The House at the End of Hope Street

February 1, 2013
Each lost woman may stay for 99 nights. That's just enough time to heal a broken heart, face a demon or redirect one's entire life. A despairing victim of academic shenanigans, Alba Ashby finds herself rather inexplicably in front of a gorgeous house. Alba is gifted with the ability to see the colors of emotions, bubbles of laughter and sparks of love. The proprietress, Peggy Abbot, invites her into a most magical place. For nearly 200 years, the house has stood invisible to most people, dropping its enchanted veil only for women who have lost hope. It offers sanctuary, advice (in the form of cryptic messages dropped from above), gifts (everything from birthday cakes to pianos to never-ending wardrobes) and advice from famous previous visitors--including Dorothy Parker, Daphne du Maurier and Caroline Herschel--each of who speaks from her photograph on the wall. This summer, the house's residents include Greer, a glamorous but failed actress reeling from her fiance's infidelity; Carmen, a sultry Portuguese singer who has buried something dangerous under the morning glories; Alba, who must face not only her ruined career, but also her horrible family when she receives word that her beloved, but mad, mother has died. At the reading of the will, Alba is given a box of love letters written between her mother and Alba's real father. Can she find him? Will Stella, the ghost in the kitchen, help her? And why does the house, with its magical bookshelves, force her to get novels from Zoe, the pixielike librarian? Peggy herself is troubled this summer. The house has informed her that today is her last birthday. Has she squandered her life helping other women when she ought to have married Harry? Beguiling and bright, van Praag's (Happier Than She's Ever Been, 2011, etc.) third novel delights with deft writing and charming characters.

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November 15, 2012

Van Praag's fairy-tale first novel stars a house at 11 Hope Street in Cambridge, England, which Alba passes while she's wandering and pondering her trudging academic career. An old woman at the doorstep invites her to stay, with the standard proviso: she has 99 days to change her life. Fans of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen should like.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2013
The house at the end of Hope Street has served women in their time of need for many generations. Its magical walls have protected them and given them what they needed to heal emotionally and physically, and when Alba finds herself on its doorstep, her future crushed and with nowhere else to go, she receives a warm welcome and the usual 99 days to stay there and get back on her feet. Surrounded by the house's comforting presence, and with help from such famous past residents as Virginia Woolf and Florence Nightingale, who speak to her from their wall portraits, Alba slowly begins to recover. Her journey of self-discovery is intertwined with those of other women staying at the house, and together their stories weave a beautiful narrative of redemption and hope. Even through the sometimes dark landscape of loss and abuse, van Praag's writing is bright and hopeful, while rich characters combined with an enchanting blend of the real and the mystical make this tribute to individuality a delightful and engaging read. Fans of Jasper Fforde, Gloria Naylor, or Sarah Addison Allen will especially appreciate this story as a celebration of feminine strength and accomplished women through the ages.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)