What do you think?
Rate this book
House of Fiction: From Pemberley to Brideshead, Great British Houses in Literature and Life
Take a journey through history to discover how authors’ personal experiences in their homes helped to shape the imaginative dwellings that have become icons of English literature: Virginia Woolf’s love of Talland House is palpable in To the Lighthouse, just as London’s Bloomsbury is ever-present in Mrs. Dalloway. E.M. Forster’s childhood home at Rook’s Nest mirrors the idyllic charm of Howards End. And Horace Walpole’s "little Gothic castle" in Twickenham inspired him to write the first English Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. But the English country house is also viewed through a modern lens—Kazuo Ishiguro’s Darlington Hall, Ian McEwan’s Tallis House, Alan Hollinghurts’s Two Acres. Using historic sources, authors’ biographies, letters, news accounts, and the novels themselves, this book presents some of the most influential houses in Britain through the stories they inspired.
480 pages, Hardcover
Published May 1, 2018
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 8, 2017
This is an entertaining exploration of the house in British fiction, operating at the intersections of biography and social history. Richardson takes a chronological view of great fictional houses from Shandy Hall (Tristram Shandy) to the Tallis family home in Atonement.
En route, we travel through the gothic property which inspired and paralleled Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, the great houses to which Austen's heroines aspire, the haunted passageways of Bronte fiction, to the cottages of Hardy. 'Popular' literature gets a look in with a chapter on du Maurier's Manderley and the settings for many of Agatha Christie's ingenious crimes; and no book on this topic would be complete without a look at Brideshead. Modern houses such as the contested avant-garde Robin Hill of Galsworthy moves the story on and we end with thinking about the urban environment which serves as a backdrop to the stories of e.g. J.G.Ballard.
Richardson's interests in architecture and building inform this study throughout and combine with biographies of the authors, tracing the real-life houses which often inspire their fictional counterparts. There's enough story-telling here to make sure you don't have to have read the books to make sense of this narrative (though obviously it helps).
What this isn't is an analysis of what houses and the spaces they provide might mean within the context of the novels which contain them. An engaging review, then, of the role played by houses in British literature, and an appealing way of focusing social history via the literary house and its real-life relations.
Thanks to Unbound for an ARC via NetGalley.
En route, we travel through the gothic property which inspired and paralleled Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, the great houses to which Austen's heroines aspire, the haunted passageways of Bronte fiction, to the cottages of Hardy. 'Popular' literature gets a look in with a chapter on du Maurier's Manderley and the settings for many of Agatha Christie's ingenious crimes; and no book on this topic would be complete without a look at Brideshead. Modern houses such as the contested avant-garde Robin Hill of Galsworthy moves the story on and we end with thinking about the urban environment which serves as a backdrop to the stories of e.g. J.G.Ballard.
Richardson's interests in architecture and building inform this study throughout and combine with biographies of the authors, tracing the real-life houses which often inspire their fictional counterparts. There's enough story-telling here to make sure you don't have to have read the books to make sense of this narrative (though obviously it helps).
What this isn't is an analysis of what houses and the spaces they provide might mean within the context of the novels which contain them. An engaging review, then, of the role played by houses in British literature, and an appealing way of focusing social history via the literary house and its real-life relations.
Thanks to Unbound for an ARC via NetGalley.
November 5, 2017
Phyllis Richardson is the author of several books on architecture and design, and in this, her latest compendium, she writes knowledgeably about the great fictional British houses we have come to know intimately over the last four hundred or so years. She also scrutinizes the actual bricks and mortar structures that inspired many well-known novelists to create their most memorable stories.
What do people's homes (grand or otherwise) say about their characters, wealth and standing in society? Writers have repeatedly posed these questions in their works of fiction, and their observations have rarely failed to engage the reader's imagination.
Richardson highlights the layout, location and other more intimate aspects of these houses in some detail – no dingy niche, winding staircase or flying buttress is left unexamined. She is particularly good on the dwellings behind Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy, Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Her chapter on Charles Dickens rediscovering Gad's Hill Place while on the road to Rochester, and gloomy Satis House, the Gothic pile he dreamt up for Miss Havisham in Great Expectations is exceptionally good. Facts such as Virginia Woolf basing Orlando on Vita Sackville-West and her family's great Tudor home, Knole, were well-known to me, while others, like Thomas Hardy designing his own writer's residence, less so.
