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A House in Winter: A glamorous princess and a restless young woman, both longing for escape: Based on the true story of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden under siege by the IRA
Set in January 1965, A House in Winter tells the story of the visit of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden to his sister's home in Abbeyleix, Ireland, when they faced local opposition and IRA petrol bomb attacks that confined them, without electricity, for 48 fraught hours.
As well as the conflict outside the walls, there's plenty within, with Margaret's difficult mother in law gleefully contributing to her disintegrating marriage. Meanwhile in the nearby village local woman Cait has struggles of her own, unable to escape family responsibilities and small town life. Both Margaret and Cait are trapped by their circumstances in this gripping novel, based on fact, that reads as a marriage of The Crown and Maeve Binchy.
As well as the conflict outside the walls, there's plenty within, with Margaret's difficult mother in law gleefully contributing to her disintegrating marriage. Meanwhile in the nearby village local woman Cait has struggles of her own, unable to escape family responsibilities and small town life. Both Margaret and Cait are trapped by their circumstances in this gripping novel, based on fact, that reads as a marriage of The Crown and Maeve Binchy.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 3, 2026
About the author
Emily Hourican
15 books100 followersEmily Hourican is a journalist and author. She has written features for the Sunday Independent for fifteen years, as well as Image magazine, Condé Nast Traveler and Woman and Home. She was also editor of The Dubliner Magazine.
Emily's first book, a memoir titled How To (Really) Be A Mother was published in 2013. She is also the author of novels The Privileged, White Villa, The Outsider and The Blamed, as well as two bestselling novels about the Guinness sisters: The Glorious Guinness Girls and The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal.
She lives in Dublin with her family.
source: Amazon
Emily's first book, a memoir titled How To (Really) Be A Mother was published in 2013. She is also the author of novels The Privileged, White Villa, The Outsider and The Blamed, as well as two bestselling novels about the Guinness sisters: The Glorious Guinness Girls and The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal.
She lives in Dublin with her family.
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 3, 2026
Told from multiple points of view, at its heart this is a book about two very different women caught up in the same event. Set in 1965, it takes us to County Laois, Ireland where Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowden (Anthony Armstrong-Jones) are staying in Abbeyleix House with his sister Susan, Viscountess de Vesci, and her husband John, Viscount de Vesci. Cait is an ordinary Irish girl struggling to make ends meet while running her family shop and caring for her sick mother. Though the pair never meet, their lives collide over the course of the few days the princess is in town. Cait is there with other well-wishers to greet the royal couple when they arrive. But there are also hostile elements at the gate protesting their presence. Margaret is dismissive of the threat the IRA pose, but on the night of January 8th 1965, petrol bombs were thrown over the house’s walls, hitting the electricity transformer and leaving those inside Abbeyleix, and many surrounding houses, without electricity for forty-eight hours. The story follows both women over the course of those hours as they try to deal with the fall-out of the attack and wait for the perpetrators to be caught.
I love a book that is based on a true story. So as soon as I read the description of this book I jumped at the chance to read it and be on the blog tour. Claustrophobic, transportive and compelling, Emily Hourican had me in her thrall from start to finish. Beautifully written, meticulously researched and evocatively told, Emily pours so much depth and humanity onto these pages. It wasn’t an easy read at times, exploring themes including toxic marriage, post natal depression, dysfunctional family relationships, grief, chronic illness and extremism. I lived every moment alongside these characters and enjoyed how Ms. Hourican showcased that no matter who we are, our lives all contain struggles alongside the triumphs, and that even a princess who seems to have it all can feel like a bird trapped in a cage. Beautifully written, meticulously researched and filled with evocative imagery, I couldn’t put this one down once I’d started and read it in under a day.
The characters are so well written. I loved how Princess Margaret felt like a real, three-dimensional person who I could connect with rather than a caricature. And I loved Cait. I was rooting for them both and hoping they’d find their way to a happier life where they were no longer trapped by duty. And though she’s a terrible person, I loved reading Anne, Tony’s mother, as she was just so well written and entertaining. But I couldn’t stand Tony. He was an awful man who treated his wife terribly and served as a sad reminder that not even being a princess can protect you from being ensnared by an abuser.
A riveting piece of historical fiction that is not to be missed.
