The House of Hope by Kate Alexander. 1st edition 1992. H/C with jacket. 344 pp.

The memorable story of a fine-art auction house and the families who created it, spanning the mid-Victorian era to the present day.

Arriving in England from Sicily in 1861, Vittorio Speranza decides to set up as a fine-art dealer. A passionate family feud causes his son to change his name and start his own art house in a different part of London. As the years unfold, the family rifts are healed and the two auction houses unite into the House of Hope. Surviving the Depression and then Hitler's bombs, the House of Hope is unprepared for the art of a new generation ...

First published 1992 by Century, London. Condition: Good.