Intro to Henrietta's House
Elizabeth Goudge's Fairytale about Henrietta
“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
Welcome to our February Goudge Readalong, 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.
Goudge first published Henrietta’s House 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.
Quick Facts for Henrietta’s House:
When is the story set? In 1908, and 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.
The Setting: Wells, UK
Welcome to "Torminster!" Wells is the real life city in the UK which Elizabeth Goudge used as inspiration for her three Torminster books, A City of Bells, Sister of the Angels, and Henrietta's House. Goudge was born in Wells where she had a fairytale childhood, complete with a key to a secret gate into the bishop's walled garden. She says in her autobiography that she used to go to the garden as a child to have tea with the bishop's housekeeper, and I think that such a child couldn't have helped being as artistic, sensitive and caring as Henrietta.
Below are a few photos from Wells here to help us better imagine the setting of the tale. The story begins in the Close, the long row of brick houses reserved for clergy of the cathedral, and then it progresses to the "blue hills" that surround Wells, which are quite something!
Wells, UK maps
The Close
“In the cathedral city of Torminster life was regulated by the feasts and fasts of the Church... Deep inside him Hugh Anthony felt that it was good to come back to a place where the passing of time was marked by the chiming of bells and the singing of psalms…”
🌿 Elizabeth Goudge, Henrietta’s House
There will be lots of historical information, setting photos, and quotes this month that will aid in your reading of this delightful Goudge.
I just started reading last night. I'm so glad I decided to make Goudge books my bedtime reading. It's always nice to end the day with her words.
I'm looking forward to spending more time with Henrietta and her friends.... not looking forward to saying goodbye at the end! But that's the drawback of being the kind of reader who gets emotionally attached to characters in a story! I guess it's a bit silly in a way but I can't help it.