It's the spring of 1938 and no longer safe to be a Jew in Vienna. Nineteen-year-old Elise Landau is forced to leave her glittering life of parties ...
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Jan 31, 2012
Amanda
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Feb 03, 2012
Jennifer
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I am very interested in World War II-era stories, especially stores of those affected by the Holocaust. This book starts at the beginning of WW2 in Vienna. Elise and her family have a good life in Austria . Her father is a novelist, her mother is a musician. The problem is that they are Jewish. The family is trying to get everyone out of the country, but they are having problems getting visas. Elise is able to leave the country because she is being sponsored by an English family to come an
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Feb 19, 2012
Tracy
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As I'm currently watching the second season of "Downton Abbey" on PBS, this novel fit quite well with my current mind set.
The story begins in Vienna, where our main character Elise Landau is living the good life with her family. Her mother is a singer and her father is an author and they decide to send Elise, who is 19, to England to escape the occupation of Austria by the Nazis. The family is Jewish and they plan to eventually meet up in America when the rest of the family can se More...
The story begins in Vienna, where our main character Elise Landau is living the good life with her family. Her mother is a singer and her father is an author and they decide to send Elise, who is 19, to England to escape the occupation of Austria by the Nazis. The family is Jewish and they plan to eventually meet up in America when the rest of the family can se More...
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Feb 19, 2012
Chloe
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I've just turned the last page, and I am buzzing with the particular ache that you get when you finish a great book and you suddenly wish the whole world had read it so they'd understand. The Novel in the Viola is, in short, spectacular. The language, the intricate characters that grow and grow and grow, and the story itself that says what it has to say and says it simply and elegantly - it is a masterpiece. At its core, The Novel in the Viola is just a story about a girl that loves and loses an
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Feb 20, 2012
Charla
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I tend to like a book that evokes strong emotions within me and this one certainly did just that! This is a beautifully written story about loss, love and survival. If you are a Downton Abbey fan, then you will love this book. It is the story of Elise who is a member of the Austrian Bourgeoisie during WWII. Elises' mother Anna is a well known opera singer and her father is a well known author. Her sister, Margot is also a a musician. Elise is the only family member that does not seem to have
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Feb 17, 2012
Dlhmoore
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The was a surprise novel. It was an impulse buy because it advertised it was like "Downton Abbey", a Masterpiece Theatre program we love. It's a period novel beginning in 1838 just before the start of the 2nd World War. A 19 year old Jewish girl from an aristrocratic family in Vienna who is sent to England to serve as a main in a mansion. This was to get her out of Austria before Hitler started killing all the Jews.
She didn't make a very good maid but she fell in love wit More...
She didn't make a very good maid but she fell in love wit More...
Feb 11, 2012
Jacqueline
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Another great book recommended by EW (the statement being that if you like the show, Downton Abbey, then you would enjoy this book). Though relationships between the servants and the family in this book are somewhat similar to Downton Abbey, the characters here are experiencing the travesty of WWII, instead of WWI, and it is told through the eyes of Elise Landau, a young Austrian Jew of good birth who is sent to England as a servant to escape the rising Nazi powers. Elise deeply cares for her f
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Jan 23, 2012
HerbieGrandma
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In 1938 Elise is 19 and living in Vienna, Austria with her professional singer mother, Anna, and her father Julian, who is a successful writer. Life has always been easy and pleasant for Elise and her sister Margot, who is now married to Robert, but things are become dangerous. The Landaus are Jewish and the Nazi take over is changing their lives. Margot's Robert accepts a position at a university in California and Elise is hired as a maid by Christopher Rivers of Tyneford, in England. There
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Jan 13, 2012
Elizabeth
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I picked up this book in an airport on my way back to school. The first thing that caught my eye was something about the cover. It made me stop and take a second look. Once I picked up the book and read the blurb I was hooked. I had not read much fiction from this time period, usually preferring books set pre-1920. Now though i find myself fascinated by the time period.
The House at Tyneford is a story set before and during WWII, mainly in England. The book follows Elise a Vienna Jew More...
The House at Tyneford is a story set before and during WWII, mainly in England. The book follows Elise a Vienna Jew More...
Jan 11, 2012
Gaby
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There's that sense of surprise, delight and unjustified accomplishment in finding a gem of a debut novel. I read Natasha Solomons' Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English a the start of 2010 and loved it. At the end of the year, I was not surprised to find that it was still one of my favorite books of the year.
When her second book came out, I was excited and slightly apprehensive that my expectations might be too high. The House at Tyneford offers a grand out house, echoes of Downton Abbey. More...
When her second book came out, I was excited and slightly apprehensive that my expectations might be too high. The House at Tyneford offers a grand out house, echoes of Downton Abbey. More...
Jan 07, 2012
SarahC
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A very touching WWII-era story. I found it in a promo section of the bookstore with an "upstairs/downstairs" theme, but I really thought this story rose above this little marketing section. The main character is a young girl from Vienna, a refuge from a respected, artistic family sent to England to work as a servant. As in similar novels, the young Elise falls in love with the charming heir to her new home Tyneford, a beautiful, wild, coastal estate.
What sets the story apa More...