Some chronicles are inevitably more interesting than others (your favourites are likely to be determined by your taste in reading), and I found myself skimming over certain architectural details. There are, however, fascinating descriptions of Groby Hall, the inspiration behind Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End; Menabilly, Daphne du Maurier's beloved home, on which Manderley from Rebecca was based; and the numerous settings used by Agatha Christie in her popular crime fiction novels. In fact, there is plenty here to interest most, if not all, lovers of literature.
Houses of Fiction can be perused at leisure or read in several sittings. Either way, it is entertaining, often witty and well worth your time. (3.5 Stars)
NB This book was funded directly by readers through the website Unbound.
What do people's homes (grand or otherwise) say about their characters, wealth and standing in society? Writers have repeatedly posed these questions in their works of fiction, and their observations have rarely failed to engage the reader's imagination.
Richardson highlights the layout, location and other more intimate aspects of these houses in some detail – no dingy niche, winding staircase or flying buttress is left unexamined. She is particularly good on the dwellings behind Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy, Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Her chapter on Charles Dickens rediscovering Gad's Hill Place while on the road to Rochester, and gloomy Satis House, the Gothic pile he dreamt up for Miss Havisham in Great Expectations is exceptionally good. Facts such as Virginia Woolf basing Orlando on Vita Sackville-West and her family's great Tudor home, Knole, were well-known to me, while others, like Thomas Hardy designing his own writer's residence, less so.
Some chronicles are inevitably more interesting than others (your favourites are likely to be determined by your taste in reading), and I found myself skimming over certain architectural details. There are, however, fascinating descriptions of Groby Hall, the inspiration behind Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End; Menabilly, Daphne du Maurier's beloved home, on which Manderley from Rebecca was based; and the numerous settings used by Agatha Christie in her popular crime fiction novels. In fact, there is plenty here to interest most, if not all, lovers of literature.
Houses of Fiction can be perused at leisure or read in several sittings. Either way, it is entertaining, often witty and well worth your time. (3.5 Stars)
NB This book was funded directly by readers through the website Unbound.
August 28, 2017
A thoroughly entertaining and engaging exploration of the most iconic literary houses in fiction and real life. As much a social and cultural history as a purely literary one, there’s much to discover her and it’s a book to refer to again and again whilst reading the many books and authors featured here. I was hooked from page one and read it straight through, but it’s equally a book that can be read a bit at a time. It’s well written, thoroughly researched and has a good selection of images. A book for all bibliophiles.
April 23, 2019
I bought this as pure self-indulgence, as the subject is so very me: British literature, and the real houses that inspired the authors, and the imaginary houses they created, and what it all means (if anything). I picked it up to read it as my Easter treat. I was looking forward to a highly enjoyable wallow.
This may explain why I was niggled by its few imperfections, no doubt reacting out of proportion. The overall discussion was great, and I have no faults to find in the architecture side of things. (Going by her other books, Richardson's background is architecture, so that's probably as it should be.) But a few clangers in her summations of Jane Austen's plots somewhat dented Richardson's credibility on the literature side of things early on. I am rather surprised they weren't picked up by an editor or proofreader along the way. (The proofreading missed a few little wording issues, too.)
Otherwise I was a tad annoyed by the footnotes - which were very short, mostly only one sentence - and hence either unnecessary or could have been worked into the main text. This might be a question of differing tastes.
On the positive side of things, I did enjoy the subject matter as much as anticipated, and pretty much devoured the text whenever I could find an hour to myself. The range of authors covered is terrific, starting with Laurence Sterne, Horace Walpole, Jane Austen, Walter Scott, Charlotte Bronte - through John Galsworthy, Virginia Woolf - ending with Ian Fleming, Julian Barnes, and Kazuo Ishiguro - among others. Chapters sometimes deal with one author and their work alone, and at other times bring in a range of related authors, narratives or houses. The general discussion and analysis seemed fair, and was interesting. For those wanting to follow in the footsteps, there's a list up the back of the book of which houses are open to the public, giving website addresses, and so on.
