Between the years of 1869 to 1939 more than 100,000 poor British children were sent across the ocean to Canada with the promise of a better life. Those who took them in to work as farm laborers or household servants were told they were orphans–but was that the truth?
After the tragic loss of their father, the McAlister family is living at the edge of the poorhouse in London in 1908, leaving their mother to scrape by for her three younger children, while oldest daughter, Laura, works on a large estate more than an hour away. When Edna McAlister falls gravely ill and is hospitalized, twins Katie and Garth and eight-year-old Grace are forced into an orphans’ home before Laura is notified about her family’s unfortunate turn of events in London. With hundreds of British children sent on ships to Canada, whether truly orphans or not, Laura knows she must act quickly. But finding her siblings and taking care of her family may cost her everything.
Andrew Fraser, a wealthy young British lawyer and heir to the estate where Laura is in service, discovers that this common practice of finding new homes for penniless children might not be all that it seems. Together Laura and Andrew form an unlikely partnership. Will they arrive in time? Will their friendship blossom into something more?
Inspired by true events, this moving novel follows Laura as she seeks to reunite her family and her siblings who, in their darkest hours, must cling to the words from Isaiah: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God”.
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Summary
"What did she expect? This was what happened when you made a hasty decision, compromised your convictions, and tried to manipulate the situation."
Laura McAllister didn't start out to be deceptive, one thing just led to another, and before she knew it her misrepresentations of the truth landed her in a situation that demanded an explanation . . . to none other than the son of her former employer, Andrew Frasier. However, drastic measures had been Laura's only available recourse after discovering that her younger siblings had been removed from their home and placed in a precarious location; a British children's home where dozens of assumed orphans were being emigrated to Canada at an alarming pace.
Andrew Frasier is shocked to see his mother's former lady's maid traveling under an assumed identity. As a young lawyer, he was still trying to gain experience and expertise under the tutelage of Henry Dowd, who had been granted a government commission to study the practices of British orphanages and their subsequent placements of children. Seeing Laura in her current position compromises his initial impression of the lovely young woman. Just what is she up to? And can their brief acquaintance be useful in his current investigation?
Carrie Turansky's rich, relaxed writing voice serves her well in this engaging story where she meticulously places flesh and bones upon a skeleton that most readers never knew existed in the closet of Biritish history. Cleverly leaving a few questions unanswered, the next book in the series will, without a doubt, be highly anticipated.
I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.