2 h 56 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 56 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a quiet home becomes the setting for poetry—and a devoted wife becomes an ideal?
In Coventry Patmore’s long poem The Angel in the House, Felix meets Honoria, the daughter of a cathedral dean. Their courtship brings ordinary moments into focus: visits, walks, conversations and tea tables. Through their meeting and engagement, Patmore asks what love means and what it asks of two people.
The poem celebrates married love while setting out a Victorian ideal of womanhood: the gentle, devoted wife who makes home a sanctuary. Honoria stands at its centre, both praised and bound by that vision. Short scenes sit beside reflective Preludes, giving you room to consider the expectations woven into this picture of domestic happiness.
What you’ll discover
- An ordinary courtship Follow Felix and Honoria through small encounters that make everyday life the subject of serious verse.
- Love under reflection Discover short Preludes that pause the story to consider what love asks of two people.
- The ideal wife Examine the devoted woman at the heart of Patmore’s vision, and the expectations surrounding her.
- A home in verse Find walks, visits and small quarrels treated as moments worthy of close poetic attention.
- Rhymes with a pulse Enjoy short, rhymed lines whose light, steady rhythm suits conversation and the movement of ordinary events.
Who will love it
Readers drawn to Victorian poetry, rhymed storytelling and rural courtship will enjoy this poem. It also suits those curious about nineteenth-century love and manners, or fond of a narrator who gently mocks his own lovesick heart.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A husband tells his wife what he will sing
- Felix returns to the Close and its three sisters
- Honoria stands out and Felix makes a vow
- The Dean gives consent and Felix writes in despair
- A picnic, a parting train, a prayer and a dance
- Book Two follows the engaged pair toward the church
- Love schools a man in reverence and humility
- Preludes, stories and humour give the poem its shape
Who’s who
- Felix VaughanThe young scholar and landowner who tells the story. He wants to win Honoria and to become worthy of her.
- Honoria ChurchillThe Dean's eldest daughter, called Honor. Gentle, proud and devout, she sets the pace of the courtship and holds Felix's heart.
- Dean ChurchillA widowed clergyman of Salisbury, kind and cheerful. He gives Felix his consent but leaves the choice to his daughter.
- MaryThe Dean's second daughter, once pale and heavenly minded, now the kindest of the sisters, with an interest in verse and the Bishop.
- MildredThe youngest sister, playful and quick to laugh. She wins a prize for her pinks and eases the first awkward meeting.
- Frederick GrahamA naval cousin who loves Honor and cannot win her. He sails to the Levant and bears the loss with grace.
- Aunt MaudeHonoria's sharp-tongued aunt, who mocks Felix's prospects at first and then declares herself his friend.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
L’Angelo della casa
by Coventry Patmore · 1854
A young scholar in Salisbury courts the Dean's daughter, and every blush, glove and dance becomes verse.
Medium level2–5 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
What if the best theme left for a poet is not war or empire, but one ordinary courtship? That is the bet Coventry Patmore makes in The Angel in the House.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A husband tells his wife what he will sing
The poem begins before the story does. Vaughan and his wife walk through fields beside the river Avon on their eighth wedding day, with their children shouting along the path. He tells her his Muse is no winged horse but a plain cart horse, and he is too wise to prance or rear.
Then he names his theme. His wife asks whether he will sing of King Arthur or the fall of Jerusalem. He answers that he will sing of her, and of love that grows from one person to all. Later scholars may find hidden meanings in her, he jokes. But she walks on his arm in an English meadow, and she is no riddle at all.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1854
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 1 h 50 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Patmore, Coventry. The Angel in the House. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-angel-in-the-house.
Patmore, C. (2026). The angel in the house. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-angel-in-the-house (Original work published 1854)
Patmore, Coventry. The Angel in the House. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-angel-in-the-house.
@book{patmore2026angel,
author = {Patmore, Coventry},
title = {The Angel in the House},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-angel-in-the-house},
note = {First published 1854}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about L’Angelo della casa
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Angel in the House about?
It tells how Felix Vaughan courts Honoria Churchill, the Dean's daughter, in the cathedral close at Salisbury. Short preludes between the cantos reflect on love, honour, marriage and faith.
Who is the angel in the house?
The angel is the ideal wife, pictured in Honoria. Patmore praises her as gentle, devout and radiant. The phrase later became shorthand for the self-giving Victorian woman.
Is The Angel in the House a true story?
It is a work of fiction, but it was inspired by Patmore's own happy marriage, and he dedicated it to his wife's memory. He published it in parts in Victorian England.
The author
Coventry Patmore
1823–1896 · English poet
Coventry Patmore (1823–1896) was an English poet. He was born in Woodford, Essex, and worked at the British Museum in London from 1846 to 1865. He published The Angel in the House in parts between 1854 and 1862. He later lived in Hastings and died in Lymington, Hampshire.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
