Well, here it is July and things don’t seem to have gotten much better, at least not ’round these parts.  We all tried cautiously poking our noses out of our front doors, only to go scurrying back inside.  Multiple states have issued travel advisories – including Massachusetts, which has effectively scuttled my summer vacation plans – and Steve and I are just waiting for the next all-in stay-at-home order to drop.  As we watch our summer plans evaporate – always mindful of the fact that there are so many people out there who have it worse – even armchair travel is starting to feel frustrating.  Since it looks like we’re going to be staying home for awhile yet, here are three books about staying home, to remind you that… I don’t know… it could be worse, even if we’re all bored as we sit around watching Disney+ and working on the butt divots in our couches.

Jane Austen at Home, by Lucy Worsley, literally explores Jane Austen’s work through the lens of her homes.  The reader is treated to a progression through Austen’s life, starting with the Steventon parsonage and moving with the Austen family, first to and around Bath, to various seaside spots, to Chawton, and finally to Winchester.  Worsley has plenty to say about decor, about social customs, and about the many colorful characters who wended their way into and out of Austen’s life.  And it’s worth noting: as tempting as a trip to Chawton sounds these days, it seems it wasn’t the most comfortable place to live back in Jane’s day.  I, for one, am glad to be watching Netflix in the air conditioning and not sweltering in the damp or shuddering with the walls every time a stagecoach drives past my house (which, realistically, happens exactly never).

If Chawton sounds damp and noisy, the Claremont is dreary.  Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont introduces the reader to the titular lady as she is on her way to a new home at London’s Claremont Hotel.  The Claremont doubles as a respectable lodging for aging ladies and gentlemen, although, as Mrs. Palfrey remarks to a new friend, “We’re not allowed to die here.”  The reader follows Mrs. Palfrey as she cautiously dips her toe into the social life of the Claremont’s parlor and gets caught up in a web of deception.  Hate when that happens!  So here’s another plus to being stuck in our own houses: at least we’re not stressed about maintaining the lie of a fictional grandson while we drink our mediocre wine.

Okay, so we’re not sweating in a swamp like Jane or yawning away life like Mrs. Palfrey, and we can probably also check off “hiding in one room literally on the other side of a wall from a nest of Nazi soldiers” as another situation that is worse than what we’ve got.  I Was A Stranger, General Sir John Hackett’s memoir of his time hiding in the home of a Dutch family while recovering from his wounds after the Battle of Arnhem, might be the perfect book to read during this time.  Gen. Hackett literally couldn’t leave the house except to go for super-short walks under cover of darkness, and sometimes not even that.  And when surprise inspections happened, he had to either hide in a cubby or stay in bed pretending to be a sick relation.  At least the rest of us get to visit the backyard, right?

So, there we have it.  This was originally supposed to be a post about books showcasing the joys of being at home.  I’m sure those exist, but actually – at the moment, this is the best I can do.  There but for the grace of Artemis go I, and that sort of thing.  You can relate, right?

What are your favorite books about being stuck at home?