Stacey Hall's latest offering did not disappoint. Seamlessly blending fact with fiction, The Household is an engaging story that kept me gripped throughout.

Based upon the true story of Urania Cottage, the home for 'fallen women' created by Dickens and supported by a number of philanthropists in 1847, the novel brings to life a curious cast of young women as they leave grim environments such as prison and begin to negotiate life in the cottage.

The house was designed to try to provide a safe home for those (often 'lower-class') women deemed to have 'fallen' into the depths of poverty, crime, or prostitution. Offering a fresh start, the cottage was located in the countryside outside of London and aimed to rehabilitate the women, providing training in a variety of things- from household management to moral education, enabling them to become the desired Victorian figure of both respectable citizen and capable worker. However, in agreeing to move to the cottage, the women had to forego the potential vices of the outside world for the duration of their time there. We see their uncertainty as they leave one prison and move into perhaps, another.

Contrasting to their stories, we also meet Angela Coutts, the heiress to the Coutts banking fortune who funded the creation of the cottage. Eye-wateringly wealthy, but facing her own demons, mainly in the form of her stalker who has just been released from prison, we follow her as she tries to navigate her own privileged life, highlighting that wealth does not always guarantee happiness.

The Household is a meticulously researched novel. For me, the novel placed the idea of home at it's heart, challenging what the idea of 'the home' really means, as well as showing us what, or who, it can be. Through the household of Urania cottage, the lived experiences of the oft-overlooked poorer women, whose stories are so often lost to history, take centre stage. Not only are the women sent to Urania Cottage to learn skills to try to achieve an improved way of life, we see what they can learn from each other, regardless of their class.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Author Stacey Halls has just made it on my ‘favourite authors’ lists with The Household, the second of her books I have read which is set in Victorian England. She writes historical fiction and this is based on Urania Cottage, a home for ‘fallen’ women setup in Shepherd’s Bush, funded by wealthy benefactors including Charles Dickens and philanthropist Angela Burdett-Coutts. The girls, usually having come out of prison for minor crimes or simply having had a child out of wedlock, are to be taught skills that will help them earn a living when transported to one of the colonies.

Angela has inherited a large fortune and wishes to use it to better the lives of people at the opposite end of the social ladder from her. She is not without her own problems as Richard Dunn has been stalking her for over a decade and she lives in constant fear of what he will do next. Her only respite from this fear are the periods when he is in prison but she learns at the start of the book that he has gained an early release from his latest sentence.

Mrs Holdsworth is overworked as matron of Urania Cottage and it is not going as smoothly as hoped as some girls run away and many other dramas occurs.

The story picks up pace towards the end and I did feel it was a little rushed with a few things left unresolved or confused in my mind. It was a great read though and I look forward to reading all of Stacey Halls’ novels. With thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Stacey Halls’ novels have been some of my favourite over the past few years, so I was thrilled to be accepted for a NetGalley eARC of her newest book, The Household. I’m in a big historical fiction phase at the moment and The Household is really a fine example of all that I love in a book.

Urania House is a home for ‘unfortunate women’, based on a real place once set up by Charles Dickens. He even makes a cameo in the book, which completely threw me off by the way. From girls who’ve been orphaned to those recently out of prison, there’s a big ol’ cast of characters to get to know here and I’ve always loved Halls’ character development. We also get to know Angela, a wealthy girl who is a benefactor of the home, and who has been plagued with a stalker of over 10 years. While the book gets off to a slow start, it quickly turned into another masterpiece by one of my favourite authors. I love that it is female character-centric, and a brilliant interrogation into English social classes, as well as morality, of the time. It feels brilliantly researched as well, providing an immersive and believable read that takes you straight to Dickensian London.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

A good historical fiction novel following a group of women coming from all sorts of backgrounds and with very diverse stories and struggles.
It is very vell written and the characters are developed in depth, each with their own personality and voice.
The story develops very slowly and I struggled a little to connect with it. It felt disjointed in places and given the amount of characters all doing different things I was getting lost as I couldn't figure out a connection. Luckily in the last third of the book things started happening and the connections started to surface, although some were a bit stretched.

All in all, this is a book I would recommend to readers who love historical fiction and slow burn, characters driven stories.

Thank you NetGalley and Bonnier books for a digital arc of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this historical drama. Based loosely on the real life story of Charles Dickens’ home for fallen women, the girls living in the eponymous household - and those helping them - are all compelling characters.

The story grabbed me from the start, but things really picked up pace around the half way mark, from which I raced almost breathlessly to the end. It’s a clever story - with several threads neatly entwined - and beautifully written.

