3.5 stars
As a child, I remember next door to my neighbor's house. She had a beautiful house. It was not a particularly kid friendly house, full of antiques and knickknacks that I was warned more than once "not to touch". But she had one item that more than. piqued my curiosity. It was the most beautiful square box on a table in her sitting room.
It wasn't just any box but a box that opened on one side displaying absolute perfection. It was a dollhouse filled with the most glorious rooms in miniature.
Everything was perfection from the perfectly proportioned oriental rugs, tiny Chippendale dining room chairs and equally perfect dishes placed in the mahogany hutch for display. As a child, I loved dollhouses and have been mesmerized by these tiny works of art so it wasn't a hardship to review Nicola Lisle's book, Life in Miniature: A History of Doll Houses.
Doll Houses have a long, interesting history and Lisle goes in depth about their history, illustrating trends throughout the years, who owned them and concludes with advice for people considering starting a doll house collection.
I would have liked pictures of the dollhouses throughout the book but the author did add some at the end.
For lovers of doll houses this is quick read with an interesting look into this miniature life.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #LifeinMinature

I loved this book. I had no idea that dolls houses could be so useful to historians - I'd always just viewed them as toys to be honest. This book changed all that and made me see that they can be a very revealing record of social and political history with the types of decor, cars and even books on the tiny bookshelves. The history of the doll's house and its uses was really interesting, originally for grown ups to entertain and show off!

Life in Miniature is a bit of a survey of dolls' houses, mostly a descriptive one, which talks about some key examples in order to illustrate trends over the years, and ends with a chapter of advice for those interested in collecting dolls' houses themselves. I'm not; I was more interested in this as a microhistory, and it does do a little of that, discussing the things dolls' houses stood for, for those who owned them, and how trends developed.

For me, though, it was a bit too much plain description, too many descriptions of particular houses rather than the higher-level trends. Maybe there isn't more to analyse about dolls' houses, or the style is different to other microhistories I have loved... but it just didn't turn out the way I hoped.

That said, if you're a big fan of dolls' houses and you'd like to know more about what's out there, this book would be a great guide.

The description says this is illustrated but there were zero illustrations in the Kindle edition. The text was a bit dry without illustrations to go with it. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for it at the library.

The theme is a little boring for me. Not as expected. But thank you for a good read towards understanding doll houses.

Life in Miniature: A History of Dolls' Houses by Nicola Lisle is a fascinating history which includes a section of photographs that are wonderful.

I'll start by stating that I came to this with little knowledge of dolls' houses but an interest in knowing how and why they came to be. Even though I knew of a few of the houses that served as social statements in the past I did have the mistaken impression that they were always for children and those examples were the exception. I was wrong. They developed into children's objects when production became less expensive and painstaking.

As a history this book combines just enough context for the various time periods so the reader can understand why these houses carried the meaning(s) they did. I spent a small amount of time searching online for additional images, which was a fun task in itself. But it also highlights what would, for me, have made this a phenomenal book: more photographs and even drawings. That is a bit of an unfair complaint since this is not promoted as a coffee table book, I just happen to think it would have made for a beautiful one.

As a reader and lit person, I especially enjoyed the chapter on "Doll Houses in Literature." In addition to the information contained here, it served to make me think about how so many things we now consider children's toys or objects that carry a lot of meaning in literature, film, and even music. That is off topic but I always appreciate a book that sends me off on a related tangent, it means the book has successfully engaged me.

I highly recommend this to anyone already interested in dolls' houses as well as those like myself who simply want to learn the history of something we're all familiar with. The 16 pages of photographs offer a nice selection though, as I mentioned, I would have loved more. The history, however, more than makes up for fewer pictures than I wanted.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

I am not a dollhouse maker myself but I really enjoy seeing them! I made a special trip to Windsor to see the famous one there and have been to dollhouse shows in museums closer to home. This book gave me a greater appreciation for the history and craftsmanship of dollhouses and their importance in our culture.

Few things are more fascinating than doll houses. Lisle presents the history of doll houses in a fantastic and enjoyable way as we journey through time and across countries to see how this wonderful tiny houses came to be. This is a must have for any collector.

Thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

I love dollhouses and I was all prepared to love this book, but I went a step beyond and seriously adore it. The chapter titles were the first addiction . . .historical content with fascinating themes and an explanation for the development of doll houses in general. The German "baby houses," as they were called in the 16th century (I had no idea, fascinating!) owe a lot to Duke Albert V who commissioned a team of craftsmen to create and furnish the Munich Baby House, possibly intended for his daughters Maria Anna and Maximiliana Maria, who were around 5 and 6 years old. This is the kind of stuff one does not come across, sadly, in the novels about that era. I have seen scant references to dolls, and even less to doll houses, but one assumes children wanted to play and people have always been fascinated by miniatures. Some of the content made me think of The Miniaturist because of the idea that (naturally) doll houses started out as being for the wealthy and were not considered toys but status items. Now with this pandemic, I have been thinking more and more of getting back to my fascination with doll houses and this book is truly inspiring, for it explains architecture and culture while talking about one of my favorite subjects. Ann Sharp, the little daughter of the Archbishop of York, is the subject of an entire chapter that talks about her baby house which was probably made somewhere between 1695 and 1700.  I must have seen the miniature model houses at Hever Castle, but the mere mention sent me into a tizzy. Thank God for the pictures at the end of the book. Caution: you will want the print edition. Delightful indeed are the chapters about dolls' houses in literature, the names of model villages, abundant information about notable doll house collectors and places to visit, primarily in the U.K and good heavens, doll house fairs and festivals. I need this book in print. Last but not least are web links and email addresses. Fabulous!#LifeinMiniature #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I loved this book on a personal level since I enjoy dollhouses and miniatures. The history was so interesting and I look forward to sharing it with other hobbyists.

I love a good microhistory. This is a thorough look at dolls houses, including how they developed over time, outstanding examples of surviving dolls houses, and stories about collectors and makers. I found the first section a bit dry at times, but for someone who is into miniatures, it'd be a goldmine. I loved the section reviewing dolls houses in fiction and appreciate the substantial appendix of where to see dolls houses and where to look online or at the library to find out more. A wonderfully researched history that will be well loved.

NOTE : Review will go live on the Blog closer to release date - Dec 19th  . Goodreads review is Live.

So a big reason I was drawn to this was that prior to reading it I had read quite a few Victorian set novels and mysteries and in several of them Miniatures and Doll's Houses were mentioned. Growing up I had a secret fascination with them as well, though as a tomboy I considered it to girly a hobby for me to follow through on. This talks about why and how the dolls houses and the idea of miniatures became so popular when they did and briefly touches on that same topic throughout the years.
     More information on that could have been useful in fact as the book tends to focus in on the list and description of houses and displays (the book does also cover miniature towns and neighborhoods). In the copy I had, which was an ARC so this may not be the case in the finished copy, the images were also nested in the back in an index which also made picturing and reading tricky.
    I think this is definitely a book I'd recommend to someone who loves doll houses and miniatures but also to anyone who enjoys the Victorian era specifically. So many books I've read set in that time, a little before and a little after, have mentioned in passing or featured miniatures and dolls houses. This really gives you some context and life in those references. Think books like The Miniaturist, or the model rooms in And Only To Deceive. It helped to bring those to life for me, when before I'd simply accepted them as set pieces. So this was a short but enjoyable read that adds color and spark to historical objects I wouldn't normally pay much mind and for that it's a read I very much enjoyed.

I have always been interested in dollhouses, but I had no idea about the history of them.

This book has a lot of detail on how the purposes of baby houses (dollhouses) evolved over the centuries as well as detailed descriptions of numerous houses.   

There is an appendix with an extensive list of places to visit along with addresses, email, phone numbers, and websites.

At the very end, there are several pictures. I wish they had pictures that corresponded to the descriptions throughout the book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Life in Miniature by Nicola Lisle is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in late September.

Dollhouse (aka baby house or cabinet house) designs are presented chronologically, then it's proceeded information about noted collections, exhibits, works of literature, and film inspired by dollhouses. Progressing from luxurious art form to toy to collector’s item, they're intricate, mimicking real-life interior design, and were initiually used to teach children about the workings of a house and, quite simply, what goes where. Later, they were gradually mass-produced around 1850 and became a plaything for all children, not just the very wealthy.

