A fire and other trauma leave young Bobbin Derby with a blank memory and no apparent family. She is raised in an orphanage. Despite adversity, she is precocious, reading everything she can find. Her sweet, infectious nature wins friends, benefactors, and unexpected opportunities. Over time, she deals with her troubled past, rises in society, inherits a bookshop, lands a good marriage, and even finds her long lost … She grows into a lovely humanitarian and lifts up all those around her.
William Miller: “A tear-jerker. Touches the heart many times over. Inspiring and full of insights. A must-read. I loved this one of Kennedy’s … and have read all of her wonderful books.”
Brenda Norquist: “A sweet and inspiring story of growth and the uplifting of the downtrodden … I loved it. Kennedy is a superb writer in this genre of British historical fiction … she follows the morals and manners of the day.”
Norma Saken: “I didn’t know I was interested in the Victorian Era until I started reading Carol Kennedy’s novels. Her attention to every detail of this time-period is remarkable for someone born in 20th Century America. Her prose is beautifully written and descriptions so accurate it’s as though she’s traveled through a time machine to write her novels. She brings together the lives of both the privileged with those less fortunate in a way to elicit understanding as well as sympathy for both ends of the social spectrum. There are even two novels (Bobbin’s Journal and Holybourne) I felt were appropriate reads for my 12-year-old granddaughter. Through reading these books, she has grasped not only this very rich period of history but gained an understanding of life long before today’s technology.”
