Victorian Orphan

Long ago in London Town, at a time when the muffin man's cries began the day and the lamplighter ushered in the night, two young orphans lived together in the bleak, cold shelter of a public workhouse.

She wanted sanctuary... Helena Reynolds will do anything to escape her life in London, even if that means traveling to a remote cliffside estate on the North Devon coast and marrying a complete stranger. But Greyfriar's Abbey isn't the sort of refuge she imagined. And ex-army captain Justin Thornhill - though he may be tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome - is anything but a romantic hero. He needed redemption... Justin has spent the last two decades making his fortune, settling scores, and suffering a prolonged period of torture in an Indian prison.

For nearly a century, Victorian London relied on "climbing boys" - orphans owned by chimney sweeps - to clean flues and protect homes from fire. The work was hard, thankless and brutally dangerous. Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is quite possibly the best climber who ever lived. With her wits and will, she's managed to beat the deadly odds time and again. But when Nan gets stuck in a deadly chimney fire, she fears her time has come. Instead, she wakes to find herself in an abandoned attic - and not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature - a golem - made from ash and coal.

As a lady's companion, Clara Hartwright never receives much attention from anyone. And that's precisely how she likes it. With a stormy past, and an unconventional plan for her future, it's far safer to remain invisible. But when her new employer is invited to a monthlong holiday at a remote coastal abbey, Clara discovers that she may not be as invisible as she'd hoped. At least, not as far as one gentleman is concerned.

Solicitor Tom Finchley has spent his life using his devious intellect to solve the problems of others. As for his own problems, they're nothing that a bit of calculated vengeance can't remedy. But that's all over now. He's finally ready to put the past behind him and settle down to a quiet, uncomplicated life. Former lady's companion Jenny Holloway has just been given a modest independence. Now, all she wants is a bit of adventure. A chance to see the world and experience life far outside the restrictive limits of Victorian England.

It's been three years since Laura Hayes' father died, leaving her and her invalid brother to subsist on the income from the family's failing perfume business. But time is swiftly running out. What she needs is a husband, and fast. A noble gentleman who can rescue them all from penury. When a mysterious stranger arrives in the village, he seems a perfect candidate. But Alex Archer is no hero. In fact, he just might be the opposite.

A helpless baby is forsaken in a churchyard. This is how life begins for orphan Emma. Unwanted, cast aside, and thrown on the mercy of strangers, she grows up wondering why. And what are the mysterious gifts each year, placed where her cradle was once abandoned? Now blossomed to youthful beauty but shunned by society, the man she loves is forbidden to marry or court her. 

Dora Wentworth is born out of wedlock in one of the poorest parts of Liverpool. Abandoned by her family, she is brought by God into the arms of a childless fisherman and his wife. But life is cruel, and when an accident prevents the fisherman from working, they are forced to give her up to the orphanage. As Dora grows, neglected and alone, she almost gives up on her dreams of one day having a home and a love she can call her own. Then, through the kindness of a stranger, Dora discovers that there is always hope and embarks on a path that might finally lead her to the family she has dreamed of.

In the heart of 1875 Victorian London, where the city's ruthless streets guard the darkest of secrets, two orphaned souls stand defiant in the face of adversity. Prepare to embark on an extraordinary Christmas journey - a tale of unyielding courage and a love that defies all odds. As their beloved mother departs from this world, young Emma is burdened by the haunting question of why their father vanished into the shadows. Her quest for answers takes a backseat to the relentless struggle for survival.

Drugged and supposedly drowned by the mother who should have loved her, six-year-old Gwendoline is dredged from the Saltwick River. Poverty-stricken but rich in love, Mr. and Mrs. Paul love the tiny child as their own, until hard times and tragedy drive them to the workhouse. From this slavery, Gwendoline flees her present horror, only to run headlong into her unknown past, with consequences that tumble through the generations.