Such a charming and informative book, about a subject I've never read in any depth before - dolls' houses. I learnt a lot, and very much enjoyed this.

This book is a little delight. I'd never given much thought to dolls' houses before, except maybe the Sylvanian families line. But as it turns out, dolls' houses have a lot of historical value. Lisle takes us to the earliest known "baby houses" all the way to the present day. 

The houses are usually more than toys. Often, they were never intended as such! Small, coquette recreations of real counterparts, these doll houses give us a glimpse of the past and the luxury spent on making a version of home small enough to appreciate in one go. And of course, there was a show-off element. By the 1920s, some dolls' houses were positively marketing tools! The portion dedicated to Queen Mary's Dolls' House from the British Empire Exhibition of Arts and Manufacturing is a visual feast for the mind, with its endless list of miniature contributions from contemporary craftsmen like Rolls Royce, Thomas Hardy, A.A. Milne, Gustav Holst, Dame Laura Knight, Edmund Dulac, etc. They even had little dolls' tennis rackets made by Alfred Doncaster, purveyor of rackets to the Wimbledon stars.

I especially loved the history of dolls' house manufacturing that Lisle gives throughout, including home-made versions from the WWII "make-do and mend" period. I could swear items made form matchboxes and safety pins came straight out of Mary Norton's "The Borrowers"! It's a far cry from the Chippendale and Palladian recreations, at any rate.

If your interest is piqued (as mine as), then you'll enjoy Nicola Lisle's handy guides at the back of the book: one on how to start your own collection, and another (more my cup of tea) on the museums lucky enough to keep these little houses safe and sound for the public's enjoyment.

Recommended for anyone with an interest in miniature slices of domestic history.

I received a free e-ARC of this book thanks to the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Life in Miniature is a very short book, only about the history of dolls' houses, focused on collections from European countries, talking very briefly about the society and production/toymaking aspects of that history.

With this book, Lisle shows us how the dolls' houses went from being symbols of power and money for rich families, available only to collectors with lots of money available to create everything according to their actual homes, to being children's toys and with time more accessible to other families. They're considered by Lisle as "multidimensional works of art with stories to tell".

The author, in each chapter, talks briefly about the period in history and how the houses were treated (for collection, for education, for playing), and then describes with quite a bit of detail each important house, listing the items included in them and the way they represented what was currently going on regarding architecture and living in the era.

There are no pictures or illustrations in the chapters (or at least not in the edition I read), and all of the photos are collected in the end of the book, making it hard to keep up with all descriptions and try to imagine each house.

Despite this, the book itself was quite interesting; I didn't know anything at all about dolls' houses, and I feel like this was a very good short introduction to the theme! The book has a chapter about dolls' houses in literature, has a short guide on collecting (deciding what you want, where to find, different types of houses), followed by a chapter with "some notable collectors".

There is a long appendix with suggestions of places to visit (all in Europe, I believe), and also a list of books for further reading, including in that non-fiction (about history of these houses), fiction, magazines, and even websites.

Overall, I really enjoyed this! It was really interesting to see the changes in the houses themselves and the way the families interacted with them.

Interesting but rather dry.  More for hobbyists or collectors, I think, rather than people like myself with a more casual investment in the subject.  I enjoyed reading about the history, but my attention flagged during the long detailed descriptions of individual houses.  The colored plates were gorgeous, though!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

I don't know what it is that makes dolls' houses (and miniatures in general) so appealing, but there's no doubt that a large proportion of the population has a positive response to them. This book is perfect for anyone slightly fascinated, enthusiastic, or obsessed! The photos are a beautiful addition. There's a handy buying guide included... you know... just in case! "Life in Miniature" is a wonderful book - maybe almost as good as actually owning a dolls' house!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

This was a fascinating and enjoyable read that takes the reader through the history of baby houses in Britain.  For a non-fiction guide, rich in history, it reads with ease while teaching an amazing amount of information regarding baby houses. 

The historical role of baby houses as educational tools, entertainment and displays of wealth is fully explored.  The anecdotes provide a fascinating view into the past with the baby houses encapsulating a snapshot of each era.  The author’s love of the subject matter shows in the writing and the expertise shared makes this a must read for anyone interested in the world of miniatures, model villages or the history of toys.