Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

I really enjoyed this book when I read it, however I did not get to submit full review in time as unfortunately I lost my devices when my house was burgled and it took me a long time to replace my belongings and just get back on track. I have an ereader again (and a laptop, although I am not reactivating my blog and have started a bookstagram instead) and I hope to review again in the future.

This is such a funny book. It’s also incredibly moving.

The Trelawneys are an aristocratic but eccentric family. They live in a castle, are friends with royalty and the Trelawney name opens doors. They are also completely broke. The castle is falling apart and every year less of the building is habitable. The land has been sold off, the treasures have been auctioned and the Earl and Countess keep up the pretense of dressing for dinner despite the fact they are eating budget cottage pie.

The book sfocuses around three women who are all broken but strong, hopeless but resilient, and very different from each other.

Jane is married to Trelawney heir, Kitto. She is desperately trying to keep a roof over everyone’s heads – literally and metaphorical. the day to day survival of the castle and family is all on her shoulders. She is literally cooking, cleaning and emptying saucepans every time it rains and the roof leaks. She finds solace in her artistic endeavors, designing and hand-printing wallpaper where the animal print designed look suspiciously like her family members.

Blaze is the Earl’s daughter, Rich and successful, she has made a name for herself in the cut throat world of finance. She is however, desperately lonely and has struggled to find love and meaningful relationships.

And then there is Ayesha. A beautiful young woman, daughter of Jane and Blaze’s childhood friend, She finds herself back in London, living with Blaze. He aim is to marry well – and for money – as soon as possible and put her mother’s revenge plan in plan.

All three women are irrevocably tied to Trelawney and their fates and the fate of the estate is entwined.

Set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, the book explores the impacts that the crash has on various families in a devastatingly humorous and yet heartbreaking way. Trust in institutions and reputations is destroyed, younger generations and technology are taking over and those who fail to adapt will not survive.

The characters in this book are brilliant. They are vivid and distinct. I particularly enjoyed Tony and his conversations with Ayesha and Blaze, The Dowager Countess is hilarious and I would probably watch her reality show. There are genuinely heartwarming moments and the humour runs throughout the whole book.

Rothschild is a master of satire and it is not just wealth: the rich, the aristocratic, the working class, women and men, the young and old, arrogance, pride nobody escapes and their follies and foibles are exposed.

The ending is completely satisfying but I would love to know what happens to this wonderfully fascinating family in the future.

This was the longest of the books lingering on my Netgalley shelves and I can not believe I had not read it sooner. One of my favourite reads of the year.

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the gifted copy of House of Trelawney.

It's great to be in a position to recommend much more diverse books to our young people at school. Building the senior school library as a place where students actually come and find books that they want to read as opposed to books that teachers think they ought to read is an important responsibility and one we take really seriously.
Books like this are such a positive move as they will appeal to a broader set of readers than we are usually attracting. Dealing with modern issues in a clear and captivating way with a strong narrative voice and characters that the students can relate to is critical as we move forwards. This book is both an intelligent and compelling read that will hold even the most reluctant reader's attention and keep them turning the pages long into the night. It keeps the reader on their toes and ensures that you give it your full attention too. I found myself thinking about its characters and events even when I wasn't reading it and looking forward to snatching kore time with it and I hope that my students feel the same. An accessible, gripping and engrossing read that I can't recommend highly enough. Will absolutely be buying a copy for the library and heartily recommending it to both staff and students.

I was given a free copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
I quite enjoyed this book, it was quite compelling and I read it fairly quickly. The story revolves around a once magnificent country house gone to seed, and the eccentric Trewlaney family struggling to stop the house from crumbling around them.
One main plot line between the on/off romance of one family member was quite irritating and predictable, but I enjoyed the other characters.
If you're looking for a British romp, with bumbling, eccentriciric characters then this is the book for you.
It could have been a bit shorter, but overall a good read.

This was my most disappointing read of 2020. I had been 'saving it' after having absolutely adored Rothschild's debut The Improbability of Love and settled down with high expectations. The concept sounded so promising - the Earls of Trelawney have lived in Trelawney Castle for over seven hundred years. There's a room for every day of the year. It's their 'three dimensional calling card'. But by 2008, it is in a state of complete disrepair. Walls crumbling, ceilings caved in. Vast tracts completely abandoned. And yet these fallen aristocrats stagger on. I was anticipating a book that sent up the aristocracy with the same wit with which Rothschild gently mocked the art world. Instead ... I got this.

The book opens promisingly, explaining the family's grand forebears and charting their sharp descent into poverty. The ageing Earl Enyon and his wife Clarissa dress for dinner each night and pretend not to know that it is their dogsbody daughter-in-law who prepares the food rather than the long vanished servants. Eldest son Kitto married Jane for her money, having been told not to 'let the sun set on your watch' and now the two of them scrape to pay the school fees to send eldest son Ambrose to Harrow. The younger two children have to make do with the local comprehensive. Kitto has also inherited his father's gambling streak and it is fairly clear from the get-go that they are not going to do well out of the upcoming financial crash.

