Cecily's Portrait

Historical House #3

by Adèle Geras

Cecily longs to learn the new art of photography and is determined that her widowed father will come to love it too, especially when she realises that her new friend and photographer, Rosalind, would be a perfect match for him. Will her dreams of uniting them ever come true? The second 'Historical House' title from award-winning author, Adele Geras, this is a touching and beautifully crafted tale of hope and ambition, full of authentic historical detail and girl appeal.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Historical, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Adèle Geras FRSL (born 15 March 1944) is an English writer for young children, teens and adults. Her husband was the Marxist academic Norman Geras and their daughter Sophie Hannah is also a novelist and poet.

Geras was born in Jerusalem, British Mandatory Palestine. Her father was in the Colonial Service and she had a varied childhood, living in countries such as Nigeria, Cyprus, Tanzania, Gambia and British North Borneo in a short span of time. She attended Roedean School in Brighton and then graduated from St Hilda's College, Oxford with a degree in Modern Languages. She was known for her stage and vocal talents, but decided instead to become a full-time writer.

Geras's first book was Tea at Mrs Manderby's, which was published in 1976. Her first full-length novel was The Girls in the Velvet Frame. She has written more than 95 books for children, young adults, and adults. Her best-known books are Troy (shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize and Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal) Ithaka, Happy Ever After (previously published as the Egerton Hall Trilogy), Silent Snow, Secret Snow, and A Thousand Yards of Sea.

Her novels for adults include: Facing the Light, Hester's Story, Made in Heaven, and A Hidden Life.

Geras won two prizes in the United States, one the Sydney Taylor Book Award for the My Grandmother's Stories and the National Jewish Book Award for Golden Windows. She has also won prizes for her poetry and was a joint winner of the Smith Doorstop Poetry Pamphlet Award, offered by the publisher of that name.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Cam (Lana Belova) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was full of so many lovely moments and one of them was a depiction of a walnut tree, when its canopy casted a beautiful dappled light, adding an unforgettable feature to a photo that was taken by Cecily, a young aspiring photographer. Dappled light creates beautiful compositions and could be called a photographer by itself. Those miraculous sprinklings of sunshine among a tapestry of colours. A breeze, reshaping those soft shadows seems like a friend of a dappled light 🙂

30 March '25
It seems like the right book for a foggy weather. It begins by mentioning whether a ghost lives in a century old house. I have yet to discover if there is a cat but this image clicked like the right one because of a young woman. The sentences I've already read are portraying someone like her. I learned about this book by sheer accident. I loved the artwork for Will and Squill, created by Emma Chichester Clark. She also illustrated the ballet books by this author. That's how I discovered Cecily's Portrait I'm really enjoying.



5 April '25
Well, who would have thought... When I read the first sentences this picture I chose seemed like a precise image for this story, something about the young woman felt enchanting and soft, just like Cecily's mama. Or a possible ghost of her - that's how the book begins. However, an image of a cat in the picture made me wondering, if there is a cat in the story and strangely enough, there was... a kitten. Black and white. A cat, all the same, whom in all honesty I didn't expect to meet despite my musing about such a possibility 🙂 The kitten does not play a big role as a character but she sets a plotline of this book where Cecily meets Rosalind and becomes enchanted by all things photography but "finds herself more intrigued by the idea of being the person who took the photographs".
A painting of a seashore looking wonderfully life-like took me a little by surprise, too. Thank you to an unnamed artist of this picture I chose for the review. I know it's an AI generated but still. 🩷


Art by Olga Kwasha

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love books by Adèle Geras but this was different. It was only short but I still found it difficult to get into and difficult to force myself to finish!

[Joelzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 3rd book in the historical house series and probably my favourite :)

[Faith Fawcett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so happy to see some characters returning! I thought it was really cool how the links to the first and second books were included.

[nicanicanii · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting and the atmosphere is really felt here and the writing is such a natural imitation of the writing in that era. Cliche but cute ending. Would definitely read more of this series!

[Amalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest I was expecting something a little more exciting, having said that I still liked Cecily's Portrait, I found it to be such a cute book. Cecily's story is the third in this wonderful series, following Lizzie's Wish by the same author.

The "Historical House" novels are a collaboration between three award winning authors including Adèle Geras, all writing about one very special house and the extraordinary young women who has lived there throughout history. "Cecily's Portrait" is set in Victorian London.

[Sreepurna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for children - sweet, quick and enjoyable. I loved the characters and I loved the overall feminist vibe. Set in Victorian England, the story appears to be quite true to its background. As an older reader, I did find it it a little lacking in character building. However, I would definitely recommend this to younger readers (around the age of 9-10 years according to me); it is one of those books that you can recommend with your eyes closed. This particular edition from Usborne is a reprint, and I like how colourful and attractive the new cover looks.

Thank you UsborneYA for the review copy.

[Dian Turner baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am currently reading Usbornes 'Historical House' series - it follows the history of one house and the people that have lived in it through different periods in history - this is the 3rd in the series and my favourite so far!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very surprised that this book, and probably the entire series, is not to be found in the children's section but the adults. It reads like a children's book. Having said that it was a very quick, enjoyable read.

[Mared Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

really good! Could have had a bit more drama though...

[Sonia Gensler]

A charming story perfect for young fans of historical fiction. (Part of The Historical House series.)

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet little book. This series, all based in the same house over centuries, is very intriguing.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14147549

[Infamous Sphere · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story about a Victorian girl who becomes interested in photography. Aww yeah.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book. It was fun to see the artists attitude toward photography.