Keeping the House

Name: Keeping the House
Brand: Blackstone Audiobooks
Availability: InStock
Author: Ellen Baker
ISBN: 9781433240010

Author: Ellen Baker

Narrator: Christine Williams

Unabridged: 16 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Published: 07/08/2010

Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Keeping the House is a bighearted, multigenerational novel about women's lives in the 1950s and early twentieth century, with big themes of love, sex, wartime heroism, broken hearts, and second chances. When newlywed Dolly Magnuson moves to 1950s Pine Rapids, Wisconsin, she discovers that making marriage work is harder than it looks in the pages of the Ladies Home Journal. As she adapts to her new life, her restless imagination is seized by an abandoned Victorian house which, she learns from quiltingcircle gossip, belongs to the once prominent Mickelson family. When she trespasses in the mansion, she is discovered by the troubled grandson, JJ Mickelson, a Marine verteran who lost his leg at Iwo Jima. Ultimately, JJ reveals the fascinating story of his familys downfall, and both Dolly and JJ will likewise discover the truths of their own lives and feelings.

About Ellen Baker

Ellen Baker is the author of Keeping the House and I Gave My Heart to Know This. She has worked as a bookseller and event coordinator at an independent bookstore. Originally from the Upper Midwest, she currently lives in Maine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Michelle on August 05, 2007

Okay, I LOVED this book. It was SO freaking good and I raced through it, even though it was longish (over 500 pages). I literally finished it all in one plane ride. I didn't expect to like it because it seemed like it might be a little domestic/quaint for me. The characters were great, the interwove......more

Goodreads review by Jeanne on February 06, 2008

Set in Wisconsin, this is the story of two families: the Magnusons and the Mickelsons. Dolly and Byron Magnuson just moved to Pine Rapids, WI. It is 1950, and Dolly is desperately trying to be the perfect wife. While working on a quilt with the town's old biddies, she learns of the other family. The M......more

Goodreads review by John’aLee on June 25, 2022

I had a hard start reading this book but I’m glad I stuck with it! The author did a beautiful job at weaving in different narratives across generations, creating a family saga of war torn boys, their lives after war, and all the ways war touched their families, centered around a house, and all the s......more

Goodreads review by Kit on January 08, 2008

This is not a *bad* book: it's a quick read and the chapter headings quoting marriage advice from circa 1940s Good Housekeeping magazines are kinda fun. There's a lot of American history here, as the family story spans something like 1895 to 1950, but a number of the (many) characters are just flat......more

Goodreads review by Caryn on June 24, 2023

I loved this a lot more than I expected. It’s a true family saga that takes place in Wisconsin during both World Wars. For those who loved Lessons in Chemistry, I think this is an oldie but goodie you should pick up. Short chapters, ghosts in the closet and a wide cast of characters. Even though it......more