Martin Reed is the serf born in 1381 who starts Norah Lofts' epic 'House' trilogy. He resents the feudal system that undermines him. When circumstances change, he begins a new life as a free man, builds the house and founds a family. From the perspectives of five characters who live in the house, Lofts evokes fourteenth- and fifteenth-century life with the storytelling ability that has made her so popular.

The House at Old Vine is the second in a trilogy of novels by Norah Lofts about the inhabitants of a country house in Suffolk from the late fourteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. Covering the turbulent years of 1496 to 1680. It follows six generations of the descendants of Martin Reed, who founded the 'House' dynasty through his act of rebellion in The Town House, through persecution, war and revolution, from the era of Christopher Columbus to the Restoration of Charles II. Written with Lofts' customary attention to historical detail, this is a series of stories about characters who lived and died for what they believed.

Spanning a period from the eighteenth century to the mid 1950s, this is the impressive concluding volume in Norah Lofts' 'House' trilogy. A period in history is brought alive through the perspectives of seven characters who tell the story. Felicity Hatton's life in 1740s London and Mary Crisp's experience of the First World War are two of the tales.