A Touching Story That’s Sure To Stay With You Long After Closing The Book
Book Blurb
Two women, bound by a child, and a secret that will change everything . . .
London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate newborn at the Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the daughter she has never known. Dreading the worst, that she has died in care, she is astonished to discover someone pretending to be Bess has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl—and why.
Less than a mile from Bess’s poor lodgings, in a quiet Georgian townhouse, lives Alexandra, a reclusive young widow. When her close friend—an ambitious doctor at the orphanage—persuades her to hire a nursemaid to help care for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart.
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Familiars comes this captivating story of mothers and daughters, class and power, and love against the greatest of odds.
Details
- Title: The Lost Orphan
- Author: Stacey Halls
- Publisher: Harlequin – Mira
- Date Available: April 7, 2020
- Pages: 352
- Read A Sample
My Thoughts
I’ve never thought of myself as a fan of historical fiction. But after the last few books, I am happy to say this genre is now on my radar.
If you’ve followed my reviews, you know too much description can turn me away from a book. I wouldn’t be honest if I said this book didn’t have quite a bit of description, but Halls’ writing doesn’t feel like “who cares” description, instead, it makes you feel like you can visualize the story. I’m not one to read a book and imagine it as a movie, but by seeing this story as I read it, I did imagine it as a movie.
Halls’ depiction of the vast economic differences during the mid-1700s is woven beautifully into this exceptionally interesting story. Bess Bright is a hard-working shrimp vendor in London. And the other important figure in this story is Alexandra Callard, a wealthy widow of a whalebone merchant.
When Bess finds herself pregnant she can’t afford to raise her child, so she takes her baby to the Foundling Hospital. She figures if she works hard and saves, she will be able to go back and claim her child in a few years. But when she returns six years later, she discovers that the unthinkable has happened to her precious little one.
Romance (?)
Though this book has romance, I would say it focuses more on motherhood and the effects of a traumatic childhood event. So if you’re a romance reader, yes, there is romance included, but perhaps not to the degree you are used to.
All of that being said, the romance was perfect for me.
My Concerns
For me, no concerns at all.
What I Liked Most
As I mentioned earlier, though there is plenty of description, it is only enough to make the reader feel the damp, dark, area of London that is the backdrop for this story.
I can’t recommend this book enough. It quickly drew me into another century and country.
My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ability to read this ARC and write a review.
Meet The Author
Stacey Halls was born in 1989 and grew up in Lancashire, England. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and has worked as a journalist since the age of 21, writing for publications including The Independent, Fabulous magazine, Stylist and Psychologies. She lives in London with her husband. The Familiars is her first novel.
Click to learn more about this interesting author.
