Stacey Halls’ new novel, The Foundling, begins on a cold November evening in 1747 with Bess Bright about to make a very difficult decision, one no new mother should ever have to face. She has brought her illegitimate baby daughter, Clara – less than a day old – to London’s Foundling Hospital and is planning to leave her there. Aware that, as an impoverished shrimp seller, she has little to offer her daughter but hunger and hardship, she is sure Clara will have a happier childhood at the Foundling, where at least she will be fed, clothed and educated. As she walks away from the hospital, leaving her baby behind, Bess consoles herself with the knowledge that it needn’t be forever; she has left a token – half of a heart made from whalebone – as proof of identity if she is ever in a position to bring Clara home again.
After six years of working hard and saving every penny she can, Bess returns to the hospital to collect her child, dreading being told that Clara has died of some childhood illness. Nothing can prepare her for the shock she receives when she enters the Foundling and is informed that her daughter has already been claimed – by someone who gave her name as Bess Bright and knew about the whalebone token. Bess is horrified. What has happened to Clara? Who has taken her little girl and what have they done with her?
I was very impressed with The Foundling, my first Stacey Halls novel. Although there wasn’t as much mystery as I would have liked and some of my biggest questions were answered a lot earlier than I’d expected, I was still kept in suspense wondering whether there would be a happy ending for Bess and her daughter or whether fate would have something else in store. I liked Bess and loved the descriptions of the London in which she lived and worked, from her lodgings in Black and White Court, where the alleys are ‘choked by coal smoke’, to the lively fish markets of Billingsgate where she and her father sell their shrimps.
However, this is not just Bess Bright’s story. It’s also the story of another woman, Alexandra Callard, a widow who is leading a very different sort of life in another part of London. Apart from attending church, Alexandra hasn’t left her elegant townhouse for years and neither has her little girl, Charlotte. Just the thought of going outside and walking along the street fills her with fear and she’s convinced that her child will be safer indoors too. Then one day, a friend persuades her to employ a nursemaid to help with Charlotte and the arrival of a new face in the household poses a threat to the secure little bubble Alexandra has built around herself.
I didn’t like Alexandra as much as Bess, but bringing a second narrator into the story – especially one who lived in such a different world – added variety and the chance to see things from another perspective. Unlike Bess, Alexandra doesn’t have to worry about money and has everything she needs within the four walls of her luxurious home, but due to her mental health problems her life is still not very happy. We eventually find out what has caused her agoraphobia and I did have a lot of sympathy, but I still found her a cold and rather selfish person.
As well as the two contrasting views of Georgian London, The Foundling explores several other interesting issues, particularly what it means to be a mother and what sort of environment is the most suitable in which to raise a happy, healthy child. The way the book ended was probably the best outcome, but I think there were at least two other possible endings and either could have been used to make a valid point. Having enjoyed this so much, I will have to read Stacey Halls’ previous book, The Familiars, about the Pendle Witch Trials.
She Reads Novels 
I’m sold! That whole premise of a mother having to give up her child and then coming back to reclaim her only to find her gone is a powerful one. This is definitely a book I really want to read. 🙂
Yes, it’s an interesting premise and sad to think there were so many women in that position.
Hmm, that sounds interesting, although I don’t think that anyone in those days would expect much from a foundling home, except the child not starving and perhaps not even that.
My thought exactly!
I read about the real Foundling Hospital after finishing this book and it was a well-known children’s charity in Georgian London and did aim to offer a bit more than the average children’s home or orphanage. It still didn’t sound perfect though, as it was always short of money, and you would have to be desperate to send your child there.
That sounds likely.
I’m making a note of this one. Not available on Netgalley so I will have to look elsewhere. Thanks for the review.
I hope you can find a copy somewhere. It’s such a great book.
From the blurb, I could probably make a fairly educated guess about what happened to Bess’s daughter in the first place, but I think it would still be worth reading in order to discover the reason and resolution. It’s already available on Audable, so I might check it out.
There was no real mystery about Bess’s daughter and we find out what happened to her very early in the book. The rest of the story is still interesting, though, and I really enjoyed it.
Excellent review!
Thanks!
I am a sucker for foundling stories. So Dickensian! I will add this one to my lists.
I love them too. This book did have a bit of a Dickensian feel, despite being set a century earlier.
I bounced off a different book by this writer, but it seems I’ll have to take a look at this one.
That must have been The Familiars, as I think Stacey Halls has only written two books? I’ll be interested to see what I think of that one.
I really liked The Familiars, although that may have been because it’s set at Gawthorpe Hall which isn’t that far from me, but haven’t read this one yet. I’ll get round to it some time!
I’ve got The Familiars reserved from the library so should be reading it soon. I hope I like it as much as this one!