The House That Books Built

This is a great big doorstop of a book..nearly 900 pages in paperback...and has a long list of characters at the beginning. However it's a testament to Penny Vincenzi's skill as a writer that not only did I finish it more quickly than I thought possible, but I didn't need to refer to the list once, as I felt I got to know the various characters really easily and cared about what happened to all of them... I shall certainly read more of her work...