Habits of the House
A Novel
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3.5 • 38 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Habits of the House is a brilliant new trilogy from the award-winning novelist and writer of Upstairs Downstairs, offering a captivating glimpse into the lives of masters and servants in the era before Downton Abbey.
As the Season of 1899 draws to a close, the world stands on the precipice of profound, irrevocable change. The Earl of Dilberne faces grave financial concerns, with ripple effects that spread to every member of the household in Belgrave Square. Lord Robert, having gambled unwisely on the stock market, seeks a position in the Cabinet, while his unmarried children, Arthur and Rosina, pursue their own diversions. Lady Isobel manages the affairs of the household, and Grace, the lady's maid, attends to her mistress.
Seeing no financial relief for the heavily mortgaged estate, Lord Robert sets his sights on securing a suitable wife (and dowry) for his son, despite the Season's end. The arrival in London of Minnie, a beautiful Chicago heiress with a tarnished reputation, appears to be the answer to their prayers.
With wit, sympathy, and a touch of mischief, Fay Weldon, writer of the pilot episode of the original Upstairs, Downstairs, plots the interplay of restraint and desire, manners and morals, reason and instinct in this captivating tale of the British aristocracy and the servants who tended to them in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This first installment of Weldon's late-Victorian trilogy centers on the Dilberne family, a titled albeit impoverished British house. The earl makes poor business decisions and continually runs up debts gambling with the Prince of Wales. Resolving to restore the family fortunes, he decides the clearest way to do this is to marry off his children. He sets upon son Arthur and, with the help of the household servants, locates a wealthy Chicago heiress, Minnie O'Brien. However, as the young couple start learning about each other, they realize that they both carry secrets that could ruin the engagement and their prospects. Weldon introduces several characters, both upper class and lower class, and in many ways the whole book feels expository because it lacks high-stakes drama. However, it succeeds as an opening to a new series and should entice enough to make it worth checking out the subsequent installments.