I love a book that is based on a true story. So as soon as I read the description of this book I jumped at the chance to read it and be on the blog tour. Claustrophobic, transportive and compelling, Emily Hourican had me in her thrall from start to finish. Beautifully written, meticulously researched and evocatively told, Emily pours so much depth and humanity onto these pages. It wasn’t an easy read at times, exploring themes including toxic marriage, post natal depression, dysfunctional family relationships, grief, chronic illness and extremism. I lived every moment alongside these characters and enjoyed how Ms. Hourican showcased that no matter who we are, our lives all contain struggles alongside the triumphs, and that even a princess who seems to have it all can feel like a bird trapped in a cage. Beautifully written, meticulously researched and filled with evocative imagery, I couldn’t put this one down once I’d started and read it in under a day.
The characters are so well written. I loved how Princess Margaret felt like a real, three-dimensional person who I could connect with rather than a caricature. And I loved Cait. I was rooting for them both and hoping they’d find their way to a happier life where they were no longer trapped by duty. And though she’s a terrible person, I loved reading Anne, Tony’s mother, as she was just so well written and entertaining. But I couldn’t stand Tony. He was an awful man who treated his wife terribly and served as a sad reminder that not even being a princess can protect you from being ensnared by an abuser.
A riveting piece of historical fiction that is not to be missed.
September 7, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of *A House in Winter* before publication. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
*A House in Winter* is an atmospheric and absorbing historical novel that blends real events with fiction to explore marriage, duty and the feeling of being trapped by circumstances. Set in Ireland in January 1965, the story centres on Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon during a visit to his sister’s home in Abbeyleix. What should have been a glamorous escape quickly becomes far more tense when local opposition and IRA petrol bomb attacks leave the couple confined to the house without electricity.
Inside the house, the atmosphere is hardly calmer. Margaret and Snowdon’s marriage is already beginning to fracture, and the enforced confinement only brings their tensions closer to the surface. Margaret is portrayed as glamorous and privileged, but also deeply restricted by her position, expectations and increasingly difficult personal life. I enjoyed seeing the private woman behind the public royal image rather than simply reading about the familiar headlines surrounding her.
Running alongside Margaret’s story is Cait, a local woman struggling with very different circumstances but experiencing a similar sense of confinement. Cait longs to escape family responsibilities and the limitations of small-town life, while Margaret longs for freedoms that her status will never fully allow her. The contrast between the two women is one of the strongest elements of the novel because, despite the enormous differences in wealth and privilege between them, both are questioning the lives that have effectively been chosen for them.
Emily Hourican creates a vivid sense of time and place, particularly through the cold Irish winter and the increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere surrounding the house. I also liked the combination of royal history with a more ordinary local perspective. The pacing is relatively gentle, and this is much more character-driven than plot-driven, so there were moments when I felt the story slowed slightly. However, the historical context and the parallels between Margaret and Cait kept me interested.
Overall, *A House in Winter* is a thoughtful and beautifully atmospheric historical novel about women, marriage, responsibility and the desire for a different life. The mixture of fact and fiction works well, and I particularly enjoyed the contrast between Princess Margaret’s apparently extraordinary existence and Cait’s much more ordinary one. Despite their differences, both women are searching for freedom in a world that places significant limits on them.
*A House in Winter* is an atmospheric and absorbing historical novel that blends real events with fiction to explore marriage, duty and the feeling of being trapped by circumstances. Set in Ireland in January 1965, the story centres on Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon during a visit to his sister’s home in Abbeyleix. What should have been a glamorous escape quickly becomes far more tense when local opposition and IRA petrol bomb attacks leave the couple confined to the house without electricity.
Inside the house, the atmosphere is hardly calmer. Margaret and Snowdon’s marriage is already beginning to fracture, and the enforced confinement only brings their tensions closer to the surface. Margaret is portrayed as glamorous and privileged, but also deeply restricted by her position, expectations and increasingly difficult personal life. I enjoyed seeing the private woman behind the public royal image rather than simply reading about the familiar headlines surrounding her.
Running alongside Margaret’s story is Cait, a local woman struggling with very different circumstances but experiencing a similar sense of confinement. Cait longs to escape family responsibilities and the limitations of small-town life, while Margaret longs for freedoms that her status will never fully allow her. The contrast between the two women is one of the strongest elements of the novel because, despite the enormous differences in wealth and privilege between them, both are questioning the lives that have effectively been chosen for them.
