#BlogTour: The Foundling by Stacey Hall @stacey_halls @ZaffreBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n #TheFoundling #StaceyHall

Book Synopsis:

Two women, bound by a child, and a secret that will change everything . . .

London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London’s Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst, that Clara has died in care, she is astonished when she is told she has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl – and why.

Less than a mile from Bess’s lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend – an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital – persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart.

From the bestselling author of The Familiars comes this captivating story of mothers and daughters, class and power, and love against the greatest of odds . . .

The Foundling is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

I was a huge fan of this author’s first book so I couldn’t wait to see what she’d come up with next. I wasn’t disappointed as this is historical fiction at its finest!

Firstly I love books that manage to include real historical details into the story as it’s very enjoyable to look up extra information on the internet. The realisation that The Foundling Hospital actually existed and people were in the awful situation described at the beginning of the book was incredibly heart wrenching. Even worse that rich people,who could have helped, used to buy tickets to enjoy watching people in such a desperate situation is mind blowing and I really can’t believe it used to happen!

The author has clearly done a lot of research and I enjoyed reading about all the little details that helped bring the era to life. It was interesting to read about the stark differences between the classes at that time and how little help was available for the poor.

Overall I thought this was a highly emotional, absorbing read which I flew through in a couple of hours as I wanted to find out what would happen next. I enjoyed following the believable characters and trying to work out what had happened. As you can probably guess from the blurb it is a very emotional story and I often found myself getting teary whilst reading. I’m very thankful that society has moved on and we have different attitudes now.

Huge thanks to Tracy for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Zaffre for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Stacey Halls was born in 1989 and grew up in Rossendale, Lancashire. She studied journalism at the University of Central Lancashire and has written for publications including the Guardian, Stylist, Psychologies, The Independent, The Sun and Fabulous. Her first book The Familiars was the bestselling debut novel of 2019. The Foundling is her second novel.