E.G. Bookclub Companion: Henrietta’s House
A Series of Goudge Readalongs in Companion form
“Henrietta had an anxious and affectionate disposition and the impossibility of keeping all the people she loved always safely together under her eye was a trial to her, and led to great rejoicings when she discovered that they were still safe after three whole days spent without her protection.
As she hugged Felicity she peeped round the counter to see if Jocelyn was still safe. Yes, he was sorting books in a comer of the shop and regarding the exuberance of Felicity and Henrietta with a merry and appreciative eye.”
💕Elizabeth Goudge, Henrietta’s House (aka The Blue Hills)
Welcome to an Elizabeth Goudge Bookclub Companion to your reading of Henrietta’s House!
Henrietta’s House is one of my favorite Goudge books, so I’m very excited to be reading along with you all this month. It’s part historical fiction and part fantasy, woven together as only Elizabeth Goudge could. She first published it in 1942. While awaiting the fate of the country and listening to German planes overhead every night, Goudge allowed herself to dream of the quieter Victorian times, which she had indeed experienced as a little girl, just Henrietta’s age, in Wells (Torminster). She dedicated it to one of her childhood friends, Dorothy, who we are told helped inspire this magical story by finding the “white fishes in the cave.”
The book has 18 chapters, about 200 pages, and is an easy read. In fact, it might be nice to read aloud to a child in your life!
Henrietta is introduced by Goudge’s novel A City of Bells, but it isn’t necessary to read it first to enjoy this one. If you are in need of a copy of Henrietta’s House, it’s in-print with Girls Gone By Publishers.
Below is historical information, setting photos, and quotes that will aid in your reading of this delightful Goudge. And I would love to hear your thoughts or favorite quotes from the book in our comments! Happy reading! 💕📖🌱☺️
“For the period of this story is at the beginning of the present century, and in those days the world was often silent and sleepy, and not the bustling, noisy place that it is today.”
🌸 Elizabeth Goudge, Henrietta’s House (aka The Blue Hills)
Quick Facts for Henrietta’s House
When is the story set? Approximately 1908, as it follows the stories in A City of Bells and Sister of the Angels. They make a trilogy, even though the first is an adult sized novel and the second two are novellas. But Henrietta’s House may be read independent of the other two books.
Where is it set? The small cathedral city of Wells in Great Britain. But Goudge has renamed it “Torminster,” which comes from two words. Tor means a “hill or rocky place” and minster means “a large or important church, typically one of cathedral status.”
Who are the main characters? Henrietta; Hugh Anthony, her adopted brother; Grandfather and Grandmother, her adopted guardians; Jocelyn and Felicity, her adopted uncle and aunt who run a bookshop; Mrs. Jameson, an older widow; the Dean of the city; Bates, the gardener; three mysterious gentlemen; other clergy from the Close of Torminster; and the animals, who always take an important role in Goudge’s books and really stand out in this one.
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