What sets the story apa More...
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Oct 05, 2011
Mary Ronan
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This title must have come to my attention from somebody's blog because it's just the sort of book my blogging friends like most, a bit like an Elizabeth von Arnim novel with a touch of Rebecca superimposed. The story is based on the experience of the author's great-aunt, who as a young woman left Vienna for England before World War II and worked as a domestic at an English estate. The house and village that the fictional Elise comes to love are also based on a real story, that of the lost villa
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Jul 20, 2011
Bowerbird
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A straightforward story with very few surprises, but nevertheless I have to admit that I really enjoyed it. While at times the story seems rather naive there is a great sense of time and place plus the element of nostalgia.
Elise, a well-to-do Jewish girl flees the comfort of her Austrian home to become a parlour-maid in England as war breaks out. (Having read The Hare with Amber Eyes only recently I am more aware of how wealthy Jewish families suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime.) More...
Elise, a well-to-do Jewish girl flees the comfort of her Austrian home to become a parlour-maid in England as war breaks out. (Having read The Hare with Amber Eyes only recently I am more aware of how wealthy Jewish families suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime.) More...
Apr 18, 2011
Fleur
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I loved The Novel in the Viola.
It is one of those books in which everything – characters, emotions, settings, writing, period, storylines – is right. And everything works together beautifully to produce a book that is far more than the sum of those parts.
At heart though, The Novel in the Viola is the story of a life. The life of Elise, younger daughter of Anna and Julian Landau. Opera singer and novelist respectively. Elise worries that she is not as talented as her siste More...
It is one of those books in which everything – characters, emotions, settings, writing, period, storylines – is right. And everything works together beautifully to produce a book that is far more than the sum of those parts.
At heart though, The Novel in the Viola is the story of a life. The life of Elise, younger daughter of Anna and Julian Landau. Opera singer and novelist respectively. Elise worries that she is not as talented as her siste More...
Jan 26, 2012
Mandolin
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Exiled alone to dreary England, Elise Landau laments the tear that ripped her apart from her Viennese family. She carries with her memories that pull at her heart, along with her father's last novel, hidden within her sister's viola. Hired to work as a maidservant in Tyneford, a country estate in Dorset, she sees in her life echoes of the Jewish exile to Babylon ages ago. Lost without her beloved mother, the beautiful opera singer Anna, her intellectual father Julian and even her annoying olde
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Jan 02, 2012
Susan
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This story has an interesting premise. The star of the book is a daughter of a famed opera star and a respected novelist. Although they were raised in luxury, the family is in trouble as Hitler rises to power as they are Jewish. The eldest daughter and her husband are sent to America. Elise, though cosseted and pampered, is sent to England as a maid. The parents remain in Vienna trying to get exit visas.
While this started well, the story really goes nowhere while falling into every cliche More...
While this started well, the story really goes nowhere while falling into every cliche More...
Feb 20, 2012
Jan
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This novel is classed as a Downton Abbey readalike and, indeed, it does feature a great house in the English countryside just before the start of World War II.
It is a nice, old-fashioned novel about a young Jewish teen who must flee Vienna as the Nazis grow ever threatening. She takes up a post as a housemaid to a family in England. Elise is the pampered daughter of two artistic parents and has known only comfort. Now she must work for her living as a servant, polishing silver a More...
It is a nice, old-fashioned novel about a young Jewish teen who must flee Vienna as the Nazis grow ever threatening. She takes up a post as a housemaid to a family in England. Elise is the pampered daughter of two artistic parents and has known only comfort. Now she must work for her living as a servant, polishing silver a More...
Jan 28, 2012
Darcy
rated it:
I scooped up Natasha Solomons book, The House at Tyneford (2011), on one of our Costco trips a couple of weeks ago because the sales plug on the front of the book caught my eye: “Fans of Downton Abbey and Kate Morton’s The Forgotten Garden will absolutely adore The House at Tyneford.”
Well, I’m a huge fan of Downton Abbey and I’ve been told I will like The Forgotten Garden, but I didn’t exactly adore this book. It was o.k. It kept me entertained. For the most part though, it was kind o More...
Well, I’m a huge fan of Downton Abbey and I’ve been told I will like The Forgotten Garden, but I didn’t exactly adore this book. It was o.k. It kept me entertained. For the most part though, it was kind o More...
Jan 23, 2012
Farin
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I first heard about The House at Tyneford when various publishers started making “If you like Downton Abbey, you’ll like…” lists. Like most people, I am obsessed with Downton and, really, anything that addresses the relationship between upstairs and downstairs in grand old English estates, especially when things started breaking down in the early 20th century. The fact that Elise was a Jewish refugee made the book even more appealing.
Ms. Solomons paints a vivid picture of Tyneford Ho More...
Ms. Solomons paints a vivid picture of Tyneford Ho More...
Feb 06, 2012
The House at Tyneford, by Natasha Solomon, Narrated by Justine Eyre, Produced by Blackstone Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
Elise and her sister Margot, and their parents Julian and Anna, live in Vienna in 1938 and are all part of the glittering art scene. But Julian and Anna see that war is coming and that they need to get out of Austria. The parents do manage to get their two daughters out-Margot and her husband to California, and Elise to England to be a parlor maid. Elise fin More...
