Christmas Child
The 2019 Victorian romance from the Sunday Times bestselling author.
A perfect Dickensian saga for Christmas.
Christmas Day, London 1880. Snow falls … a dying Irish girl clutching her new-born baby drags herself to the sanctuary of an East End orphanage and throws herself on the mercy of the Sisters of Clemency. The nuns raise little Ettie O’Reilly as their own, but the lives of the nuns and orphans are soon crushed by an unscrupulous bishop. The heart-breaking outcome turns Ettie’s life upside down and Christmas will never mean the same again.
Will Ettie ever find her friend Michael Wilson whose secret holds the key to their past? Will Ettie keep her innocence and survive the traumatic events that are about to erupt?
My review
What a moving, tear-jerking yet ultimately heart-warming tale to open your Christmas reading season.
We follow Ettie’s eventful childhood and early womanhood as she grows up an orphan, then has to make a living in a cruel world. The author creates the Victorian setting so vividly, and shows us the great divide between the haves and have-nots.
Ettie is a superb heroine. She’s a complex, strong yet gentle girl, and somewhat guilt-ridden. She has a lot of hardships heaped onto her from the very start, far more than any one person should. Yet she never loses hope and perseveres courageously. She’s a coper and makes the best of the circumstances that surround her at any time.
The story sweeps us along and we invest deeply in Ettie, wanting things to come right for her. We’re delighted when she has her chance at romance but, of course, that doesn’t quite go smoothly…
This is a beautiful, touching and seasonal tale.
Purchase Links
Author Bio –
“Were there’s muck there’s money!” If my family had a royal crest I’m sure those are the words that would have been hewn into the stone above it.
Mum and Dad were both East Enders who were born on the famous or should I say the then infamous Isle of Dogs. They were costermongers selling fruit, veg and anything else that would stand still long enough!
Their family were immigrants who travelled to the UK from Ireland and France, while others emigrated to America.
As a child I would listen to the adults spinning their colourful stories, as my cousins and I drank pop under the table.
I know the seeds of all my stories come from those far off times that feel like only yesterday. So I would like to say a big heartfelt thank you to all my family and ancestors wherever you are now … UK, Ireland, France or America, as you’ve handed down to me the magic and love of story telling.
Carol xx
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Giveaway to Win Five dedicated signed paperback novels by Carol Rivers (Open to UK Only)
One winner will win the following signed books
“Lizzie Flowers and the Family Firm”
“Molly’s Christmas Orphans”
“A Wartime Christmas”
“A Sister’s Shame”
“Eve of the Isle”
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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