Emily Hourican creates a vivid sense of time and place, particularly through the cold Irish winter and the increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere surrounding the house. I also liked the combination of royal history with a more ordinary local perspective. The pacing is relatively gentle, and this is much more character-driven than plot-driven, so there were moments when I felt the story slowed slightly. However, the historical context and the parallels between Margaret and Cait kept me interested.
Overall, *A House in Winter* is a thoughtful and beautifully atmospheric historical novel about women, marriage, responsibility and the desire for a different life. The mixture of fact and fiction works well, and I particularly enjoyed the contrast between Princess Margaret’s apparently extraordinary existence and Cait’s much more ordinary one. Despite their differences, both women are searching for freedom in a world that places significant limits on them.
September 8, 2026
Fans of The Crown are going to lap up Emily Hourican’s page-turning tale of secrets and scandals, A House in Winter.
January 1965 and Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowden, have come to Ireland to visit his sister in her home in Abbeyleix. The visit is fraught with challenges and difficulties – both inside and outside the house. Margaret had believed that she had finally found her place in the world when she got married. However, things have changed between the two of them. Their passion has disintegrated, tensions are fraught and with each passing day, Margaret finds herself having to accept the fact that her marriage might not have a future – something which delights her mother-in-law. Meanwhile, the local community is making their ire at this visit known when a petrol bomb is thrown over the gate trapping Margaret and her family inside with no electricity and no way out for forty-eight hours…
Meanwhile, in a nearby village a woman called Cait – whose life is as far removed from Margaret’s as it is possible to get – has got her own demons to contend with. Cait feels hemmed in by small town life and by the heavy burden of duty and responsibility lying on her shoulders. Caring for her sick mother while running the local shop is leaving her no room to breathe or to discover who she might be if she wasn’t weighed down by other people’s expectations.
The two women might inhabit different spheres and their paths might never cross. Yet, they might have more in common than one would think…
Based on real events, A House in Winter by Emily Hourican is an absorbing, incisive and hugely enjoyable novel that will grip readers from the start and keep them glued to its pages until the very end. Told from different perspective, Emily Hourican skilfully captures a moment in time and imbues real events with emotion, humour, tension, drama and a sprinkling of royal glamour.
As addictive as any Netflix drama, A House in Winter by Emily Hourican is an absolute must-read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January 1965 and Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowden, have come to Ireland to visit his sister in her home in Abbeyleix. The visit is fraught with challenges and difficulties – both inside and outside the house. Margaret had believed that she had finally found her place in the world when she got married. However, things have changed between the two of them. Their passion has disintegrated, tensions are fraught and with each passing day, Margaret finds herself having to accept the fact that her marriage might not have a future – something which delights her mother-in-law. Meanwhile, the local community is making their ire at this visit known when a petrol bomb is thrown over the gate trapping Margaret and her family inside with no electricity and no way out for forty-eight hours…
Meanwhile, in a nearby village a woman called Cait – whose life is as far removed from Margaret’s as it is possible to get – has got her own demons to contend with. Cait feels hemmed in by small town life and by the heavy burden of duty and responsibility lying on her shoulders. Caring for her sick mother while running the local shop is leaving her no room to breathe or to discover who she might be if she wasn’t weighed down by other people’s expectations.
The two women might inhabit different spheres and their paths might never cross. Yet, they might have more in common than one would think…
Based on real events, A House in Winter by Emily Hourican is an absorbing, incisive and hugely enjoyable novel that will grip readers from the start and keep them glued to its pages until the very end. Told from different perspective, Emily Hourican skilfully captures a moment in time and imbues real events with emotion, humour, tension, drama and a sprinkling of royal glamour.
As addictive as any Netflix drama, A House in Winter by Emily Hourican is an absolute must-read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy
Based on a true story this fictionalised retelling is set in January 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II’s sister Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowden (Anthony Armstrong-Jones) visited Abbeyleix House in County Laois, the home of Snowden’s sister, Susan, Viscountess de Vesci. Told from multiple POVs but mainly those of Margaret and an Irish woman called Cait who lives in the local village.
Briefly, the visit of a member of the British royal family to Abbeyleix was not welcomed by everyone and there was some bad feeling in the local area. Then two IRA petrol bombs are thrown over the walls hitting the transformer which plunges the house into darkness for 48 hours. Margaret is dealing with this alongside a marriage that is crumbling much to the delight of her mother-in-law. Meanwhile, following the death of her father Cait has taken on the mantle of looking after her sick mother and running the family shop whilst her brother takes no responsibility for anything.