I have a feeling that if Rothschild had kept tighter hold of this core cast, she might have managed a more effective book. But then there are the 'cast-off' Trelawneys from previous generations. It has long been a Trelawney tradition to evict the younger siblings to make way for the heir, so we have Kitto's sister Blaze who has a career in high finance in London, the gay uncle Tony and great-aunt Tuffy who loves insects. And then arriving into the middle of the action is young Ayesha, daughter to the long-vanished Anastasia, the girl who was Kitto's boyhood love and erstwhile best friend to Blaze and Jane - it seems that young Ayesha has the Trelawney family hair.

It's not uncommon to have a cast of colourful cliches in satire. Indeed, Rothschild even managed to deploy such characters effectively in The Improbability of Love. But that never happens here. The plot is strange, repetitive and extremely uneven. Blaze repeatedly jumps to the wrong conclusions and is staggeringly difficult to like. And yet I have the feeling that I was supposed to be rooting for her happy ending. By the time she had made the same mistake the third time, I was just hoping the guy would give up on her and find someone more interesting. And then there's Jane. Poor put-upon Jane. Who does everything for no thanks and who Rothschild repeatedly (so. many. times.) observes never even loved Kitto in the first place. So why is she still putting up with this? And is Ayesha really going to sell herself down the river so thoroughly to avenge her mother? Really?

It's hard to really care about a novel with such a void of pleasant characters. But what really kills its chances is when the fictional people exhibit behaviour that makes it hard to believe that they truly belong to the human race. The 'gotcha' twist was just unsavoury, the 'postponed' happy ending for Ayesha just seemed worse and was the reader really supposed to pity these exiled aristos who were so incapable of looking after themselves? Given Rothschild's own privileged background, the whole exercise seemed rather tone deaf. There even seemed to be a hint that Brexit would be born from the poorly managed working classes now that the nobility's day was done. More worrying though is the implication that India is still a wilderness to which people could be 'sent' as recently as the 1980s, not to mention several other eye-watering cliches. We're a little way past the days of the Empire now, Ms Rothschild, and you would do well to remember that.

I've read comic novels centred around impoverished toffs before. It can be done well. But I think that Rothschild over-reached with a setting as recent as 2008. Edwardian, inter-war, immediately post-war - any of those time periods would have been an easier sell. Ayesha's husband-hunting would have seemed less bizarre. The circumstances of the silly girl's conception would have made some degree of sense. Perhaps Blaze the career woman character would have floundered but she was not exactly a successful character as it was. House of Trelawney reveals once more that Rothschild is a witty and clever writer but with a plot populated by idiots who meander and go nowhere, I will most likely hesitate to seek out her books again.

Following the various twists and turns in the fortunes and lives of the aristocratic Trelawney family, with an 800-year-old heritage, ‘The House of Trelawney’ charts the different fates of each character and takes the reader on a journey of discovery as their inevitable downfall ensues. There are a wide variety of characters, perhaps too many at times, and they go through a range of moments of engaging and infuriating the reader, with their idiosyncrasies and attitudinal foibles, though sometimes the constant shifting of focus causes gaps and a lack of complete empathy where some are concerned. There are many moments to pique the readers’ interest, and the novel itself rumbles along at a jaunty pace for the most part, though the start is a little long winded, and some parts feel as if they could be shaken up to give them life.
That said, the plot is engaging and the characters themselves are mostly convincing, whilst providing a potential behind the scenes look at the negative side of a life with such opportunities, wealth and heritage - the Trelawney family themselves, it seems, are their own worst enemies, and the many setbacks they endure at their own hands provides a mixture of amusement and frustration simultaneously.
It is worth a read, but be prepared to persevere in parts and accept that the ending almost tails off leaving you questioning if it’s ended at all.

I loved this book, it was great fun. I've enjoyed recommending it to my customers, and I think it will do really well in paperback.

A story of an aristocratic family that had fallen on hard times. The saga of the Trelawneys trying to revive the dilapidated family home and the ins and outs family life was an enjoyable read. I loved reading about my favourite part of the UK, this funny family drama was a great read.

This one is a tricky book to review - it took forever to get into it, something about the first few pages just didn't grab me & I had to try again & again
Once in, it's one of those books that you want to like but somehow it just missed the mark for me - there wasn't really enough happening & I didn't engage with the characters. I really wanted to enjoy it but sadly didn't

Trelawney Castle is a beloved millstone round the neck of its owners, inhabitants, and former residents, the three generations of the impoverished aristocratic Trelawney family. I really enjoyed this satirical look at a family clinging too hard to the past and those desperate to snatch it away from them.

I’m afraid I found this book a bit of a disappointment. I’d really enjoyed the Improbability of Love, but this just didn’t ever find its feet. I sort of felt it didn’t ever get going and I didn’t really care about any of the characters.

It just felt a bit flat, I’m afraid. I did finish it and it did get better as it went on.

I’m sure it’ll do very well, but for me it just didn’t quite work.

I so wanted to love this book, but it didn't meet my expectations in the end.
What a great idea for a book, but I disliked every single character in the novel. Hannah Rothschild has a great writing style and j do like her descriptions of buildings, rooms and atmosphere. For me personally to be a good read, I need at least one connection with a character. It certainly made for an interesting dynamic between the women in the story, but not what I enjoy.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book!

