The Foundling: The gripping Sunday Times bestselling historical novel, from the winner of the Women's Prize Futures award

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The characters are splendid. Icy Alexandra and strong, able Bess, with her ne’er-do-well brother, Ned, and kind, reserved father, Abe. This was such an ominous book, at first and talk about characters...eighteenth-century London played a big role in this book and was a character in and of itself. I could smell the rot, feel the mist and see the darkness; its dark gritty streets played their own role. I can't say enough about this one except it deserves All. The. Stars. I fell in love with this book instantly and really enjoyed, I’d be happy to recommend Stacey Halls and her books and I hope to read more by her again in the future.

Overall, an informative and interesting read that I would recommended to historical fiction fans who want a lighter, entertaining story, rather than a richly detailed intense plot.

lucycrichton

Bess was devastated when she found out someone had taken her daughter. When she questioned the governors of the Foundling, they had no answer, but her second try at finding something out had her introduced to a doctor who was going to try to help her. Much of the book was realistic and believable, as were the actions taken by each of the characters. London is evoked in its dank and dangerous glory. It reeks of inequality and poverty. Contrast part one which is firmly set in the area of Ludgate Hill to part two, where we meet the Bloomsbury wealth and the mysterious widow who refuses to leave her home. She reluctantly employs a nursemaid and you just know there are secrets and pain in that house. They seep through the plush wallpaper slowly but surely and into the streets where the carriage smash them up on the cobbles with the permanents of Bess’ story. What a depiction of two women’s stories and the London of that time. What an intriguing story and a book I enjoyed immensely. The story gripped me from the first chapter and I loved the characters and the setting of the novel. Suspenseful, intriguing and beautifully written and And I was facinated by the foundling hospital and London of the 1750s.

Although I didn’t quite get the 18th century feeling, more the 19th, I did find the setting very atmospheric. Billingsgate came alive with the shouts of merchants shouting their varied fish and seafood offerings. I could smell and visualise the muddy pathways that seemed prevalent in every turn of the area, with the traps, carriages and horses that travelled on them. This story is beautifully written, the characters are so rich and real, and you can really feel the time it is set in. Halls recreates Georgian London with such vivid imagery that you will feel yourself transported to a London of long ago. She has obviously researched the period to create a story that feels real! The themes of motherhood, secrecy and class wrap together to create a gorgeous story that you will adore. Love Stacey Halls, love the period setting, love the premise of the story but it didn’t stand out from other more powerful stories with a similar troupe. And I was hoping it would and was expecting it to be a favourite.The main reason was it felt a little bit one dimensional. Child taken at birth, mother goes in search of her daughter years later, but there were no other layers or twists to the story. Hence the 4 stars. She rarely leaves the house, unable to touch or interact with her daughter meaningfully on any level. Alexandra and Charlotte are recluses, to all intents and purposes, with only the servants and family doctor allowed into the house. With the excess of Christmas behind and spring a way off, it was a dull, dead period, a time of hibernation and renewal, in which to reintroduce good habits, turn mattresses and repair wigs." These feminine vessels we inhabited: why did nobody expect them to contain unfeminine feelings? Why could we, too, not be furious and scornful and entirely altered by grief? Why must we accept the cards we had been dealt?“

There was a lot of coincidence that benefited the plot but this didn’t distract me from the enjoyment of the story and I thought the author covered mental health issues like agoraphobia, PTSD and paranoia along with grief exceedingly well. Just showing that these issues did exist many many years ago, even if they weren’t diagnosed correctly. Despite this, comments on the book as a whole were positive, though the cover description of the author as “the new Hilary Mantel” was widely unaccepted by this group.DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Mira via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Lost Orphan by Stacey Halls for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. A meeting at the Hospital leads to an offer of employment for Bess — as nursemaid to Charlotte, whose mother Alexandra is widowed. Bess Bright has discovered that she’s with child. Unmarried, and poor, the best option for girls in her predicament is the Foundling Hospital. Founded by Sir Thomas Coram in 1739 to look after babies whose parents were unable to care for them, admittance was by lottery, as demand exceeded available spaces. I found it endlessly surprising how history would repeat itself, despite a person doing everything in their power to make it otherwise.

The Foundling” is written by Sunday Times bestselling author Stacey Halls and is her second novel, after the success of “The Familiars” last year. I loved the atmosphere of the novel and got totally lost in the story. Wonderful sense of time and place and a captivating plot. I really enjoy historical fiction and couldn’t wait to read more on the Foundling Hospital when I finished the novel.The filth and danger of Ludgate Hill sits in stark contrast to well-heeled Bloomsbury across town and uptight widow, Alexandra Callard, whose fear of losing loved ones keeps her and her six-year-old child, Charlotte, confined inside a home that is to all intents a prison. Self-contained and still dealing with an upbringing that has left her emotionally stunted, Alexandra is persuaded by her husband’s great friend, a doctor at the Foundling Hospital, to hire a nursemaid. No prizes for guessing who gets the job and the explosive collision that ensues with both women having their own claim on Charlotte, with the man that brought them together, kind-hearted and honourable Doctor Elliot Mead, caught in the crossfire. This story shows how the different classes viewed each other and how the poorer of those were judged so harshly. I especially loved the inner thoughts of our two female leads and how they judged each other. I found that they really only thought of themselves and not what was best for the child until they realized that it was only hurting their daughter. THE FAMILIARS was probably one of my top 5 favorite historical fiction reads of 2019, so I was really excited to receive an ARC of THE LOST ORPHAN by the same author. THE FAMILIARS is a dark but unexpectedly feminist story that takes place during a time that was historically unkind to women but manages to have an empowering message that reads as being fairly accurate to the times as well as a sympathetic heroine. THE LOST ORPHAN is the same, but the vehicle through which it accomplishes this is an entirely different beast. Don't make the mistake that I did and assume that the books are going to be similar: they are not-- at all. Not in mode, not in pacing, not in character. I was surprised they were by the same person, tbh. The majority of the reading group said they enjoyed this book. Several people commented that they found it very readable, with a nice writing style and a good pace. They liked the historical detail and felt that they learned something about life in London in the later eighteenth century, the Foundling Hospital and the way it worked, and the kindly Thomas Coram. Some readers found the characters interesting, particularly Alexandra, whose problems were unfolded gradually, with hints of agarophobia or Aspergers, and eventually revealed as PTSD from a childhood trauma.