Episode of Sparrows
Rumer Godden
In post-war London, two street-tough children attempt to build a hidden garden, an act that awakens hidden courage in the children and profoundly disrupts the neighborhood.
Read Time: ~5.5 hr
The barefoot child
by Cathy Sharp (2019)
About this book
"When Lucy and her brother, Joshua, are orphaned, it falls to Joshua to provide for them both, but he is barely into his teens and in his naivety, falls prey to bad influences and drink. Lucy is desperate to avoid the workhouse, but when Joshua loses their meagre savings they are thrown out onto the street and, in dire poverty, it isn't long before Lucy finds herself at its gates - almost a fate worse than death. Inside the workhouse, Lucy meets with unkindness and cruelty and she knows she must dig deep within herself if she is to survive, let alone thrive. What Lucy needs is a friend and she is surprised to find one in the most unlikely place ..."--Publisher.
Setting / LocationLondon & UK
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreThe barefoot child Lead Character
Readers who enjoyed this also loved
Mansfield Park
Jane Austen
Fanny Price is born to a poor family, but is sent to her mother's rich relations to be brought up with her cousins. There she is treated as an inferior by all except her cousin Edmund, whose kindness towards her earns him her steadfast love. Fanny is quiet and obedient and does not come into her own until her elder cousins leave the estate following a scandalous play put on in their father's absence. Fanny's loyalty and love is tested by the beautiful Crawford siblings. But their essentially weak natures and morals show them for what they really are, and allow Fanny to gain the one thing she truly desires.
Deerbrook
Harriet Martineau
When the Ibbotson sisters, Hester and Margaret, arrive at the village of Deerbrook to stay with their cousin Mr Grey and his wife, speculation is rife that one of them might marry the local apothecary Edward Hope. Although he is immediately attracted to Margaret, Hope is ultimately persuaded to marry the beautiful Hester. The unhappiness of their marriage is compounded when a malicious village gossip accuses Hope of grave-robbing.
The best of fathers
Anne Baker
Childhood sweethearts Mary and Jonty have battled against the odds to be together. Forced to run away from home because Mary's father disapproved of their relationship, they've built a happy new life for themselves. Now they long for a child, but it seems that's not to be. Until one stormy night when a yacht is dashed upon the rocks near their home. Mary and Jonty rush to the rescue and, amid terrible carnage, save a baby. They name her Charlotte - and keep her as their own. Charlotte grows up to be devoted to her parents. But fate intervenes when she decides to train as a nurse in Liverpool. For Liverpool is where her 'real' family lives: and it seems that past secrets are to be uncovered -- with shocking consequences.