The Miniature Library of Queen Mary's Dolls' House

by Elizabeth Clark Ashby

Genres: History, Non-fiction
Pages: 160
Rating:

Synopsis:

A unique look inside the carefully crafted miniature library of the Queen Mary's Dolls' House.

Created between 1921 and 1924, the Queen Mary's Dolls' House is one of the most beautiful and famous dollhouses in the world. The structure was designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and features the craftsmanship of over one thousand artists. The house was meticulously furnished, meant to serve as a representation of a real royal residence. It features electricity, running water, and working elevators, but perhaps most impressive of all is the house's spellbinding Edwardian library, which includes more than three hundred miniature books, curated by the granddaughter of Queen Victoria Princess Marie Louise and the writer E.V. Lucas, who contacted hundreds of renowned authors to solicit original works. From poetry by Thomas Hardy to stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and gardening books to atlases, these works represent British aristocratic life and the best examples of art and literature of the time.

The Miniature Library of Queen Mary's Dolls' House is accompanied by a Foreword by Her Majesty Queen Camilla, making it the premiere guidebook to the Crown's miniature royal residence.

The title of Elizabeth Clark Ashby’s book is a pretty good guide to the contents: The Miniature Library of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House — though the book does also include some discussion of other aspects of the dolls’ house, such as the (working) miniature pianos and the decision not to include dolls, those aspects are brief. Mostly it focuses on the books: who wrote in them, how were they chosen, what did they write, and how were the books bound.

There’s some interesting discussion (though brief) of why particular people accepted or declined, and the whole thing is illustrated with colour photographs of many of the small books, including with them carefully opened to show some of the pages.

It’s a pretty enchanting idea, though a part of me wonders what the point is when it’s all “look and don’t touch”. If nobody ever opens the books to read these stories, was there really any point in making such lovely objects, except to demonstrate devotion to the monarchy requesting it? I don’t know.

As an endeavour, though, it’s really cool, and this book is a good tour of the little library and how it came to be.

Rating: 3/5