When 12 year-old Jared Johnson’s little sister dies, just hours after his mother breathes her last after wasting away so her children could eat, he knows he is on own. Desperate to avoid the workhouse, he does everything he can to survive the inhospitable streets of Birmingham. Jared is blessed with the gift of the gab and soon attracts the attention of the King of the Tatters, Toby McGuire. Recognising a kindred spirit, Toby soon has Jared out on a cart hustling for rags.

Anastasia is a completely average almost-eleven-year-old. That is, UNTIL her parents die in a tragic vacuum-cleaner accident. UNTIL she's rescued by two long-lost great-aunties. And UNTIL she's taken to their delightful and, er, "authentic" Victorian home, St. Agony's Asylum for the Criminally Insane. But something strange is going on at the asylum. Anastasia soon begins to suspect that her aunties are not who they say they are. So when she meets Ollie and Quentin, two mysterious brothers, the three join together to plot their great escape!

In March 1876, the life of eight-year-old Josephine Mary Jones changed forever. Torn from the protection and love of her family and her beloved wolfhound, Clyde, Josie finds herself cold and alone at the Foundling Hospital, where her spirit and outspokenness is seen as nothing but trouble. Josie desperately misses her family and Clyde, but there is one small glimmer of hope in her otherwise grey and endless days: a foundling boy by the name of Leo Hastings.

Being a maid at the Highmore estate is hard work, but it offers food and a warm place to sleep. And it is there she meets Nate, an orphan like herself. Forming a fast bond, Charlotte is thankful she can count on Nate. Until tragedy strikes, and Nate is removed from the estate, leaving Charlotte shattered.

Nora is forced into the workhouse at eight years old with her younger sister when they lose their parents. Hungry, lonely, and scared, the sisters lean on each other to get through a miserable existence of backbreaking work. When Nora is able to find work in the home of a titled lady, she's forced to leave her sister behind. Frightened for her sister's well-being, she returns to the workhouse after several months away, but her sister is gone. Desperate to find her, Nora resorts to lies and deceit to get a job as a maid for a wealthy merchant.

On a cold, lonely Christmas Eve, 15-year-old Dovie Ellis gives birth to a baby girl she names Christmas. Lost and afraid in the world, Dovie flees, abandoning her child that very same night.

London, 1879. When Ella's family is forced to live on the streets of London's East End, tragedy strikes, forcing Ella and her sister, Mary, into an orphanage where they endure long hours of hard work. When Ella is apprenticed to a cobbler, she's forcibly separated from her sister. The cobbler is a cruel man, using beatings to keep the workers in line. Ella's saving grace is Seth, who becomes her only friend. Then Seth divulges a shocking secret.

Will the sins of the mother condemn the daughter to a life of loss? London, 1879. At just 13 years old, Florence Smith's life will change forever. Losing almost everything, she must grow up quickly and hope that a secret scandal does not come back to haunt her. Florence and her grandmother Queenie are forced to move when the family Queenie works for falls on hard times. Florence is devastated to be leaving the only home she has known and Marcus the young lad she’s harbouring a crush on. Queenie is forced to flee to where their story began.

It is 1874, and a lost little girl stands shivering outside Coll’s Bakery. No one on Lupin Lane recognises her, and the ever-present dangers of Whitechapel leave the fatherless child helpless. What can the elderly couple do but take this bedraggled and hungry orphan into their heart and home? Other than her name, Isabella’s past and how she ended up on Mr. and Mrs. Coll's doorstep remains a mystery. As Isabella flowers into a young woman, the secrets of the past float to the surface, as do family feuds and savage enemies of the innocent girl.

Baby Sophie. Forced to dance for her dinner. Used and abused to feed the greed of those who should have been her carers. Her tiny gypsy feet sore with blisters, until they are big enough to run away and find the love she has lost. Perhaps young Byron Adams, her childhood friend and protector, will seek her out. Their secret childish love, so tragically torn apart, leaves little chance that this could ever happen.