The Orphanage (Shilling Grange Children’s Home Book 1) ~ by Lizzie Page, 2021, historical fiction (England), 402 pages
She was their only hope. Now they are hers. Clara Newton is the new Housemother of Shilling Grange Orphanage, 1948. Many of the children were bombed out of their homes and left without families, their lives torn apart by the war. Devastated by the loss of her fiancé, a brave American pilot, she is just looking for a place to start again.
The orphans are in desperate need of her help. Funds are short, children cry out in the night, and tearful Rita tells Clara terrible stories about the nuns who previously ran Shilling Grange. Clara cannot bear to see them suffer, but what does she know about how to look after eight little ones? Clara can’t get anything right, and then accidentally ruins Rita’s only memento of her mother. Overwhelmed, she wonders if they’d be better off without her.
Living next door is Ivor: an ex-Shilling Grange resident, war hero, and handyman with deep brown eyes. He doesn’t trust Clara, who is fiercely independent, but he has a way with the children. With his support and the help of other locals, Clara begins to find her way. As she heals from her grief and adjusts to her new life, Clara wonders if she has finally found her home and family among the orphans. Can she find the strength to fight for them when nobody else will?
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3 comments:
It sounds like it might be a sad read. I hope you enjoy it.
I wonder why we don't have orphanages now? Groan. My book is GOOD ENOUGH
Not too sad so far, Cindy. Good question, Anne. Maybe we don't have orphanages because we now have foster parents? Or maybe I just don't know exactly.
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