Pages: 374
Published: 11th April 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
Content warnings: Misogyny, sexual references
In a quiet house in the countryside outside London, the finishing touches are being made to welcome a group of young women. The house and its location are top secret, its residents unknown to one another, but the girls have one thing in they are fallen. Offering refuge for prostitutes, petty thieves and the destitute, Urania Cottage is a second chance at life – but how badly do they want it?
Meanwhile, a few miles away in a Piccadilly mansion, millionairess Angela Burdett-Coutts, one of the benefactors of Urania Cottage, makes a discovery that leaves her her stalker of 10 years has been released from prison . . .
As the women’s worlds collide in ways they could never have expected, they will discover that freedom always comes at a price . . .
This is a novel that puts a compelling spin on a fascinating and little-known piece of history, shining light on the very human story at its heart. Neatly woven together with a clutch of narratives and a plot that gradually gathers momentum despite occasionally lacking direction, it is beautifully written and driven by the loving, sympathetic portrayal of its vulnerable main characters.
Back in the mid-nineteenth century, celebrated author Charles Dickens secretly co-founded Urania Cottage along with Angela Burdett-Coutts, a noted philanthropist and heiress. It was a home for so-called fallen women, who had suffered hardship or spent time in prison, so they could learn important skills and rebuild their lives before returning to normal society. The book offers a fictional account of the goings-on at that house on the outskirts of London, and it is easy to get swept away by the history.
It is important to emphasise that the book never dwells too much on the facts, even if it sometimes reads a little bit like a fictional documentary as you follow Martha and Josephine along on their journey at Urania Cottage. Another significant factor is that although Angela is one of the main protagonists, the author very deliberately avoids featuring Dickens, instead only referring to him in passing. He is present yet not present, and this decision works perfectly as it allows him to exist in the reader’s imagination.
And more pressingly, this story is not about Dickens; it is about the women and rightly so. At the beginning we are introduced to Martha and her quiet determination and kindness mixed in with a hint of naivety, means she is immediately taken into our hearts. Then we have the slightly more wayward Josephine who arrives at the cottage needing some direction, and Polly, who is shy and quietly spoken but exudes an inner steeliness. Meanwhile, the privileged yet harassed Angela and the overworked matron Mrs Holdsworth are deeply invested in their subjects’ lives.
With the exception of Polly, all of these characters have sections that follow their perspectives, all of which are incidentally written in the third person. Therefore, as you can imagine, there are a lot of plot strands that are competing for attention and for the most part these are balanced together really well. Around halfway or perhaps two thirds of the way through it does start to feel slightly aimless as the pace noticeably slows down, but in reality it is just laying the groundwork for a much more riveting final act.
Josephine’s storyline begins intriguingly and when she is at Urania Cottage you feel as if she is at a crossroads, but the way it developed later on was not what I was hoping for. Luckily, the path of the other characters became increasingly gripping, especially as their lives started to intertwine. It has a sinister element too, with Angela haunted by a stalker whose presence is never far away until a major twist raises the stakes.
So much of the story is experienced through Martha’s eyes and as such, you are truly taken along for the ride with her. The search for her younger sister Emily is a heartrending sub-plot that reoccurs throughout and leaves you craving for a happy ending, but those emotions are nothing like what you feel when she ends up putting herself in danger. Even when she has the culture shock of staying with Angela at the Duke’s residence, you are feeling her every emotion.
If there is one fundamental problem with the plot, then it is that some of the key incidents take place off the page. Sometimes you would reach a pivotal moment at the end of a chapter where something dramatic is about to happen, but then jumps forward to after the event and recounts the aftermath. It is alright for the reader to be left to fill in some of the gaps, but here it just happens far too frequently.
The story does get genuinely tense towards the end as the extent of the deception becomes clear and it becomes a race against time. After a excellent start and a somewhat cumbersome middle, this is just what the book needs to give it the conclusion it deserves. There is a redemption arc, some – albeit a little forced – romance, and even the women who are not ‘fallen’ find their own means of salvation.
As for the history, the subject matter is never anything but extremely interesting, and the way the settings are described play a considerable part in that. A map inside the front cover and illustrations of the main residences at the start of each chapter help you along, and generally the whole vibe of Victorian London is captured perfectly. Urania Cottage itself is immersive, having the feel of a safe haven yet also reflecting the women’s fragile existence.
This was Stacey Halls’ first book for two and-a-half years, but she certainly has not lost any of her magic touch where writing style is concerned. It remains as delightfully engaging as ever, just nursing you through the story and making you obsessed with the true events it is based upon. She gives everything a human touch that leaves you soaking in every word.
Overall, there are some weaknesses with regards to the plot and some of the decisions made, but otherwise it is a book that neatly balances various storylines, builds strongly towards a climactic ending, and most importantly never loses sight of what matters most – the characters. It evokes powerful emotions and truly makes you care, all with the help of beautiful writing and a subtle attention to detail.
I was hooked to begin with and then slightly concerned that the story was losing a bit of direction, but it really reasserted itself towards the end. An excellent read, both for the history and the storytelling – and I was invested so much in the characters.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Stephen Reads Books 