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The House of Fiction
The House of Fiction: From Pemberley to Brideshead, Great British Houses in Literature and Life | Phyllis Richardson
6 posts | 30 to read
Houses in literature have captured readers imaginations for centuries, from Gothic castles to Georgian stately homes, Bloomsbury townhouses and high-rise penthouses. Step on to a tour of real and imagined houses that great English writers have used to reflect the themes of their novels... houses that became like characters themselves, embodiments of the social and historical currents of their time. Phyllis Richardson takes us on 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 Woolfs love of Talland House in Cornwall is palpable in To the Lighthouse, just as Londons Bloomsbury is ever-present in Mrs Dalloway. E.M. Forsters childhood home at Rooks Nest mirrors the idyllic charm of Howards End. Evelyn Waugh plotted Charles Ryders return to Brideshead while a guest at Madresfield. Jane Austen was no stranger to a manor house or a good ballroom. And Horace Walpoles little Gothic castle in Twickenham inspired him to write the first English Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. But the English country house, from the idyllic to the unloved, is also viewed through a modern lens Kazuo Ishiguros Darlington Hall, Ian McEwans Tallis House, Alan Hollinghurtss Two Acres. Using historic sources, authors biographies, letters, news accounts, and the novels themselves, The House of Fiction presents some of the most influential houses in Britain through the stories they inspired, while offering candid glimpses of the writers who brought them to life.
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jenniferw88
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As soon as I saw #house was the prompt for #200pnpcovers I thought of this book.

#99ponkindle

@CrowCAH @mabell

CrowCAH It‘s a neat cover! Sometimes books do act as a house of safety where a reader can go and dwell! 2y
mabell Oooo this sounds cool! And perfect for the prompt! 2y
55 likes2 comments
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vivastory
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I imagine there's a #porch or two mentioned in this tour of homes, real & imagined, from great works of fiction. I came across this while at the library today. #GratefulHarvest @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Eggs Oh gosh I love this idea!!!! 2y
LeahBergen I have this one, too! 2y
vivastory @LeahBergen I saw your copy when I was looking through the feed. It looks delightful! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful cover! 🏡 2y
76 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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shanaqui
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Tilly the Triceratops seemed a bit long-suffering about today's haul... I swear I didn't mean to get so many. I wanted to support Portal Bookshop, so that accounts for eight of them, and I had a gift card for Waterstones, but...

Still, I'm happy. Some people stockpile toilet paper, I stockpile stuff to read. And the tagged book looks fascinating and was on sale for only £5!

Reviewsbylola Exactly! You can always find a substitute for TP but good reading material is harder to come by! 4y
28 likes1 comment
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scripturient
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Started this one this morning. 😊

janeycanuck What a great cover! 5y
96 likes11 stack adds1 comment
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LeahBergen
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All of the posts today about literary #tours brought this book to mind.

The author takes a chronological look at the real houses that inspired the fictional homes of British authors, from Sterne‘s Shandy Hall to the Tallis mansion in Ian McEwan‘s Atonement (and yes, Pemberley is included). The mixing of biography with social history (and lots of black-and-white photos) makes this a really fun book to dip into.

#150PnPCoverParty

KVanRead Ooh that sounds amazing! Does it have the real Manderley in it? 6y
Sarah83 I am still wondering how many gorgeous books you own. 😍 6y
CrowCAH Oh wow that does sound fascinating! 6y
See All 13 Comments
Leftcoastzen Pretty cool! 6y
Melissa_J I‘m stacking this one! 6y
DebinHawaii Definitely stacking--it sounds right up my alley. 📚👍 6y
RohitSawant This sounds fantastic! 6y
erzascarletbookgasm Cool! Want to read! 6y
LeahBergen @KVanRead It does have Menabilly (and some other homes that influenced Du Maurier). 👍🏻 6y
LeahBergen @Sarah83 Haha! 😘 6y
LeahBergen @rubyslippersreads Ha! I think you‘ll like it. 😘 6y
123 likes15 stack adds13 comments