The Canal Boat Girl

Sheila Newberry

WHEN her life falls apart in Wales in 1883, a talented young musician makes the decision to run away from her family and head to London. But falling in love with what turns out to be the wrong man will set Ruth Owen on yet another course… could this be the final path to happiness?

Sheila Newberry (pictured below), the Suffolk-born author who sadly died in January last year, knew a thing or two about the ups and downs of family life. A mother of nine children, and with twenty-two grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, this much-loved writer has left a legacy of nostalgic sagas – including The Winter Baby and The Nursemaid’s Secret – which have enthralled readers across the decades.

In The Canal Boat Girl, a beautiful saga of old sorrows and new beginnings, Newberry transports us back to the last decades of the 19^th century where we meet a young woman who is struggling to leave behind the troubles from her past. In Brynbach, Wales, in 1883, seventeen-year-old Ruth Owen, a talented musician with a scholarship to a prestigious music school, has a sparkling career ahead of her. But after a run-in with her mysterious tutor, Drago, a man of Spanish origin, she flees to London, leaving everything and everyone behind.

London, 1897. Fourteen years later, Ruth, now married with two children, finds herself struggling for money and a place to live. Left with no other option, they decide to return to Wales and live on a canal boat. Life on the canals may seem idyllic, but what troubles await her return? And can the past ever truly be forgotten?

Click HERE for Lancashire Post review

The Canal Boat Girls is a charming, thoughtful tale exploring life’s unexpected twists and turns, and the sacrifices, separations, loves and friendships that we encounter along the way. 

Full of rich period detail and nostalgia, and written with Newberry’s natural empathy and insight into what it meant to live through times of upheaval and personal challenges, this gently uplifting story is a saga to savour. Published throughout most of her adult life, Newberry’s novels were always inspired by her own family’s experiences and this charming, drama-filled novel certainly packs in all the warmth, wisdom and heartfelt emotions that were the trademarks of her writing. And with the added bonus of a tasty, authentic and foolproof recipe for lamb chops and potatoes to try out, Newberry’s enchanting and heartwarming story is a delicious and wonderfully poignant read for spring and summer evenings.
(Zaffre, paperback, £7.99)