Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Mrs England

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Mrs England by Stacey Halls

17 reviews

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Mrs England gave me Jane Eyre vibes with its gothic atmosphere and nanny arriving at an isolated house and the lady of the house behaving oddly opening. I enjoyed Ruby as a main character and appreciated the ratcheting tensions and shifting allegiances as she discovers more about what is happening in the England’s home. Hall brought both the Yorkshire countryside, the mill town and Hardcastle House vividly to life. Women faced many difficulties in Edwardian England, and Hall starkly depicts some of them in this story.

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oliviaclaire's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I think I've been spoiled by Eve Chase's The Glass House for books about child caretakers sent to manage charges in the wild and rugged North and this may have coloured my opinion of Mrs England. Please don't let it colour yours though as the books have many differences that set them apart.

Firstly, Mrs England is a period piece, set in 1904. Ruby May has just finished her first placement after graduating from Norland school for nurses. She has decided not to emigrate to America with her placement family due to needing to be close enough to home to help support her family in Leeds. It is implied that one of her siblings is ill and that she uses her wages to support them. Unfortunately, Norland nurses are not in the habit of leaving their positions for any reason and as such, her headmistress struggles to reassign her, prompting Ruby to agree to a position in West Yorkshire.

It becomes immediately apparent that not all is well in the home of the England family when Ruby arrives. Mrs England floats around like a pretty phantom and displays little to no interest in her children while Mr England though genial and jovial seems intent on making sure that Nurse May locks the children away at night while he locks away his wife, all for their wellbeing.

This book follows almost exactly the path I thought, and you might already think, it would.

Mr England is an abusive husband and Mrs England is wasting away under the shadow of that abuse. There is also a very obvious love interest for Mrs England outside the home.

Having said that, Ruby herself provides us with a very interesting plot twist and Mrs England makes a decision for herself towards the end of the story which I was not expecting.

Overall I enjoyed the premise and the book was well written with a couple of twists to keep you guessing. The main plot, however, was easy to predict and the pace was a bit slow. I feel like certain scenes and sections could probably have been cut to keep the story fast paced.

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valinorqueen's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The best book I've read in years. I found myself putting down the book at the end of a chapter and staring off into space, trying to piece the puzzle together.

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mary_lake's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I read this all in one sitting and was absolutely gripped by the story; very compelling and I enjoyed the way the mystery was crafted. I loved the characters of the children - Decca and Millie especially felt very real and distinct from one another.

The only few things I would say is that sometimes the pacing felt a bit off -

Ruby's subservience to Mr England and subsequent reversal felt a bit rushed and choppy.

As well, and this might just be me, I sometimes forgot the story was set in the early Edwardian era. The dialogue felt quite modern and if Ruby had mentioned a radio or World War One, it wouldn't have felt off.

But, overall, this was a great read and one I will certainly be revisiting. The writing was lovely and, generally, the characters well developed.

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