Book Report: Period Piece

Over the holiday, my mother lent me her prized hardcover copy of Period Piece by Gwen Raverat. It's a lovely, lovely book.

Gwen recalls her Victorian childhood in Cambridge with her father, one of Charles Darwin's sons, and an American mother. It's illustrated with engravings of Cambridge and full of stories of eccentric, hypochondriac relatives. Mom described it as the perfect book to read when sick.

It seems so charmed to live in a big house with a handful of maids and cooks. Days filled with art classes, croquet, ladies' committees, nature walks and French lessons!