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 travelled 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."