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Black Country Orphan
- Narrated by: Penelope Freeman
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
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1850. When Opal Sharp finds herself and her younger siblings suddenly orphaned and destitute, she thinks things can get no worse. But soon three of them - including Opal - are struck down with the illness that took their father from them, and her brother Charlie is forced to make an impossible decision. Unable to afford a doctor, he knows the younger children will not survive. So, unbeknownst to Opal, Charlie takes their younger siblings to the workhouse, where he knows they will at least be fed and have a roof over their heads. Opal is heartbroken and struggles to forgive him.
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Fantastic book
- By Darlyn Hoffman on 02-06-2023
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A Valley Dream
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- Narrated by: Julia Franklin
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Overall
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Performance
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The first book in Anna Jacobs' wonderful Backshaw Moss series. 1935. At 36, Bella Porter is dependent on her abusive cousin, acting as an unpaid servant. When a kind relative leaves her a house in the village of Backshaw Moss, Thomas tries to take it from her, but she defies him and grasps this chance of a new start in Lancashire. It is not going to be easy, though.
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Another cracker!
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Publisher's Summary
Black Country Orphan is a moving story of the courage and strength of women, by the Sunday Times best-selling author Annie Murray.
The early 1900s: Cradley Heath, a town in the Black Country near Birmingham and centre of the world’s chain-making trade.
Lucy Butler, a young girl crippled by a cruel accident, lives with her two brothers and widowed mother, a chain-maker barely making ends meet. When tragedy strikes, the Butler family is separated and Lucy is taken in by Bertha Hipkiss, another impoverished chain maker, struggling to look after her own family.
Lucy, while feeling the loss of her own family, relies on the company of Bertha’s two sons, charming Clem and straight-laced John. Though clever at school, Lucy knows she must leave and earn her keep, working many hours in the backyard forge. The five women toiling side by side, inevitably have their own friendships and squabbles. But they’re united in their hatred of loathsome middleman Seth Dawson, who treats the women with contempt and keeps their pay punishingly low.
But by the 1910s, there is a movement stirring, as across the country workers begin unionising for their rights. For Lucy, Bertha and the women of Cradley Heath, the promise of a better life seems almost too much to hope for - and the fight may end up costing them everything....
Critic Reviews
"Just the right mix of mystery and nostalgia." (Birmingham Friends)
"This heart-warming story is a gripping read, full of drama, love and compassion." (Soldier Girl)
"This epic saga will have you gripped from start to finish." (Chocolate Girls)