The Foundling: The gripping Sunday Times bestselling historical novel, from the winner of the Women's Prize Futures award

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Engaging but disappointingly straightforward historical fiction novel of one child torn between two women. Although I didn’t quite get the 18th century feeling, more the 19th, I did find the setting very atmospheric. Billingsgate came alive with the shouts of merchants shouting their varied fish and seafood offerings. I could smell and visualise the muddy pathways that seemed prevalent in every turn of the area, with the traps, carriages and horses that travelled on them. The Foundling Hospital within the novel is based upon a real place that existed within that time, but this novel is driven more by its characters than by historical events. Stacey Halls knows her craft though, and she has such a talent at creating mood and atmosphere, at conveying emotion through gesture as well as words. She is certainly an author who has earned her place as an historical novelist of note. Just as I raved about The Familiars last year, I will quite happily rave about The Foundling this year. Secondary characters from Bess’s siblings to Doctor Mead added to the tale. We also have elements of romance but these are secondary to the central theme of Bess and her daughter. Bess never stopped thinking of her daughter, and when she finally scraped together two Pounds with the intent to retrieve her daughter six years later, she was in for an unwelcome surprise. I won't divulge more, although the publisher's blurb might have already done so. Suffice it to say that a mystery and fraud were perpetrated, and the author caused me some serious heart palpitations and nail biting before the novel ending.

Stacey Halls has done it again! I was so mesmerised by The Foundling that I read it in one sitting. If you enjoyed the writing style of The Familiars and the mix of fiction and history, then you will ADORE this one as well.

lucycrichton

The main reason was it felt a little bit one dimensional. Child taken at birth, mother goes in search of her daughter years later, but there were no other layers or twists to the story. Hence the 4 stars. MY THOUGHTS: Don't expect this to be a deep and gritty read, because it's not. It is a light read, but it is also touching. The Foundling” is written by Sunday Times bestselling author Stacey Halls and is her second novel, after the success of “The Familiars” last year. This story is narrated by two women: (1) Bess Bright, a young, lower-class boiled shrimp vendor living in the slums with her father Abe and useless brother Ned, and (2) Alexandra Callard, a youngish rich widow living a pampered but extremely limited life. We follow Bess and Alexandra as Bess serves in her household and is loved by Charlotte more than Charlotte loves Alexandra.

These feminine vessels we inhabited: why did nobody expect them to contain unfeminine feelings? Why could we, too, not be furious and scornful and entirely altered by grief? Why must we accept the cards we had been dealt?“ Alexandra was a complex character, not at all like what she appeared to be on the surface. She comes across as emotionally unresponsive, but she is stitched together with trauma, and as more and more details are revealed as the novel progresses, it becomes impossible to take her at face value. Bess was less complex, but driven by a mother’s love and fury at her circumstances costing her the ability to fulfil that role, and in this, she was a formidable character with much about her to be admired. Although she’s sad to be asking for the chance to leave Clara in their care, Bess sets her mind to patiently saving the money needed to reclaim her. Like the other mothers, Bess also leaves a token by which Clara can be identified. Who has taken Clara? Overall, an informative and interesting read that I would recommended to historical fiction fans who want a lighter, entertaining story, rather than a richly detailed intense plot.Much of the book was realistic and believable, as were the actions taken by each of the characters.