The Dutch House is a mansion located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. It was built in 1922 by the VanHoebeek family, a husband and wife originally from the Netherlands who made their fortune in the tobacco industry. Cyril Conroy, a self-made real estate mogul, bought the mansion in 1946 to surprise his wife Elna. Their children, Danny and Maeve, were raised in the Dutch House. Elna dislikes the Dutch House and, when Danny is 3 and Maeve is 10, she abandons the family to work with the poor in India. After their father dies, the two siblings are forced out of their home by their stepmother, Andrea. Left with no one else, the two siblings rely on each other. Maeve discovers a scholarship trust and uses it to send Danny to Choate Rosemary Hall, Columbia University and to medical school. He finishes medical school despite being uninterested in working as a doctor, hoping to please Maeve. The novel is narrated by an adult Danny Conroy.
Background
Patchett was inspired to use Elkins Park as the novel's setting because when she was a student at Sarah Lawrence College she would spend holidays and weekends in Wyncote, Elkins Park, and Jenkintown. She also chose Elkins Park given its proximity to New York, which she already knew would feature in the novel.
Reception
At the review aggregator website Book Marks, which assigns individual ratings to book reviews from mainstream literary critics, the novel received a cumulative "Positive" rating based on 31 reviews: 15 "Rave" reviews, 13 "Positive" reviews, and 3 "Mixed" reviews. Publishers Weekly gave the novel a rave review, writing, "Patchett's splendid novel is a thoughtful, compassionate exploration of obsession and forgiveness, what people acquire, keep, lose or give away, and what they leave behind." Kirkus Reviews gave the novel a rave review, writing, "Casually stated but astute observations about human nature are Patchett's stock in trade, and she again proves herself a master of aging an ensemble cast of characters over many decades. In this story, only the house doesn't change. You will close the book half believing you could drive to Elkins Park and see it." Donna Seaman of Booklist praised the novel, comparing it the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Alice McDermott and saying, "Patchett is at her subtle yet shining finest." Writing for The New York Times Book Review, author Martha Southgate gave the book a positive review, saying, "This novel takes a winding road through the forest and doesn't rush to a finish, nor is the ending wholly surprising. But if you allow yourself to walk along with Patchett, you'll find riches at the end of the trail." Donna Liquori of the Associated Press wrote, "Patchett's storytelling abilities shine in this gratifying novel."