So, alas, I couldn't help but dock a star from my rating for my various niggles. But those niggles may mean little or nothing to other readers. The book does what it says on the tin! So if that appeals, please do give it a go.
This may explain why I was niggled by its few imperfections, no doubt reacting out of proportion. The overall discussion was great, and I have no faults to find in the architecture side of things. (Going by her other books, Richardson's background is architecture, so that's probably as it should be.) But a few clangers in her summations of Jane Austen's plots somewhat dented Richardson's credibility on the literature side of things early on. I am rather surprised they weren't picked up by an editor or proofreader along the way. (The proofreading missed a few little wording issues, too.)
Otherwise I was a tad annoyed by the footnotes - which were very short, mostly only one sentence - and hence either unnecessary or could have been worked into the main text. This might be a question of differing tastes.
On the positive side of things, I did enjoy the subject matter as much as anticipated, and pretty much devoured the text whenever I could find an hour to myself. The range of authors covered is terrific, starting with Laurence Sterne, Horace Walpole, Jane Austen, Walter Scott, Charlotte Bronte - through John Galsworthy, Virginia Woolf - ending with Ian Fleming, Julian Barnes, and Kazuo Ishiguro - among others. Chapters sometimes deal with one author and their work alone, and at other times bring in a range of related authors, narratives or houses. The general discussion and analysis seemed fair, and was interesting. For those wanting to follow in the footsteps, there's a list up the back of the book of which houses are open to the public, giving website addresses, and so on.
So, alas, I couldn't help but dock a star from my rating for my various niggles. But those niggles may mean little or nothing to other readers. The book does what it says on the tin! So if that appeals, please do give it a go.
December 22, 2023
I am unsure what to say about this this book. It covers a fascinating subject in an interesting way, which is always desireable. It was funded by inviting the public to fund its creation (https://unbound.com/), which proves there is an appetite for this subject. The author is knowledgeable about her subject matter and expresses herself extremely well and I learnt a lot about the relationship between authors' actual homes and the iconic dwellings they created in their works - I think.
The reason I feel a little uneasy is possibly connected to the method of funding. Although proof readers and editors are listed in the acknowledgements, I wonder exactly how much of the funds where allocated to their services? The book is very well written in many ways but there are a lot of misspellings and grammatical errors and, in the few sections I actually already had some knowledge about, I came across three, very tiny, errors:
1) Chapter 3 Reference to Elizabeth Bennet's long visit with her aunt and uncle at their house Lambton. Lambton was a village where the three were staying at an inn, not a private house.
2)Chapter 11 Reference to Northanger Abbey "The bedroom of the deceased Lady Tilney..." The Tilneys were not titled, it should have read simply Mrs Tilney
3)Chapter 11 Referring to Agatha Christie's Mysterious Affair at Styles there is a casual reference to the Styles estate having become a rehabilitation centre for officers - but it didn't. Arthur Hastings visited as part of his recovery but as a friend of the family who occupied the property.
There is no doubt these are hugely unimportant mistakes; but knowing they exist makes me wonder just how many more are lurking in the parts of the book about which I know nothing?
The reason I feel a little uneasy is possibly connected to the method of funding. Although proof readers and editors are listed in the acknowledgements, I wonder exactly how much of the funds where allocated to their services? The book is very well written in many ways but there are a lot of misspellings and grammatical errors and, in the few sections I actually already had some knowledge about, I came across three, very tiny, errors:
1) Chapter 3 Reference to Elizabeth Bennet's long visit with her aunt and uncle at their house Lambton. Lambton was a village where the three were staying at an inn, not a private house.
2)Chapter 11 Reference to Northanger Abbey "The bedroom of the deceased Lady Tilney..." The Tilneys were not titled, it should have read simply Mrs Tilney
3)Chapter 11 Referring to Agatha Christie's Mysterious Affair at Styles there is a casual reference to the Styles estate having become a rehabilitation centre for officers - but it didn't. Arthur Hastings visited as part of his recovery but as a friend of the family who occupied the property.
There is no doubt these are hugely unimportant mistakes; but knowing they exist makes me wonder just how many more are lurking in the parts of the book about which I know nothing?