A fantastic piece of historical fiction following the stories of women residing at Urania Cottage, a sort of halfway house for fallen women. As the story suggests, the house was founded by Charles Dickens and Angela Burdett-Coutts, the latter featuring heavily and having her own interesting storyline throughout. The real-life story is just as interesting as the fictional one, although their pasts are largely ignored and forgotten about, the women are still haunted by their past in ways that affects their futures. I was a little disappointed by the way the story ended in an almost abrupt manner, but it mirrors the way the stories of the women concluded when they left Urania Cottage and moving to places like Australia once their time there ended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance digital copy of this book.

An enjoyable read, historical fiction but with a bit of fact behind it. Loosely based on a home for 'fallen' women set up by Charles Dickens who featured as a minor character in the book.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Having greatly enjoyed The Foundling and Mes England I was expecting to enjoy The Household- I truly did. In fact I think I loved it more.
It's rare that I get to the end of the book and feel such disappointment that it is ending. I loved the racing, elegant writing style that is somehow both fitting for nineteenth-century and modern day.
I always think a good novel must be strong in one of three areas- characters, story and style. The Household is strong in all three domains.
Recommend for readers of historical fiction, mystery/thriller and strong female characters.

I seemed to be busy for a few days when I started reading this and that meant I found it hard to follow and engage with it. However once I could really commit to it I thoroughly enjoyed it, in fact it was fascinating. The fact it was based in real life added a whole other level of interest.

In the countryside just outside London Urania House is preparing to welcome its first inhabitants. Thanks to the philanthropy of Charles Dickens and other wealthy benefactors, fallen women from the city are being offered the chance of a new start. At Urania House they will learn household management, how to dress and act appropriately and when the time is right the women will be offered the opportunity of making a new life in one of the colonies.

Angela Burdett-Coutts is the wealthiest woman in the country and is using her vast wealth to make a real difference to the lives of the women at Urania House. However, Angela has her own burden to carry and it is when her troubles overlap with the household that events start to spiral out of control.

The Household just oozes atmosphere, from the quiet confidence of Urania House where prostitutes and petty thieves are given a place of safety and the means to turn their meagre lives into something worth while while juxtaposed are the corrupt and degenerate who prey on those who are vulnerable. We also learn that vast wealth brings its own complexities and is at times more of a burden than abject poverty. Beautifully written, weaving real life figures into a clever historical story of corruption, despair, new beginnings and ultimately freedom and the hope for a different future.

This is very typical of the Stacey Hall novels that we have grown to love. It follows a group of women who are attempting to better their lives after criminality in a Victorian home for fallen women. They have to leave their old lives behind in the hope they can change enough to be considered for sponsored emigration to Australia. It also follows the only female founder of the home, a real life person who was the victim of stalking. Charles Dickens is associated with it, but plays a very minor role.

To be honest, I did find this one very depressing. It felt like no matter how the women tried, the chips were against them. I mean, this is pretty realistic for the time period, but don’t read this if you are looking for the happy feels. It is absorbing and more a character study than anything, the central twist is quite predictable but just seems to serve as a vehicle to progress the characterisation along.

Overall, a good book but I don’t think I quite liked it as much as the others.

This book covers a quite remarkable slice of history. The main feature is a home that was set up by Angela Burdett-Coutts and Charles Dickens for the reform and rehabilitation of ‘fallen women’. Up to 30 women at a time were housed there and the book weaves together the stories of several of them and how difficult it was to leave behind a life of thievery and prostitution. It also focuses on how Burdett-Coutts was stalked and how that was overcome. A vein running through the book is the question, how free are we as individuals? All in all, a well written gripping story .

I always look forward to discovering a new author, and haven't read any of Ms Halls previous books so was looking forward to this one. She will definitely be on my reading list as I loved the historical detail which was woven into the plot and the way the different characters were portrayed. Less positive was the fact that people (mainly women) are still being stalked and "modern" slavery continues - a sobering thought.
Thank you to netgalley and Bonnier Books for an advance copy of this book

This is one of those books that you want to google right away on things you read... in a good way. It‘s enlightening. I have to admit, that I had no previous knowledge about Urania Cottage and how Charles Dickens was involved in it.

Very Dickensian in many ways – twists and turns, a look at humanity... and, obviously involving Mr Dickens himself. This a beautiful way to give the “fallen women” voice and personalities. Different personal stories which meet and intertwine at a Urania Cottage. Very engaging twists and turns, a solid read, which could easily have a follow-up book.

Based around Urania Cottage, this historical fiction book delves into the past at a home set up for fallen women. An idea conceived by Charles Dickens and funded by Angela Burdett-Coutts.

