Review ~ An Orphan's Journey by Rosie Goodwin

 

Zaffre
18 February 2021
Precious Stones Series #2

My thanks to the publisher for my copy of this book

1874. Growing up in extreme poverty in London, Pearl thinks life can get no worse. But when her parents discover there's yet another baby on the way, they have to tighten the belt even further. Pearl's mother decides to send her and her younger sister Eliza to the workhouse, where they are forced into a new life of hardship and struggle. Pearl's hopes are raised when the workhouse offers the sisters a new life in Canada and they board an orphan ship transporting unwanted children across the seas. Pearl hopes their luck has finally changed when she and Eliza are hired by the kindly Mrs Forbes to work in her grand house together. But when Pearl meets their mistress's bullying son Monty he reveals he will stop at nothing to make her life a misery.

Will Pearl ever find the home she so craves?

My thoughts...

When Pearl and Eliza Parker are sent to live in a London workhouse by their poverty stricken parents their sense of abandonment is made much worse when they are chosen, along with a group of other workhouse children, to be transported to start a new life in Canada. As the sea voyage takes them further from their life in London, Pearl is determined to do her best for herself, and her little sister, and hopes that when they reach their destination they will be allowed to stay together. What then follows is a heartwarming historical saga which focuses on Pearl and Eliza as they begin a new life as servants in the home of a wealthy family. 

An Orphan's Journey has lots of heartwarming moments but it also has real tragedy and a sense of danger as both Pearl and Eliza don't find life any less complicated in Canada. Pearl is a worthy heroine, I liked her from the start, she's definitely an old head on young shoulders, and her sense of responsibility towards her sister is commendable, but not always appreciated. The story flows well, there's a nice sense of history, and time and place is described so well that it's easy to imagine Pearl as she goes about making the best of her new life. The characters who flit into the story are an interesting bunch, some you love, whilst others you'll love to hate, but they all add a definite sense of light and shade to the story. 

This is the second book in the Precious Stones series of historical sagas. Each are entirely standalone stories so you don't need to read the books in order to enjoy them.

About the Author

Rosie Goodwin is the million copy bestselling author of more than thirty novels. She is the first author in the world to be allowed to follow three of Catherine Cookson's trilogies with her own sequels. Having worked in the social services sector for many years, then fostered a number of children, she is now a full-time novelist. She is one of the top 50 most borrowed authors from UK libraries. Rosie lives in Nuneaton, the setting for many of her books, with her husband and their beloved dogs.

Website

Twitter @RosieGoodwin

@ZaffreBooks