The Orphanage Girls Come Home

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 heartbreaking conclusion of an emotion-packed trilogy from favourite saga writer Mary Wood.

Inspired by her own childhood in the East End of London, Wood sweeps us back to the early years of the 20^th century 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) 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.

In London in 1910, Amy was chosen to be a part of a programme to resettle displaced children in Canada but her great sadness was saying goodbye to Ruth and Ellen, the friends who became family to her during the dark days at the orphanage. As she stepped aboard the ship to Montreal, the promise of a new life lay ahead but during the long crossing, Amy discovered a terrifying secret.

In Canada, as the years pass, Amy’s Canadian experience is far from the life she imagined. She always kept Ruth’s address to hand – longing to return to London and reunite with her dear friends. But it’s 1919 and after the world has been ravaged by war, it seems an impossible dream. Separated by oceans, will Amy the orphanage girl ever come home? Wood ratchets up the emotional temperature in this final, gripping tale of the orphanage girls which comes packed with heartbreak, drama, rich period detail, and the harsh realities of life in the early 20^th century and during the years of the First World War. Written with insight, warmth and the empathy gained from her years working with a cross-section of society, Wood’s story is a moving and enthralling rollercoaster from first page to last, and a thrilling final chapter in the lives of three memorable friends.   
(Pan, paperback, £7.99)