I’m of an age where I remember Princess Margaret‘s divorce in the late 1970s but until I read this, and did a little investigation of my own, I hadn’t realised Margaret’s marriage seemed doomed almost from the start. Snowden comes across as a bully, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as his mother isn’t much better. I really felt for Cait having to deal with societies expectations of a single woman in Ireland at this time. A story of two very different women fighting against the constraints their position in life has dealt them. An informative and entertaining read and I’m going to check out the authors other books.
Briefly, the visit of a member of the British royal family to Abbeyleix was not welcomed by everyone and there was some bad feeling in the local area. Then two IRA petrol bombs are thrown over the walls hitting the transformer which plunges the house into darkness for 48 hours. Margaret is dealing with this alongside a marriage that is crumbling much to the delight of her mother-in-law. Meanwhile, following the death of her father Cait has taken on the mantle of looking after her sick mother and running the family shop whilst her brother takes no responsibility for anything.
I’m of an age where I remember Princess Margaret‘s divorce in the late 1970s but until I read this, and did a little investigation of my own, I hadn’t realised Margaret’s marriage seemed doomed almost from the start. Snowden comes across as a bully, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as his mother isn’t much better. I really felt for Cait having to deal with societies expectations of a single woman in Ireland at this time. A story of two very different women fighting against the constraints their position in life has dealt them. An informative and entertaining read and I’m going to check out the authors other books.
September 25, 2026
January 1965 and Princess Margaret and her husband Tony Armstrong-Jones are visiting Abbeyleix, the house of his sister, in Ireland. They plan to stay just one night but an IRA campaign means that the road is blocked and the electricity cut. Forced to stay with her in-laws for a full weekend, Margaret struggles as the truth of her marriage hits home and she realises how trapped she is. In the local village Cait also feels trapped. Forced to stay at home to care for her disabled mother, her life is slipping away from her.
This is a fictional tale based on real life events and it works very well. Margaret is not a sympathetic character but her toxic marriage does generate sympathy. Tony is not portrayed well, but his family background goes some way to explaining the way he is. I liked the story about Cait and the limitations of her life. Although a little too easy in the conclusion it worked well as a contrast to the different constraints of women at the time.
This is a fictional tale based on real life events and it works very well. Margaret is not a sympathetic character but her toxic marriage does generate sympathy. Tony is not portrayed well, but his family background goes some way to explaining the way he is. I liked the story about Cait and the limitations of her life. Although a little too easy in the conclusion it worked well as a contrast to the different constraints of women at the time.
September 9, 2026
I really enjoyed this book set in the mid 1960’s where Princess Margaret and her husband Lord Snowden (Tony) visit his sister Lady Susan de Vesci in Ireland. The book highlights how Margaret was constantly recognised, preferring the seclusion of Mustique. I was fascinated by the eternal second state and P2 references. The book is well balanced - wealth and royalty against the story of local villagers Cait and her brother Pat, the latter of whom becomes mixed up in symbolic objections. Margaret and Cait have common ground, both trapped in their lives, looking for escape. I found this to be a very interesting historical read.
September 14, 2026
Evocative and gentle. Beautiful pose, the characters and plot gently unfold.
October 4, 2026
M and Cait make great company. I highly recommend for a tense, personal read and great historical setting.
Review of advance copy
This was such an interesting and entertaining read. From the very first page I was hooked and I kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. The story was well written and brilliantly paced and it's obvious that the author has done their research for the book. There was also a great cast of characters. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💖 Thank you to Random Things Tours, the author Emily Hourican and the publisher for my proof copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
💖 Thank you to Random Things Tours, the author Emily Hourican and the publisher for my proof copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A House In Winter* by Emily Hourican is inspired by the real events of Princess Margaret’s 1965 visit to her husband’s family home, Abbeyleix House in County Laois, when an-IRA linked attack on the house left the royal trapped for the guts of two days.
Told from a dual perspective, that of Margaret dealing with her horrible mother-in-law and cruel husband behind the high walls of the House, and of local young woman Cait who, fascinated by the Princess, is struggling to escape her own confinement, A House in Winter explores themes of family, duty, and community.
Told from a dual perspective, that of Margaret dealing with her horrible mother-in-law and cruel husband behind the high walls of the House, and of local young woman Cait who, fascinated by the Princess, is struggling to escape her own confinement, A House in Winter explores themes of family, duty, and community.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews