Dolls House World Magazine Issue 356 Back Issue

It was one of the characters in Mary Shelley’s novel who wrote: “There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.”
Plenty of miniaturists will identify with that thought all year round, but the fact that it appears in Shelley’s novel Frankenstein has a particular resonance at this time of year. Halloween is not everybody’s cup of newt tea, but it does offer a wonderful chance to add colour and character to scenes and houses.
It’s also a time when one can appreciate that not all our houses have to be pristine Georgian manors peopled by elegant women and smartly-attired gentlemen. This issue the grand house is occupied by the Addams family rather than the Bennets.
It’s also a time when derelict homes, dirty dwellings and messy cottages come to to forefront along with everything from abandoned rusty baths (see how to create the look on P62) and simple spider webs (P27).
But if you really can’t do without your traditional ‘grand design’ home fix I advise you to skip straight to P41 to admire the beautiful mansion that features on our cover. Its owner has spent thirty years lovingly furnishing and decorating the home, and now wants to sell it to raise money for a children’s charity. We’re only too happy to help her in that heart-warming quest which can only lift the soul.
As Mary Shelleys’ character went on to write: “There is a love for the marvellous, a belief in the marvellous, intertwined in all my projects.” That’s something we can all agree on whatever the time of year.