August 30, 2017
One interesting essay about the most famous mansion in Literature, some of which became characters in itself. Very dense so I would recommend not to read it all in one Session.
THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!
THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!
December 27, 2017
Ik heb nu toch zo'n vreemd boek gelezen! En het had zoveel beter gekund. Het is uitgegeven bij Unbound, dat is een soort van uitgeverscollectief waarbij je zelf voor funding moet zorgen. Ik heb er al eerder een boek van gelezen waar ik niet zo enthousiast over was. Ik vond in dit boek ook een paar zinnen die totaal niet liepen, dat je denkt: is hier wel geredigeerd?
Het idee op zich is leuk. De Engelse literatuur barst van de mooie landhuizen (Manderley, Brideshead, om er maar een paar te noemen). Zijn die op echt bestaande huizen gebaseerd? Welke functie vervulde het landhuis door de eeuwen heen in de Britse literatuur (en in het echte leven)? We beginnen met Tristram Shandy, we eindigen met Ballard en Barnes, en daartussenin Jane Austen, de Brontë's, Evelyn Waugh, E.M. Forster, Henry James, John Galsworthy, Virginia Woolf, Daphne du Maurier enz. enz.
Richardson vertelt van alle besproken romans uitgebreid de plot na, inclusief afloop, zodat je die boeken alvast niet meer hoeft te lezen. Niks aan voor degenen die anders wel geïnspireerd konden worden, en niks aan voor degenen die de romans al kennen.
Maar waar ik me veel meer aan ergerde, was haar aanname dat schrijvers alleen maar over zaken kunnen schrijven die ze in het echt hebben gezien. Ze gaat dus na in welk landhuis ze kunnen zijn geweest, en concludeert daaruit dat het daar 'dus' op gebaseerd is. Soms is dat ook waar, dan bestaan er brieven of dagboeken van de auteur waaruit dat blijkt. Maar het wordt in veel gevallen veel te stellig aangenomen dat de schrijversverbeelding echt zo één op één werkt.
Als ik bij mezelf naga waar het huis van de oma in Brandsporen op gebaseerd is, dan is dat een amalgaam van bijeengesprokkelde details. De keuken van een tante, de gang van een andere tante, het plaatsje achter het huis van opa en oma, de zolder van het oude huis van schoonmama en ga zo maar door. Als schrijver sla je alles wat je in je leven gezien hebt op, en daaruit maak je iets totaal nieuws.
Veel interessanter vond ik de ontwikkeling die er aan het eind van de rit in bleek te zitten, hoe je aan de hand van de veranderende kijk op het landhuis en die hele cultuur een sociologische verandering kon waarnemen. En ook hoe in de afzonderlijke romans het huis een weerspiegeling was van thema en karakter. Dat kwam allemaal veel te weinig aan bod. Een gemiste kans, en volgens mij heeft dat dan toch met zo'n soort uitgever te maken.
Het idee op zich is leuk. De Engelse literatuur barst van de mooie landhuizen (Manderley, Brideshead, om er maar een paar te noemen). Zijn die op echt bestaande huizen gebaseerd? Welke functie vervulde het landhuis door de eeuwen heen in de Britse literatuur (en in het echte leven)? We beginnen met Tristram Shandy, we eindigen met Ballard en Barnes, en daartussenin Jane Austen, de Brontë's, Evelyn Waugh, E.M. Forster, Henry James, John Galsworthy, Virginia Woolf, Daphne du Maurier enz. enz.
Richardson vertelt van alle besproken romans uitgebreid de plot na, inclusief afloop, zodat je die boeken alvast niet meer hoeft te lezen. Niks aan voor degenen die anders wel geïnspireerd konden worden, en niks aan voor degenen die de romans al kennen.
Maar waar ik me veel meer aan ergerde, was haar aanname dat schrijvers alleen maar over zaken kunnen schrijven die ze in het echt hebben gezien. Ze gaat dus na in welk landhuis ze kunnen zijn geweest, en concludeert daaruit dat het daar 'dus' op gebaseerd is. Soms is dat ook waar, dan bestaan er brieven of dagboeken van de auteur waaruit dat blijkt. Maar het wordt in veel gevallen veel te stellig aangenomen dat de schrijversverbeelding echt zo één op één werkt.
