Review: A House Through Time by David Olusoga and Melanie Backe-Hansen

I loved watching the BBC television series, A House Through Time, presented by David Olusoga. I adore history and finding out about old houses, and had assumed this book tied into that with perhaps a little bit about how to go about researching the history of your own house. Although the first chapter does give lots of tips on how to do this, A House Through Time is pretty much what the title suggests - a social history of housing from Roman times to the present date. There are also a few references to the houses that featured in the TV series, where relevant.

Reading this book felt a lot like sitting in a time machine, watching as houses were built, knocked down and built over again. We moved rapidly through the medieval period, got slightly bogged down with Victorian slums, before speeding up again through the 20th century. The book is packed full of quirky facts - who knew that chimneys weren't invented until the 1200s? - and the fascinating lives of the people who influenced trends (both good and bad!) in house building.

Although A House Through Time was not quite what I was expecting, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Of particular interest to me was the section on the Victorian 'villas' (I grew up in one and this book explains a lot!), the back-to-back slums that my ancestors lived in, and how the cancellation of brick tax meant builders could go mad with different patterns and ornamentations. I had often wondered why this became a trend!

Recommended for anyone who loves old houses, history, and would like to research their own house's history.

Thank you to David Olusoga, Melanie Backe-Hansen and Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Review: Monster She Wrote by Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson

Monster, She Wrote is an informative guide to female horror writers, and perfect for someone like me, who loves gothic and ghostly fiction, and finding new authors to read. There are over 35 authors listed, starting with Margaret Cavendish (The Blazing World), known as 'Mad Madge' for her wild fashion and loud behaviour, and ending with modern authors such as Helen Oyeyemi, Susan Hill, Sarah Waters and Angela Carter.

Monster, She Wrote looks at how the original gothic fiction written by Ann Radcliffe (The Mysteries of Udolpho) evolved, via authors such as Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), through the Victorian trend for ghost stories and into the science fiction of the 20th century. I found it fascinating to read about my favourite authors (Shirley Jackson, Daphne du Maurier and Anne Rice) as well as authors I had heard of but not read: V.C. Andrews (Flowers in the Attic).

In addition to a potted biography for each author, there is a suggested reading list and mention of their contemporaries - if you fancy trying something similar but different. The genres covered are gothic fiction, horror, ghost stories, science-fiction, domestic thrillers, psychological suspense, fantasy, paranormal and supernatural, and re-tellings of fairy stories. This book is perfect for either dipping into or reading from cover to cover. I really enjoyed it, I can definitely recommend it - and I've found lots of new authors to try too!

Thank you to Lisa Kroger, Melanie R. Anderson and Quirk Books for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.