The Orphanage Girls Reunited

Mary Wood

A GROUP of girls who met when they were trapped by circumstances in the cruel confines of notorious London orphanage take centre stage again in the second book of an emotion-packed trilogy from favourite saga writer Mary Wood.

Inspired by her own early years living in the East End of London, Wood sweeps us back to 1912 and into the trials, tribulations and hard-fought victories of three friends who helped each other to survive the privations of a Bethnal Green orphanage.

These heartbreaking but also inspirational tales are full of the grit and hardship that have become hallmarks of a storyteller who writes straight from the heart. Wood (pictured below), who lives between Blackpool and Spain, worked in the probation service in both Lancaster and Blackpool, and her hard-hitting and moving historical sagas reflect her own experiences with people from all walks of life, helping her to bring a rich authenticity to her writing. Here, we meet up again with Ellen and Ruth who fear that they may never again find their good friend Amy after she was taken from the orphanage and put on a boat to Canada with the promise of a new and better life across the ocean.

Ellen, who was abandoned by her father for the second time and left scarred from her years at the orphanage, has finally found happiness and hope after being reunited with her long-lost grandmother at her house near Leeds.

Despite feeling loved and cared for her – particularly by her grandmother’s warm and kindly housekeeper Dilly – it cannot compensate for being torn apart from her beloved friends Ruth and Amy. And when a devastating encounter leaves Ellen broken and desperate, she is forced to fight her past demons.

Meanwhile, Ruth has found peace, building a new life as an actress and surrounded by new friends. But she still longs to be with Ellen and Amy after everything they endured together in the orphanage. Amy was shipped to Canada with hundreds of other orphans and Ruth fears that she has little hope of ever finding her. One wish comes true when Ruth’s acting career leads her to Ellen but no sooner has the dust settled than war appears on the horizon. Friendship locked them into each other’s hearts forever but does this approaching conflict mean they are destined to never reunite?

Wood ratchets up the emotional temperature in this gripping tale which comes packed with heartbreak, drama, rich period detail, and the harsh realities of the early 20^th century as Ruth and Ellen battle the slings and arrows of love, life and loss. Written with insight, warmth and the empathy gained from her years working with a cross-section of society, Wood’s new story is a moving and enthralling rollercoaster from first page to last, and will leave readers longing for the final chapter of the girls’ turbulent lives.
(Pan, paperback, £7.99)