The Household by Stacey Halls

Thank you to Bonnier Books and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy of this book. This review is, as always, full of my genuine thoughts and opinion.


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 (or all of the time, hahaha) and The Household is really a fine example of all that I love in a book.

Urania Cottage 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.

With a deft, tactful hand, Halls weaves feminism throughout the story and shines a light on many of the pitfalls of being a woman both then and now. There’s the sensitive talk about what happens to girls when their parents pass away, a sub-plot that touches on the yet unknown – and still lesser-researched – parts of women’s health, stalking and obsession and, of course, strong feminist characters that you root for. I particularly adored Martha’s story.

Halls’ writing is carefully plotted, slowly stepping towards the girls and their stories’ unravelling. Like her other historical fiction novels, the writing is beautifully researched and realised without feeling forced or overwrought. And, 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.

The Household publishes internationally today – go forth and buy your copy!

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