Featured book is all about a book be published that I'm really excited about, so without further ado, here's the latest from from talented author, Stacey Halls
It's published by Bonnier and is out on the 6th February 2020
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| Zaffre Books 6 February 2020 My thanks to the author for my ecopy of this book |
Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London's Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst - that Clara has died in care - the last thing she expects to hear is that her daughter has already been reclaimed - by 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' lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend - an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital - persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart.
What did I think about it..
With its central theme of motherhood, The Foundling looks at the whole business of nature over nurture, blending together the lives of two very different women, and their idea of what it means to be a mother.
Bess Bright has no other option but to give up her day old baby daughter into the care of The Foundling Hospital, a charitable institution which cares for infants at risk of abandonment. My heart bled for Bess when she gave up her baby, realising that the only connection she has with the baby's father has now gone forever. However, all is not hopeless as The Foundling offers the chance, if circumstances allow, for mothers to buy back their babies, and it has always been this hopeful thought which has kept Bess going throughout the intervening years. Interweaving the story of Bess Bright with that of Alexandra Callard, a wealthy young widow with a deadly secret, is particularly inspired as it allows a glimpse into the sheltered and genteel world of the upper classes describing so beautifully all of the moral constrictions which society placed on woman in the eighteenth century.
With its central theme of motherhood, The Foundling looks at the whole business of nature over nurture, blending together the lives of two very different women, and their idea of what it means to be a mother.
Bess Bright has no other option but to give up her day old baby daughter into the care of The Foundling Hospital, a charitable institution which cares for infants at risk of abandonment. My heart bled for Bess when she gave up her baby, realising that the only connection she has with the baby's father has now gone forever. However, all is not hopeless as The Foundling offers the chance, if circumstances allow, for mothers to buy back their babies, and it has always been this hopeful thought which has kept Bess going throughout the intervening years. Interweaving the story of Bess Bright with that of Alexandra Callard, a wealthy young widow with a deadly secret, is particularly inspired as it allows a glimpse into the sheltered and genteel world of the upper classes describing so beautifully all of the moral constrictions which society placed on woman in the eighteenth century.
Bringing Georgian London to life in a beautiful and thought provoking way the author has once again transported us back to a time and place that is not our own and yet with each successive turn of the page I felt as if I was fully immersed in a city teeming with life and brimming with people. From the pungent aroma of Billingsgate market, to the delicious decadence of Russell's coffee house, the author leads us by the hand through all the sights, sounds and smells of a world that was only wonderful if you were born to privilege rather than poverty.
There's no doubt that this talented author has another historical hit on her hands with The Foundling. I absorbed every word with all the passionate zeal of a time traveller eager to learn more of the connection between two very different women, whilst at the same time absorbing the beauty and intricate detail of this author's wonderful storytelling.
The Foundling Hospital
Stacey Halls grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire, as the daughter of market traders. She has always been fascinated by the Pendle witches. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and moved to London aged 21. She was media editor at The Bookseller and books editor at Stylist.co.uk, and has also written for Psychologies, the Independent and Fabulous magazine, where she now works as Deputy Chief Sub Editor.
Instagram @staceyhallsauthor
Twitter @stacey_halls #TheFoundling
@BonnierZaffre
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