The Chinese Shawl by Patricia Wentworth: A Miss Silver Mystery

If one has to be an orphan, it is helpful to be an heiress, however modest, and be reasonably attractive. Laura Fane has “white skin, dark hair, and the grey-green eyes which were her real beauty.” She lost her parents when she was just five, after her father’s decision to jilt his cousin Agnes when he met and fell for Laura’s mother caused a family rift. Now 21, she has come to London to meet with a lawyer about her inheritance. She currently receives £400/year, mostly from renting her father’s home, the Priory, to her Cousin Agnes, and she works as a secretary at a convalescent home for soldiers.

Grimbold's Other World by Nicholas Stuart Gray #20BOS26-3

The villagers do not know what to make of Muffler, a foundling named after the white scarf he was wrapped in when discovered in a hen’s nest. Brought up by a childless couple, Simon and Meg, he is a goatherd (but not a lonely one), talking to his herd, composing rhymes and telling stories.

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

What could be more fun for someone whose first library card came from the Boston Public Library than a book set at its iconic headquarters in Copley Square? When I heard that Kate Quinn was launching The Astral Library at WGBH-Boston where I sometimes volunteer, I offered to help at the event and persuaded my friend Susan to come as well. It was billed as an engaging conversation with the New York Times bestselling author, Quinn, moderated by fellow bestseller and her friend, G.R. Macallister. I was not familiar with Macallister, who has written a bestselling fantasy series called The Five Queendoms, but she seemed congenial.

Searching for Shona by Margaret J. Anderson, a WWII evacuation story

Marjorie Malcolm-Scott leads a lonely but privileged existence in Edinburgh, living with her Uncle Fergus, who has been gone for months (war work?) and his disagreeable housekeeper, Mrs. Kilpatrick. Sometimes when she is sent outdoors to play, she goes to the local park and observes the rough and tumble orphans from St. Anne’s. 

Emily Climbs by L. M. Montgomery, for the #1925Club

When I was about 13, my family went to Martha’s Vineyard to spend part of a weekend with my father’s law partner. His children were younger so I begged to be taken to the local library (What, you say, you needed an excuse?). And what do you think I found on a discard table near the Chilmark Library door but a three-book series I’d never heard of by the author of Anne of Green Gables - also set on Prince Edward Island but about a different orphan. They were first edition hardcovers; unfortunately falling apart, but I have cherished them anyway. All three are delightful page-turners.

Strangers in Time by David Baldacci - a WWII Novel

With a title like this, I was expecting time travel but, in fact, this is a historical novel set during WWII that brings together three individuals into a found family. It is London 1944, and Molly, 15, has lived in the country as an evacuee for five years and is finally returning home. She is worried that she hasn’t heard directly from her mother for years and, with no warning, her father has stopped paying a stipend to the family that housed her. When Molly reaches her house, appalled by the devastation she finds in London, only the housekeeper is there to greet her.

Nancy and Plum by Betty McDonald, for the #1952Club

It is Christmas Eve, and Nancy and Plum are alone at Mrs. Monday’s Boarding Home in so-called Heavenly Valley, while Mrs. M, her spoiled niece, Marybelle, and the other orphans are enjoying the holiday in the city.  When the sisters dash outside to watch some merry sleighs go by, they are accidentally locked out of the house on a very cold night. But Nancy and Plum are intrepid: they take refuge in the barn, find a lantern, play with some kittens, crank the stove in the harness room so they can roast some potatoes they extract from the root cellar, and play imaginary games about having a family. They are stunned to find an empty box from their Uncle John, showing that although he left the girls at this boarding house years ago, he has sent gifts they never received.

Alhambra by Madeleine Polland, historical fiction for the #1970Club

In this juvenile historical novel by highly-regarded Irish author Madeleine Polland, a young boy who has lost everything clings to his Spanish heritage. Alhambra is my second book for the 1970 Club, hosted by Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings and Stuck in a Book. 

The Maplin Bird by K.M. Peyton

In this historical novel set in 19th century England, orphaned siblings escape their abusive relatives and try to make a new life for themselves in a coastal fishing village.

After Emily and Toby Garland’s parents die from cholera, they are lucky to have a home with Uncle Gideon and Aunt Mercy, although it’s hardly charity, as Toby (16) is beaten often and works unpaid on his uncle’s boat while Emily (15) slaves away on household chores.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

Title: The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club
Author: Helen Simonson
Publication: Dial Press, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Seaside England

Description: Recently orphaned Constance Haverhill is staying at the Meredith Hotel at Hazelbourne-on-Sea as a sort of companion to elderly Mrs. Fog (in reality, they are chaperoning each other). Mrs. Fog’s daughter, Lady Mercer, and Constance’s mother had been at school together and continued as neighbors when one married a lord and one a farmer, exchanging favors. During the Great War, Constance did invaluable work running the Mercers’ estate office but has been relieved of her (unpaid) duties once the men returned home.

Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle

Title: Meet the Austins
Author: Madeleine L’Engle
Publication: Laurel-Leaf paperback, originally published in 1960
Genre: Juvenile
Setting: New England

The original cover

Description: The Austins are a close-knit family of six – John is 15, Vicky, 12, Suzy 9, and sensitive Rob about five – they say grace at meals, Mrs. Austin reads aloud to all four at bedtime, and Dr. Austin is an old-fashioned country doctor with an office in his home as well as at a local hospital. Their lives are disrupted when their courtesy-aunt Elena calls to tell them her husband and his copilot were killed in a plane accident.

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones

Title: Enchanted Glass
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Publication: Greenwillow Books, hardcover, 2010
Genre: Juvenile fantasy
Setting: Present day England

Description: Aidan Cain, an orphan who just lost his grandmother, ran away from foster care when unnerved by the mysterious creatures that have started pursuing him. In desperation, he took the train to a village outside London to find a sorcerer his grandmother had corresponded with for years, only to learn old Jocelyn Brandon is dead.

Daughter of Lir by Diana Norman - Reading Ireland Month 2024

Title: Daughter of Lir
Author: Diana Norman
Publication: Headline Books, paperback, 1988
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 12th century Ireland

Description: Taken from Ireland and abandoned at a French convent in the Loire Valley at 6, Finola is renamed Sister Boniface and brought up by the nuns, then at 18 is chosen to be Abbess of Kildare in Ireland. Her focus on her new Abbey and not the warring factions around it is disastrous and she makes a serious enemy, Dermot of Leinster.

The Annam Jewel by Patricia Wentworth #DeanStreetDecember23

Title: The Annam Jewel
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Dean Street Press, paperback, originally published in 1925
Genre: Mystery
Setting: England

Description: Several years previously, James Waring partnered with two other unscrupulous men to steal the Annam Jewel from its shrine in a holy place in Asia. He did not survive for long but managed to tell part of his story and give the jewel to his brother, Henry.

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer – for the #1940Club

Title: The Corinthian
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: Bantam, paperback, originally published in 1940
Genre: Historical Romance
Setting: 19th century England

It’s time for the #1940 Club, hosted by Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings, featuring books published in a particular year.

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn – historical fiction set between the wars

Title: The Whalebone Theatre
Author: Joanna Quinn
Publication: Knopf, hardcover, 2022
Genre: Historical England
Setting: 20th century Britain and France

Description: Cristabel Seagrave, a neglected orphan, grows up between the wars in a Dorset manor house, with half-sister Flossie and cousin Digby who follow her on every adventure. When a 7-foot whale is beached nearby, the children are fascinated, as is a larger-than-life Russian artist who appears at the same time with his family and becomes part of the Seagraves’ lives.

Flambards by K.M. Peyton, one of my favorite orphan stories

Title: Flambards
Author: K.M. Peyton
Illustrator: Victor G. Ambrus
Publication: World Publishing Company, hardcover, 1967
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Setting: England, 1908-1912

Description: In the first of this four book series, orphaned Christina is forced to go live with her Uncle Russell, and his sons, Mark and Will, at their home, Flambards, 40 miles outside London in the countryside. Mark and his father are obsessed with horses while Will is obsessed with machinery and aviation. Christina, just 12, is an heiress but used to be shuttled from relative to relative, all indifferent to her wellbeing.

Day 16 – The Foundling Museum

There was a Tube strike on Tuesday, and while their dispute over pensions and job cuts is probably legitimate I can only imagine the negative economic impact of the strike during high tourist season, not to mention lost productivity as workers come in late or not at all.

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

Title: Prince Caspian
Author: C.S. Lewis
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
Publication: Puffin paperback, originally published in 1951
Genre: Juvenile Fantasy/Series
Setting: Narnia

Description: In the second Narnia book, the four Pevensie children are on their way back to boarding school when they are catapulted back to Narnia. Unfortunately, Narnia has changed since they left it as Kings and Queens and they are horrified to realize they are in the ruins of their former palace of Cair Paravel – with nothing to eat but apples.

How to Be Brave, a modern school story by Daisy May Johnson

Title: How to Be Brave
Author: Daisy May Johnson
Publication: Henry Holt & Co., hardcover, 2021
Genre: Middle-grade fiction
Setting: 21st century England

Description: Elizabeth North survived the loss of her parents with the help of the Good Sisters at her boarding school and an obsessive interest in ducks.