The author of the USA Today and New York Times bestselling novel The Girl Who Came Home has once again created an unforgettable historical novel. Step into the world of Victorian London, where the wealth and poverty exist side by side. This is the story of two long-lost sisters, whose lives take different paths, and the young woman who will be transformed by their experiences.In 1912, … experiences.
In 1912, twenty-year-old Tilly Harper leaves the peace and beauty of her native Lake District for London, to become assistant housemother at Mr. Shaw’s Home for Watercress and Flower Girls. For years, the home has cared for London’s flower girls—orphaned and crippled children living on the grimy streets and selling posies of violets and watercress to survive.
Soon after she arrives, Tilly discovers a diary written by an orphan named Florrie—a young Irish flower girl who died of a broken heart after she and her sister, Rosie, were separated. Moved by Florrie’s pain and all she endured in her brief life, Tilly sets out to discover what happened to Rosie. But the search will not be easy. Full of twists and surprises, it leads the caring and determined young woman into unexpected places, including the depths of her own heart.
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I enjoyed this book very much.
I really loved this book. It was a new topic for me. I never knew anything about London’s watercress and flower sellers of the late 19th and early 20th century. The book is a novel based on a man named John Groom who took these orphaned and crippled children living on the streets in the most profound kind of poverty and not only gave them food and …
Tilly Harper leaves her home in Northern England to become an assistant housemother at a home for blind and crippled girls in London. The “girls” are not just any girls, though: they are Mr. Shaw’s flower girls. Some of them are twice as old as 20-year-old Tilly, some a few years younger. All of them work at the adjacent factory crafting silk …
This book was an informative, enjoyable read about a part of history I’ve never really thought about. It was put together nicely by the author in that all the characters become beautifully connected by the end. The end notes are just as appealing as the story line to help put into place an historical perspective.
I loved this book, It is a rare book that my friends and I all agree it is 5 stars.
Easy to read and lovely story.
Interesting history of the violet girls the the orphanages.
I loved the characters in this story.
I felt it was like My Fair Lady. Both sisters made it out of poverty but unfortunately never found each other.
A well crafted book about the street children of old London aka Dickinson.
I enjoyed this story very. Quite well written!
Great period piece. With a great ending.
Based on actual events, this is a novel about orphan or crippled little girls who are flower sellers on the streets of London, late 1800’s. Focuses on Rosie and Florrie and their lives. Very interesting.
This is one of those books that shows you the horrors of a society pre hygiene, pre value of every human being, especially children. And yet, in the midst of it is love is seen, goodness manifests. Heart breaking and heart warming.
We read this for our book club. It was so well written and very informative!
Not unusual book book the subject of child flower sellers in London was very new to me, and I enjoyed it very much. The bit of a mystery involved which was also fun.
I don’t know if the homes and workshops for handicapped girls in London that the book is about are historical or just in the imagination of the author. But I hope they are real. This is an interesting book about Mr. Shaw’s home that moves back and forth from the late 19th to the early 20th centuey. In some books this bouncing around us jarring, …
this was a very interesting and entertaining book.
Wonderful book. I will read again!
Enjoyable story with historical insights.
This was an interesting subject, but a bit too long.