House of Trelawney was unfortunately not what I was expecting - a wealthy family losing it all, unlikable characters being forced to live in unexpected circumstances, and a general satirical take on class - I should have loved it.

Instead I was treat to a reasonably fine story, with little happening along the way, and a host of unlikable two-dimensional characters with nothing interesting or redeeming about them.

It was very fine, and I can definitely understand why some people loved it! I think I was just expecting something different from the story.

Great book. Well written and plot flows beautifully well.
Thank you to both NetGalley and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review

I struggled through a lot of this, but ultimately just found that the characters rubbed me the wrong way entirely. I found little that was redeeming about them, and that made the experience of reading this a difficult one. The story also was just a bit dull. Not one for me, unfortunately!

This would've been a DNF at 12% if it wasn't an ARC but it did get better and redeemed itself later in the novel.

The start was very much a poor little rich family loses money but is still living in their castle.

The characters weren't relatable or particularly likeable. My favourite characters were Blaze and Aunt Tuffy.

It is set during the banker crash of 2008 and that is the main theme in the book.

House of Trelawney is the new book from Hannah Rosthchild, author of The Improbability of Love. Set against the financial crash of 2008, the book sets the fall of the aristocratic family of Trelawney against the fall of the banks and the old financial institutions. At the centre are Jane, Blaze and Anastasia, once three best friends but drifted apart and now live very different lives. Brought back together by a sequence of difficult events, and a new family member, their lives will change and they will find each other, love and their vocation in life. The perfect mix of drama, romance and humour set against the crumbling House of Trewlaney, make this a joyous and entertaining read.

Reading the House of Trelawney reminded me in some way of the great British sit com The Good Life. The Trewlaney family have lived on their land, and in their castle for over eight hundred years, but now it is falling to wrack and ruin due to lack of funds. Kitto is the current Viscout, married to Jane but their is nothing aristocratic about their lives apart from the titles. Jane spends her days trying one hundred dishes with mince, putting buckets under the leeks in the roof and carry hot water to her parents in law’s rooms. Clarissa, the Dowager Countess still gets dressed for dinner, believes they still have servants and is ever critical. She still lives in the past, the days of grandeur and parties, and adds some wonderful humorous moments to the book; she reminisces about royalty whilst Jane is chasing a horse and falling in the mud. Add to that a mad old aunt, who prefers the company of mice and fleas to humans, three teenagers and you have an eccentric and memorable cast of characters.

Blaze was Jane’s best friend, and sister to Kitto, but hasn’t spoken to her family for twenty years. She has no idea how far they have fallen, the state of the castle of the lack of money. She is now a successful business women with millions in the bank, but ironically no one to share it with. That is until their other best friend sends her daughter, Aleysha, to live with her. This is the catalyst for both Blaze and Jane, it brings old family arguments to the fore, but also brings both women closer. To say all three are different is an understatement, they all seem to want what the other has; a family, a castle, and money. Ultimately, it is the women in this story that come out on top, their resilience, adaptability and strength in the face of adversity.

Hannah Rothschild has a wonderful way with words, bringing the characters to life but also bringing humour to some difficult situations. She makes the castle a character in itself, old, out of date, crumbling, leaking but ultimately still standing like a grand old lady, maybe a shadow of the British institution at that time. She perfectly captures the atmosphere and feeling of the financial crash of 2008, how it effected people, people who had invested for their pensions, and the resentment that caused. This fall of the banks, mirrors the fall of the Trelawney family and the need for a new establishment and change in the way things were run.

House of Trelawney is a wonderfully entertaining satire of a dysfunctional, but loveable family. If you are a fan of Jilly Cooper, like me, you will love this book, it has the same humour, sarcasm and fabulous characters, including the animals. This book made me laugh and smile and it was such a joy to read, I’m sure it is going to be on the bestseller list.

This was an interesting novel; it took me a while to get into it, but then I started to get get it. There were some features I did find annoying - how come so many characters, about whom we were told were really intelligent, had a common sense bypass? Also a number of other characters just disappeared for huge parts of the book, clearly the novel would have been epic (and probably quite boring) if we had followed everyone all the time, but even so! Most of the cast were generally reasonable, although Blaze needed a stern talking to, the baddie was a bit of a cut out pantomime villain and one of the plot twists was quite easy to guess. Would I read it again - no, would I read a sequel - yes. However, since I expect the author won't have sorted out Blaze, I may regret that decision.

The Trelawney's and Trelawney Castle have been part of the British aristocratic scene for over 800 years, but their fortunes have been in a decline for many years. This is the story of a divided family with secrets, stuck in outdated traditions trying to hang on to a Castle and life that they can't afford.
The financial crash of 2008 brings everything to a head for the family and the arrival of Ayesha and Thomlinson Sleet in their lives opens old wounds & secrets.
The characters Hannah Rothschild creates are all flawed in some way or other but it is the women of Trelawney who bring most to the story, each in their own individual way.
However, the story leaves many unanswered questions at the end.
I was given a copy of House of Trelawney by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.