Als ik bij mezelf naga waar het huis van de oma in Brandsporen op gebaseerd is, dan is dat een amalgaam van bijeengesprokkelde details. De keuken van een tante, de gang van een andere tante, het plaatsje achter het huis van opa en oma, de zolder van het oude huis van schoonmama en ga zo maar door. Als schrijver sla je alles wat je in je leven gezien hebt op, en daaruit maak je iets totaal nieuws.
Veel interessanter vond ik de ontwikkeling die er aan het eind van de rit in bleek te zitten, hoe je aan de hand van de veranderende kijk op het landhuis en die hele cultuur een sociologische verandering kon waarnemen. En ook hoe in de afzonderlijke romans het huis een weerspiegeling was van thema en karakter. Dat kwam allemaal veel te weinig aan bod. Een gemiste kans, en volgens mij heeft dat dan toch met zo'n soort uitgever te maken.
July 22, 2018
House of Fiction is dedicated to various novels with houses at their centre. Richardson tries to tie together how the houses play a fundamental role in both the narrative and the authors' lives.
So, after trial and error, I only read the chapters that interested me. I tried to read the essay-type chapters on books that I hadn't read by authors that I didn't care for, but I eventually gave up. I just grew bored of them and, not only that, but basically ever chapter spoiled the author's work, so I avoided some for that reason.
I did, however, read the chapters on Walpole, Austen, Scott, Bronte, Dickens, Hardy & Forester, and du Maurier & Christie. Richardson's arguments were utterly convincing, and made me look at the role of the house in a completely new light. They are centrepieces of these narratives, and shouldn't be taken advantage of.
It's very clear that Richardson thoroughly researched the lives of each and very author, trying to find where houses (be that the place they grew up or their occupation as an architect) played a valuable part. She also researched into the novels, not only providing us with her argument but with a variety of different scholar's arguments.
I just wish I had read the other novels, and then I might have been interested more in what Richardson had to say. Nevertheless, the chapters I did read, I thoroughly enjoyed! I feel like this might not be a book suited to everyone's needs - it's a task to read, and if you don't enjoy scholarly/academic reads, then it might not be for you.
So, after trial and error, I only read the chapters that interested me. I tried to read the essay-type chapters on books that I hadn't read by authors that I didn't care for, but I eventually gave up. I just grew bored of them and, not only that, but basically ever chapter spoiled the author's work, so I avoided some for that reason.
I did, however, read the chapters on Walpole, Austen, Scott, Bronte, Dickens, Hardy & Forester, and du Maurier & Christie. Richardson's arguments were utterly convincing, and made me look at the role of the house in a completely new light. They are centrepieces of these narratives, and shouldn't be taken advantage of.
It's very clear that Richardson thoroughly researched the lives of each and very author, trying to find where houses (be that the place they grew up or their occupation as an architect) played a valuable part. She also researched into the novels, not only providing us with her argument but with a variety of different scholar's arguments.
I just wish I had read the other novels, and then I might have been interested more in what Richardson had to say. Nevertheless, the chapters I did read, I thoroughly enjoyed! I feel like this might not be a book suited to everyone's needs - it's a task to read, and if you don't enjoy scholarly/academic reads, then it might not be for you.
December 7, 2017
*This book was given to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review – all opinions are my own.*
House of Fiction is a perfect way to delve back into beloved books. I thought it was very well written and very engrossing - especially for the books I did read. I could picture the houses I had imagined and the characters populating them. I found it difficult to follow on the chapters about books I had not read though. What is wonderful about this book is how it mixes both the fictional world of the books with the real life inspiration from the authors. A great read for those who love literature.
House of Fiction is a perfect way to delve back into beloved books. I thought it was very well written and very engrossing - especially for the books I did read. I could picture the houses I had imagined and the characters populating them. I found it difficult to follow on the chapters about books I had not read though. What is wonderful about this book is how it mixes both the fictional world of the books with the real life inspiration from the authors. A great read for those who love literature.