Elise and her sister Margot, and their parents Julian and Anna, live in Vienna in 1938 and are all part of the glittering art scene. But Julian and Anna see that war is coming and that they need to get out of Austria. The parents do manage to get their two daughters out-Margot and her husband to California, and Elise to England to be a parlor maid. Elise fin More...
Mar 27, 2011
Shannon
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What an amazing read. A love story set in World War 2 era - my favourite genre. The story is set in a quiet English seaside village but the protagonist is a young, strong minded Viennese girl who has escaped from Austria before the outbreak of the war. Whilst initially feeling as an outsider, she settles into life in England with ease (but not without a few scruples along the way). Against all social convention she falls in love with the Master of the house's son but not all ends well.
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Feb 04, 2012
Jessica
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This was a great read! This book begins with the story of Elise, a society Jew living in Vienna and how she must flee to England as a maid in an estate in order to avoid the consequences of the war. Torn from her parents and sister by circumstance she is a stranger in a foreign world until she meets Kit, the young son of the estate's family. Custom and society norms be damned when he falls for her and soon she is no longer scrubbing the floors. But don't think this is a Cinderella story in the m
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Dec 27, 2011
Tara
rated it: 
I found this to be quite dull. It's a bit over descriptive for starters. I could fall asleep in the paragraphs describing the house and the stuff around it.. and well, until the ending, I didn't find it that original a tale.
Little Jewish, well to do girl in Vienna needs to get out of Austria before the SS comes.. her family forces her to get a job in an English household in order to get a Visa. She leaves her family behind and while worrying constantly about them, must adjust to a n More...
Little Jewish, well to do girl in Vienna needs to get out of Austria before the SS comes.. her family forces her to get a job in an English household in order to get a Visa. She leaves her family behind and while worrying constantly about them, must adjust to a n More...
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Jan 04, 2012
Carol
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Evocative, engrossing, enchanting, sorrowful, intense, emotional, this book is all of those words.
'The House at Tyneford is wonderful historical fiction. You will find yourself in pre-World War Vienna in the home of author Julian Landau and Anna Landau, opera singer. Their daughters, Margot and Elise are enjoying a wealthy and sheltered life, surrounded by creative parents, friends and family. Even though their father is an atheist and they have a Jewish ancestry and background. The More...
'The House at Tyneford is wonderful historical fiction. You will find yourself in pre-World War Vienna in the home of author Julian Landau and Anna Landau, opera singer. Their daughters, Margot and Elise are enjoying a wealthy and sheltered life, surrounded by creative parents, friends and family. Even though their father is an atheist and they have a Jewish ancestry and background. The More...
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Sep 29, 2011
tinne
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In general, I'd say it was a disappointment, mainly because the story was highly predictable and not original in its set-up at all. The gist of this story has been written before, much better and more enthralling. Think Jane Eyre, for example.
The protagonist, Elise/Alice, is an omniscient narrator who gives away clues about events that will take place 100 pages later in such a way that even a mildly experienced reader knows exactly what's going to happen. The three main events that c More...
The protagonist, Elise/Alice, is an omniscient narrator who gives away clues about events that will take place 100 pages later in such a way that even a mildly experienced reader knows exactly what's going to happen. The three main events that c More...
Feb 20, 2012
Donalee
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If you have enjoyed Kate Morton books, you will love Tyneford as well. Elise Landau, the daughter of a novelist and an opera singer, is a privileged 19 year old Jewess in Vienna. As the skies darken over Europe with Hitler's madness, she takes a position as a housemaid at Tyneford House in the countryside of England. A girl ccustomed to being cared for in the midst of a loving family must now scrub floors, learn to serve others, and clean house. The novel gives a glimpse into rural England a
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Dec 18, 2011
Janet
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“Viennese Jewess, 19, seeks position as domestic servant. Speaks fluid English. I will cook your goose. “
So reads the “Refugee Advertisement” Elise Landau places in British newspapers. It draws a response from the Rivers family and Elise accepts a position as a servant at Tyneford House, even though looking back she recalls “When I received the letter that brought me to Tyneford, I knew nothing about England, except that I wouldn’t like it.”
Thus ends Elise’s life as th More...
So reads the “Refugee Advertisement” Elise Landau places in British newspapers. It draws a response from the Rivers family and Elise accepts a position as a servant at Tyneford House, even though looking back she recalls “When I received the letter that brought me to Tyneford, I knew nothing about England, except that I wouldn’t like it.”
Thus ends Elise’s life as th More...
Feb 10, 2012
Anne
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Jan 17, 2012
Julie
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The one thing this book really had going for it was atmosphere. It had a gothic style that tied together Austrian Jewess Elise Landau’s exile, the looming war, and ill-fated romance. I would highly recommend that readers first look up the actual town Tyneham to get a better idea of the coastal setting and the isolated village that Tyneford was based on. It is a dramatic landscape, and once I saw pictures of the valleys and pastures, I could really experience the narrative better.
The More...
The More...
Sep 24, 2011
Marguerite
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