Habits of the House: A Novel
Jan 2013 · Habits of the House Book 1 · St. Martin's Press
3.5star
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320
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About this ebook
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.
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.
Ratings and reviews
3.5
2 reviews
Floraison
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May 24, 2021
the author has an interesting writing style, reminiscent of A Room With a View. Unfortunately the many storylines can become convoluted and just when you get into a certain storyline the author jumps quickly to another story line and then another never giving the reader the feeling of any consistency. in addition, she made the mistake that many ulcers do of robbing the reader of a decent ending. Everybody got what they wanted, everybody lives happily ever after, but the reader gets no details, no description of the events or the dialogue of how the ending came about. it simply ends with a mere one and a half page, very hurriedly written ending. it just abruptly ended. Very disappointing
About the author
FAY WELDON is a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who, at the age of 16, lived in a grand London townhouse as the daughter of the housekeeper. In addition to winning a Writers' Guild Award for the pilot of Upstairs Downstairs, she is a Commander of the British Empire whose books include Praxis, shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction; The Heart of the Country, winner of the Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize; Worst Fears, shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award; and Wicked Women, which won the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award. She lives in England.
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