I was totally immersed in this book and the various storylines woven in between. I found it to be well researched and a great insight into life in this time. Very enjoyable.

After reading and enjoying Mrs England and The Foundling, I was really looking forward to The Household. It tells the story of a disparate group of women who board at this house for reformed women owned by an heiress.

I struggled to pick this up and felt like there were too many characters. Not my favourite of hers but would recommend for any fan of historical fiction.

Contrasts between the Wealthy and the destitute.
Heiress Angela wants to help people through her inheritance. She buys Urania Cottage, furnishes it and installs a Matron like figure Mrs. Hollsworth to help educate and look after girls from prisons, former prostitutes and girls from unfortunate backgrounds. One of the aims is to transport the girls to a better life in Australia.
The first girl there is Martha, she has been in prison and been commended for her good behaviour, Martha's sister Mary visits Martha and tells her that their younger sister Emily has disappeared. New girl Josephine tries to help Martha but is caught outside the walls of the cottage, Josephine leaves the cottage and meets up with her former cellmate and partner Anne, they try to make a life together but harsh conditions defeat them.
Angela the heiress has been stalked by Richard Dunn, he makes her life a misery and she has a policeman posted by her door to protect her. Angela tries to help the girls in the cottage and becomes particularly attached to Martha. A new Chaplin is engaged, he and Martha form a friendship and they elope together. There is also a death of a girl in the cottage, Angela blames Mrs Hollsworth for not tending to the girls properly.
The story gets more exciting at this point with chases, fights and revelations.
Really enjoyed this story, I found I needed a character list to follow it properly.
Thank you NetGalley and Stacey fr this entertaining novel.

I enjoyed this latest historical fiction much more than the last two of Stacey Hall's novels. I'd say it's purely personal taste.

The Household refers to Urania House, a home for "fallen" women - a project that was set up by Charles Dickens and other philanthropists including Angela Burdett Coutts (yes the banking people). Mr Dickens is barely in the book as Stacey Halls, quite rightly, puts the women centre stage.

We have various women, only some of whose histories we learn throughout the course of the novel including Martha and Emily (who Dickens uses versions of in David Copperfield), Josephine who was a thief and Annie who was in prison with Josephine.

We also delve into the true history of Angela Burdett Coutts who was a survivor of stalking (yes it went on even in the 1800s). Coutts was a fabulously wealthy heiress who struggled to find personal happiness - hardly surprising when she was so traumatised by Richard Dunn, her stalker, who was jailed several times for his behaviour.

Stacey Halls has certainly done these women proud. None of them are portrayed as weak or victims. They are simply women - generally poor, badly educated and given few chances in life. The plan for inmates of Urania House was to educate the women and then give them a new life in one of the colonies - as free women who could choose their own paths in life.

Just as an aside. Angela Burdett Coutts inherited £1.8 million in 1837 (equivalent to £170 million in 2021). After being turned down by the Duke of Wellington when he was old enough to be her grandfather she scandalised society by marrying (at the age of 67) her 29 year old American born secretary. She forfeited 3/5 of her fortune by doing so because a clause in her grandmother's will was designed to deter any marriage to a foreign national. Fascinating stuff.

I really enjoyed this book. Stacey Halls always writes well but the story was, for me, much more interesting than Mrs England or The Foundling.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for the advance review copy.

What a wonderful heartwarming book, so creatively constructed based in part on Dickens setting up a home for fallen women in Shepherd's Bush.

Girls deemed ripe for reform are taken from prison to a halfway house where they are taught the skills thought necessary for a new life and career in the colonies.

The ideals and theory of the scheme come up against the reality of the girls and their sponsors in a fresh and entertaining way, the girls appearing so human and real as they move on from prison to Urania House - and sometimes back again to the life of crime they knew before.

The book is full of life and feelings that are totally believable, with super characters, great story trails and so much period background - absolutely loved an enjoyed this book from start to finish.

I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed Stacey Halls’ previous books, so I was excited to get my hands on this one. It’s written as beautifully as I’d expect from this author, and I felt immersed in the sights, sounds and texture of the period. The references to real people were fascinating, and I enjoyed how the women’s everyday challenges and problems were portrayed, showing clearly how difficult it was for women to earn a respectable living in the past, and how easily their lives could become terrifyingly insecure.
Some of the characters were vividly drawn, and I loved Angela, Frank and Mrs Holdsworth. Unfortunately I got muddled with the cast of other characters and often felt confused by the story’s twists and turns, losing track of who was who. This is my reason for giving the book 3.5 stars as it marred my enjoyment somewhat.