunite with Annie, who she struck up a relationship with whilst serving time. Life also isn’t easy for Angela. Though she is incredibly lucky in terms of her inheritance,
she suffers in her personal life: in love with her older family friend that refuses to marry her and living in fear of long-time stalker Richard Dunn.

I really enjoyed reading about the characters and thought that their stories weaved together well. I had an advanced copy so didn’t see any notes from the author but thought the book was based on real life events and figures really interesting. I would be interested to see how much of the story was factual. I like how Charles Dickens was the big name, historically speaking, but the female characters took centre stage, and that the book explored female liberation and empowerment. I think the darker themes of the book were juxtaposed well with the positive, more uplifting moments in the book that achieved a balance to telling an interesting and insightful story.

I think the book was well-written and enjoyed the pace. I found the first half slower whilst setting the scene. I would have liked events in the second half to be a bit explored a bit more as there was plenty of opportunity.

Especially recommended for fans of Victorian historical fiction.

‘The Household’ of the book’s title is Urania Cottage, a home set up in 1847 with the purpose of educating ‘fallen’ women with a view to helping them start a new life. The story follows a number of these young women, their matron Mrs Holdsworth, and one of the home’s main benefactors, Angela Burdett-Coutts. The young women are trying to overcome years of poverty or crime; Angela is a woman terrified of her own shadow due to a persistent stalker.

I was excited by the premise of this book, wondering how the lives of the young women and Angela might intersect. Not realising the real historical background to Urania Cottage until after I’d finished the book, I think I thought they might live together! Not so, it turns out, but I liked the changes of scene between the two very different houses. I also particularly enjoyed the descriptions of mid-nineteenth century London, and tried to imagine a time when places like Shepherd’s Bush were in the countryside.

I initially found it a bit difficult to keep track of the different young women living at Urania Cottage until they thinned out and I could focus on Martha and Josephine.

The high point of the book, for me, was a twist that happens towards the end. I totally didn’t see it coming and I felt it really reinvigorated the story.

In summary, a good choice for those who enjoy historical fiction loosely based on real events. Four stars rounded up from 3.5.

My thanks to the publishers and to the NetGalley for the advance copy on which this review is based.

I was aware of Uranian House having read another book featuring Charles Dickens that featured it so this didn't come as a surprise to me and haven't read any other books by this author. I found this story interesting but not as good as I hoped.. It felt disjointed as it jumped about from one character after the other and there are lots of character's, plot lines, themes, and threads to follow and Charles Dicken didn't really feature at all. There didn't really feel like there was much of a plot nor much character development so it did drag in parts for me and seemed a bit superficial. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I feel so lucky to have got an early copy of the latest Stacey Halls – what a privilege and what a treat! I’ve read 2 of her previous books and loved both of them. I find that whilst they are beautifully written, they are gripping and easy reads. And they are like a door to the past.
This novel is similar to her first, The Familiars, as it is about real historical characters, with a few anonymous ones that ‘could’ have lived similar lives in the past, rubbing alongside those who are real.

This novel is based on the true story of one of Victorian England’s wealthiest women, Angela Burdett-Coutts, who along with a few others (including Charles Dickens) opened a home for ‘fallen women’. Women who had been in prison for theft or prostitution, to give them a new start and skills that would help them in society. They were to be trained for service and then were to be shipped off to the colonies. So interesting, but so alien to the social mores of the 21st Century.

We follow Angela and her unrequited feelings for another very famous man, her problems with a stalker and her developing relationships with the women and their matron. We have two other points of view: Josephine, a lesbian inmate of a prison who doesn’t want to be separated from her lover and Martha a young woman who’s missing one sister and hasn’t been able to confess the truth to her other sister. Occasionally we also see from the point of view of Mrs Holdsworth, the matron of the Home/Household and her son, Frank.

All of these women are unique and fascinating, there wasn’t one I was more interested in, as I thought they were all well drawn and captivating. Stacey Halls also captures the time period really well, and there are things about living in a 19th century household that aren’t immediately apparent to modern minds that she includes, adding to the verisimilitude. There is never a dull moment and whilst we have Angela’s passion for an older, unreachable man, as well as her terror that she will find the stalker again, we also have the hunt for Martha’s younger sister, and the character development of Josephine.

Josephine has no family and hasn’t lived in a secure home for a long time, so she struggles to adjust to the luxury of having a warm bed and enough food, as well as warm and caring relationships with Martha. She is wise and canny and can manipulate a situation to suit herself. I felt her redemption was really worthwhile and enjoyable.

There is a big twist towards the end that I didn’t see coming but was totally gripped by. It made sense in the story, rather than shoe-horned in for effect.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and wholeheartedly recommend it. If you enjoy history, popular fiction that is not too high brow but that is still carefully written, then this is the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley, Stacey Halls and the publisher for an advanced ebook in return for a review.

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!