My Life in Houses
Published on 25. February 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-09-959397-3 (ISBN)
Description
'I was born on 25th May, 1938, in the front bedroom of a house in Orton Road, a house on the outer edges of Raffles, a council estate. I was a lucky girl.'
So begins Margaret Forster's journey through the houses she's lived in, from that sparkling new council house, to her beloved London home of today. This is not a book about bricks and mortar though. This is a book about what houses are to us, the effect they have on the way we live our lives and the changing nature of our homes: from blacking grates and outside privies; to cities dominated by bedsits and lodgings; to the houses of today converted back into single dwellings. Finally, it is a gently insistent, personal inquiry into the meaning of home.
So begins Margaret Forster's journey through the houses she's lived in, from that sparkling new council house, to her beloved London home of today. This is not a book about bricks and mortar though. This is a book about what houses are to us, the effect they have on the way we live our lives and the changing nature of our homes: from blacking grates and outside privies; to cities dominated by bedsits and lodgings; to the houses of today converted back into single dwellings. Finally, it is a gently insistent, personal inquiry into the meaning of home.
Reviews / Votes
I was truly moved by Margaret Forster's ingeniously structured and beautifully written memoir... A really wonderful book -- Juliet Nicolson * Evening Standard BOOKS OF THE YEAR * A beautiful exploration of her life in relation to the homes she has made' -- Rachel Joyce * Observer BOOKS OF THE YEAR * Such a clever idea. It's a memoir sited in bricks and mortar... social and personal history spliced together -- Penelope Lively * Guardian BOOKS OF THE YEAR * Until its shocking, throat-catching end, this latest book is a deceptively simple trek evoking everywhere [Margaret Forster] has lived -- Melanie Reid * The Times * Reads like one of Forster's well-loved novels: full of sharp observation and gentle wit -- Bel Mooney * Daily Mail * In both books and homes, we find wry humour and a great deal of poignancy -- Sarah Franklin * Sunday Express * Like sitting down for tea with a highly intelligent woman and chatting, not so much about "a room of one's own" as "a home of one's own"... fascinating and touching * Spectator * This is a lovely and touching evocation of what home means to one woman, and within this is a universality that many will connect with -- Shirley Whiteside * Herald *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
221 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-959397-3 (9780099593973)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Margaret Forster
My Life in Houses
E-Book
11/2014
1st Edition
Vintage Digital
€10.99
Available for download
Person
Born in Carlisle, Margaret Forster was the author of many successful and acclaimed novels, including Have the Men Had Enough?, Lady's Maid, Diary of an Ordinary Woman, Is There Anything You Want? , Keeping the World Away, Over and The Unknown Bridesmaid. She also wrote bestselling memoirs - Hidden Lives, Precious Lives and, most recently, My Life in Houses - and biographies. She was married to writer and journalist Hunter Davies and lived in London and the Lake District. She died in February 2016, just before her last novel, How to Measure a Cow, was published.