The Household
The utterly captivating, page-turning Sunday Times bestseller from the author of THE FAMILIARS
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4.1 • 34 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
'Absorbing' Sunday Times
'Acutely observed and beautifully written' Daily Mail
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, SET AGAINST CHARLES DICKENS' HOME FOR FALLEN WOMEN
The house she was promised, is the first clean page in a new book for girls like her . . .
1847, Shepherds Bush. Charles Dickens' home for fallen women is about to open its doors. Part refuge, part reformatory, the house and its location are top secret. Among it first inmates are Martha, arrived from a shelter for prostitutes, and Josephine, a convicted thief. But faced with the chance to redeem themselves, how badly do they want it?
Across town, in her Piccadilly mansion, Dickens' friend, the millionaire Angela Burdett Coutts, receives news that turns her orderly world upside down. Her stalker has been freed from prison, and she knows it's only a matter of time before their nightmarish game resumes once more.
As the women's worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .
'A writer of great originality' Kate Mosse
'Compelling' Good Housekeeping
'Meticulously researched and compelling' Red
'Exquisitely written . . . full of heart and hope' Fabulous
'This novel is the very definition of unputdownable' Louise Hare
'Undoubtedly Halls' best novel yet ' Elizabeth Macneal
*Sunday Times bestseller 19.04.25*
*Winner of the Women's Prize Futures Award 2022- https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/editors-choice-book-reviews/a41610537/stacey-halls-winner-futures-award/*
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
British historical novelist Halls once told an interviewer that she’s on a mission to spotlight women who for “too long have existed in the margins of history”. She does precisely that—with panache— in The Household; her fourth novel and best yet. Her cast of waifs and strays—the inhabitants of a West London house for “fallen women”—plus their doughty matron Mrs Holdsworth and troubled benefactor Angela are impeccably drawn. Ditto the city itself—from the opulent residences of Piccadilly to the opium dens of Soho, Halls’ prose creates an immersive experience. It’s certainly a hard knock life in Dickensian London (that author, by the way, plays a key part in the plot) but Halls’ women are warriors and ultimately hope prevails.