January 11, 2019
Natürlich fallen Essays, die sich mit der Rolle britischer Architektur und konkreter Häuser, Wohn- und Lebensorte als Inspiration für die Werke bekannter Autor*innen beschäftigen, eher in die Kategorien "Trivia" und "Fachliteratur". Aber genau das machte die Abhandlungen so charmant. Auch die eingebundenen biographischen Inhalte bieten nochmal einen echten Mehrwert und runden mein Bild über viele meiner Lieblingsschriftsteller*innen ab. Schön auch das Fazit. Zwar mehr auf der wissenschaftlichen als auf der "Ich lese ein Sachbuch privat aus Freude"-Seite, aber das ist definitiv ein Buch für meine fellow Ravenclaws!
December 21, 2017
Lovingly rendered exploration of the house and its place in some Very Important English Literature. Now, I didn't really enjoy this as much as I wanted to BUT a social/historical exploration of this kind is, to me, a very personal itch to scratch. The reader will likely linger over those houses that feature in her or his favorites novels - like, talk to me about Rebecca and Agatha Christie and spare me the Jane Eyre, for God's sake. Anyway, a worthy read.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 26, 2021
I really enjoyed how the author got into the nitty-gritty of the places inhabited and those that inspired famous English writers.
My favorite chapters were:
1. Strawberry Hill: The Invention of the Gothic Novel
2. Pride and Property: Women and Houses in Regency England
3. Madwoman in the Attic, Author in the Dining Room: The Haunts of Charlotte Bronte
4. Charles Dickens: A Child's View of Home
5. For the Love of the English Cottage: Thomas Hardy and EM Forster
6. Rooms of Her Own: Virginia Woolf's Houses of Memory
My favorite chapters were:
1. Strawberry Hill: The Invention of the Gothic Novel
2. Pride and Property: Women and Houses in Regency England
3. Madwoman in the Attic, Author in the Dining Room: The Haunts of Charlotte Bronte
4. Charles Dickens: A Child's View of Home
5. For the Love of the English Cottage: Thomas Hardy and EM Forster
6. Rooms of Her Own: Virginia Woolf's Houses of Memory
August 30, 2021
I was not sure about what the subject was in this book but it turned out to be very interesting as the author began with where the authors lived their lives and the relationship of their living accommodations and their fictional characters and where they lived. Illustrations are provided if available and were very helpful in visually seeing the actual homes of the authors. The first section was a little tedious but once I read through the first part, I really began to enjoy what she had to impart about the authors personal lives and homes.
August 29, 2022
I've always enjoyed a strong sense of place in books and found this tour through some of the prominent country houses used as settings fascinating. It is well-researched and I gained insight into the authors through the descriptions of their connections to places. As others mention, the book contains spoilers, but in general it didn't worry me as I suspect I will enjoy some books more knowing the background. The one exception is the section on Rebecca and Daphne du Maurier. If you haven't read the book and plan to read it, skip that section. Well worth the read.
May 17, 2018
Fascinating book which allows you to revisit writers of English Literature you know and those you don't and see how the houses fit in as characters and commentators in the novels. All the way from Tristram Shandy past Ian Fleming and all those loopy modern houses Bond villains like to live in. A real education to look much harder at how settings are chosen. And taking in Jane Austen and Charles Dickens on the way. Its a long book but you'll persist if its your thing.
January 13, 2018
Very interesting chapter on Soames Forsyte's Robin Hill.
October 6, 2018
Loved loved loved this. If I were writing a book, this would be my topic.
May 4, 2019
A fascinating easy read.
Not so much about the houses in fiction, so much as the houses that inspired the writers, kept me engaged and I finished it in a day.
Not so much about the houses in fiction, so much as the houses that inspired the writers, kept me engaged and I finished it in a day.
July 14, 2021
An interesting concept for a book, but in execution it wound up being a simple description of various houses in each author's life, without enough analysis. I was hoping for something that would have included more insight into varying housing styles and societal ideas about home and houses.
May 22, 2023
What more could I want - a book about books referencing British homes (mostly stately). Really interesting, engaging and enjoyable. Fantastic.
Shelved as 'to-start-soon'
October 31, 2017A digitized ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 4, 2017
Unfortunately, I didn't get to finish this book before it was archived. But, from what I did read, this is a very detailed book that would make a great gift for any fan of classic literature.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews