Book review: The Foundling

Publication Synopsis:

‘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 - the last thing she expects to hear is that her daughter has already been reclaimed - by 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; 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, Sarah Halls and set against the vibrant backdrop of Georgian London, The Foundling explores families, secrets, class, equality, power and the meaning of motherhood.’

Genre: Historical fiction with female leads

Themes: social class, motherhood, power, trauma, loneliness and grief

My thoughts and notes:

I ADORED this emotionally driven, Georgian set read, I’ve read three other Stacey Halls

books, one which got me out a reading slump last year – Mrs England, which I also highly

recommend, especially if you’ve been lacking picking up a read recently.

Halls holds a great skill of transporting you to Historical England, joining the hustle and

bustle of Bess’ shrimp stall by the Thames in 1750’s. Her imagery and use of metaphors is

dazzling to the reader, aids the settling of the images in my mind, seeing Georgian London

through both the privileged and unprivileged of Bess and Alexandra. The story is told

through dual narration, alternating chapters from both women’s perspectives.

A story evolving from two halves of a whale bone heart, representing two opposite

households and love for young Charlotte.

I felt deeply for the main character Bess Bright, a woman of low class, fending for herself in

the dismal age of London. Bess gave her child to the foundling straight from birth, until she

could afford and was able to care for herself. The unexpected pregnancy from a moment of lust with a privileged ‘of town’ man, and so illegitimate added to Bess’ decision to keep it a complete secret from the outer world, but not her heart. Six years on, Bess felt ready and willing to buy back her child from the foundling, but it didn’t go as planned. A lot of my sympathy for Bess also stemmed from her complex relationship with her brother, someone she recalls being thick as thieves with, who grew to favour alcohol and greed, who

even turned his own back on his sister. Bess had a very little support, she was left fending

for herself majority of the time, other than one incredibly kind and wonderful friend Keziah,

whom we also have a glance into the racism of 18th century England, as she lives in an

outcast area of London with her young family. Keziah too, is an incredibly empathetic and

warm-hearted mother and character. As a character Bess was both endearing and

immensely realistic, juggling her personal heartaches and struggles of class and gender in

Georgian England. By the end of the book, Bess felt like a neighbour, likeable, caring and

brave- someone you ponder upon, how they came to be and amazement of her integrity and

love, in a world built against her.

Then we meet widowed Alexandra, a wealthy woman of the time, inhabiting a large and

glamorous house in a posh suburb of London. However, she lived by one rule- always stay

indoors, other than for church on Sunday. Keeping her company was her housemaids,

regular visitor Doctor Mead and sister Ambrosia, including something that knowingly

belonged to Bess. Alexandra had a real character journey for me, at the beginning I had a lot

of resentment towards her, for reasons you’ll understand if you read the book, but I shan’t

spoil entirely here. However, as the story evolves and we get to go underneath Alexandra

stern and sharpness, there’s a women scorned by death and fear, that has gripped her life

ever since, turning my resentment to sympathy, to feel so mentally trapped in the past- a

heavily withdrawn character, who inputs the same overprotection and detachment onto her

daughter. Her coldness was always in competition with an inner voice and need for warmth

in her heart. You can heavily feel the inner conflict in Alexandra’s mind and mannerisms of

inflicting her seclusion upon her daughter, and even sometimes herself. I began to admire

her inner strength, to know the truth but still have an open trying heart anyway, to care for

something that wasn’t her responsibility to keep- but at the same time I still felt there was an

element of deceitfulness to Alexandra, as she could’ve offered the child so much more,

earlier on in her life, limiting the pain on others and being honest with what was rightfully

hers to keep. Nonetheless, she was admirable and an unique portrayal of a privileged

woman in the 18th century.

These two women cross paths, when Bess Bright becomes the nursemaid for Alexandra,

caring for Charlotte, offering the girl a love and dedication she’d been longing for.

A storm of tense events brings the two opposite women together, focussing on the best

future for Charlotte, to bring her into a new world of life outside the home and an

unconditional devotion, something both the characters and readers can agree, all children

should experience and be surrounded by.

My standout quotes:

Chapter Two – ‘My breasts had leaked in the night, and my nightgown was wet, as though

my body was crying’

Chapter Three – ‘A slick white rope had been attached to her after she came out, that I’d

made inside me. It was grotesque, slick as an eel and milky as a pearl, with a slab of meat at

the end of it like a sheep’s lung’

Chapter Four – ‘But the river was the busiest street in London, and drowning would not be

quick or private, with hundreds of boats choking the water from the Middlesex to Surrey

banks, as far as the eye could see’

Chapter Ten – ‘people understood very little about their servants, yet servants knew their

masters intimately, in almost every way. Mine observed many things about me, but not

everything. Like sunlight on a yard, there were some parts always in shadow’

Chapter Ten – ‘I picked up my spoon and began to eat, but I’d brought death into the room,

and now it lingered like cigar smoke’

Chapter Fifteen – ‘Everything about him was shadow-like, as though he had been created by

the night, and could melt back into it at will’

What it meant to me:

What I most loved was the woven genres of class and motherhood, delicately told by Halls.

Not only did you live very different worlds in the same city, but you also understood and

appreciated the often-unheard experiences of motherhood. Class has never and will never

differentiate how a mother feels and cares for their child, love has no boundaries. If anything,

it portrayed how Bess had much more to sacrifice to regain her child, compared to

Alexandra.

I felt it was a story dedicated to womanhood, through all the complexities, grief,

expectations, heartbreak and suffering – they’re unwavering care and protection of childhood

stayed consistent. To each other too, perhaps, unexpectedly. Especially with International

Women’s Day just surpassing us last weekend, it left me thinking how amazingly bulletproof

women are and always have been. I wish and look forward to a world where women don’t

have to feel like their waging a war just to exist, but this story illustrated how wonderful and

precious female relationships and mutual understanding is. All the women in the story broke

social expectations and norms of the time, in their own journeys, which I really enjoyed

watching transpire.

Looking towards Mother’s Day this weekend too, it felt fitting to include this book review, as a

celebration of mothers past and present – they’re the reason we're all here today. Being a

mother planned or not, is a whole life dedication, not just financially but emotionally and

physically. However, that responsibility isn’t always endured by the ones who gave birth, it

can be taken on by others, through choice, which is just as greater appreciation and

celebration.

I wholly recommend this great read, especially if you’re already a fan or wanting to get into

historical fiction- this is the book to start!

I’d like to take this little snippet to celebrate my own mum, Collett, who has showed me the

power and comfort of unconditional love and support. I feel so appreciative to not just have

her as a mum but a best friend too, I’ve always strongly admired her strength, intelligence,

humour and devotion. A constant example of a blossoming flower, in a field of dust. I’m

forever thankful for her tireless belief in me, in whatever decision and route I take in life and

I feel very lucky to have grown up trusting I’m capable of anything and everything. I too,

always love having her as my Italian trip partner, oh how we do love a Hugo spritz and a

giggle on the beach. As always Colly, I’m forever grateful of everything you are and do for

me, love you lots.

Ensure to celebrate your mums, and those who have taken their place, forever blessed are we.

Till next time chicks, Jessie x