The Girl from the Workhouse by Lynn Johnson
Genre: Historical fiction
Read: 29th May 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 18th February 2020)
★★★★ 4 stars
Lynn Johnson transports readers back to the early 1900s in THE GIRL FROM THE WORKHOUSE, a debut novel that was an enjoyable and easy read. I've read a few novels featuring workhouses and it makes one thankful for the times that we live in today. They must have been such harsh places and folk must have been desperate to even consider going there. Despite the harsh realities of another time and era, it was indeed an engrossing escape back in time.
Set in the busy pottery town of Burslem in Staffordshire, the story begins in 1911 of 11 year old Ginnie Jones whose family have fallen on hard times with her father losing his job due to his failing eyesight. Little by little, Ginnie's mother sells of their trinkets and various belongings, including Ginnie's most prized possession of The Children's Book of Parables she won at Sunday School on her birthday, to try and make ends meet and pay the rent. However, it was all to no avail and the family soon packed themselves up and trudged up the hill to the workhouse. Ginnie's older sister Mabel was 16 and able to stay with a neighbour, aunt Nellie, as she could work and earn her keep there.
But Ginnie was to discover that life in the workhouse was even tougher when upon entry, her father was immediately sent to a different section and after being bathed and clothed in the workhouse uniform, she and her mother were also to be separated. As she was 11, she was too old to stay with her mother and too young to work, so she was sent down the road to Haddon House, where the children lived and she would go to school.
On her first night in Haddon House, she is introduced to young Clara who she befriends immediately and, as they are full to bursting already, the two girls share a bed. As Ginnie was used to sharing a bed with her older sister Mabel, she was comforted to have someone beside her. Despite it being tough in the early days, Ginnie soon falls into a routine and makes two special friends there - Clara and a boy named Sam. Although she is meant to attend school, it is shared with the village children who poke fun at the workhouse children and even more so at Ginnie because she can't read. She visits her parents up at the Big House occasionally but she never sees her sister who had promised to visit. When her mother dies, her father forbids her to attend the funeral stating that it is no place for a child. But Mary Higgins, Haddon House's mistress, secretly takes her to the funeral and they stay in the background so Ginnie can say her goodbyes.
Three years after first entering the workhouse, Mabel comes to Haddon to offer Ginnie a home with her and her new husband Frank. Without a word or a visit in three years, Ginnie (now 14) is angered that her sister wants to pull her out of the home she has come to love and feel comfortable in. But the law states that the parish will only pay for their keep as long as they have nowhere else to go...and Ginnie now has somewhere else. Now 19, Mabel reveals that she is pregnant and Ginnie would be of some help for her when the baby comes.
Grateful for a new start, Ginnie moves in with Mabel and Frank...but it soon becomes clear that she is to earn her keep by doing all the work Mabel should be doing to keep house instead of sitting idle all day. And then Mabel takes her down to Chamberlain's potters to beg for a job for Ginnie where she is given the dirtiest job of all as a mouldrunner. She works hard and come pay day is excited to receive her own money and begins planning on how she will save it to get Sam out of Haddon. But that is shortlived because as soon as she is home, Frank demands her wages for her keep...and Mabel still expects her to keep the house despite working the long arduous hours at Chamberlain's.
One afternoon, Ginnie comes across some women talking about the vote for women and it's there she comes across Miss Constance Copeland, whose mother was a Workhouse Friend and they would visit the children at Christmas. The two women recognise each other and it isn't long before they become friends, despite the difference in their classes. And over time, Connie proves to be a good friend to Ginnie when she most needs one.
Then war breaks out and soon men and boys are being sent off to fight for King and country, leaving the womenfolk wondering if they would ever return. Sam is discharged from the workhouse - thanks to Connie's mother - and is working in the mines. But it isn't long before he signs up to fight for his country and Ginnie becomes scared. What if she never sees Sam again? He is her best friend and she cannot imagine a life without him.
An enjoyable and poignant read, THE GIRL FROM THE WORKHOUSE pulls at the heartstrings as we follow the journey of Ginnie from a girl in the workhouse to becoming a young woman. Her friendships with both Sam and Connie are touching and incredibly heartwarming.
I love the dual timelines set before and after Haddon House, as well as her time during the workhouse. Her heartbreak, her contentment, her laughter and her tears. THE GIRL FROM THE WORKHOUSE is Ginnie's story of life, death, survival, heartache and ultimately happiness.
An enjoyable tale that was an easy read, THE GIRL FROM THE WORKHOUSE is perfect for readers of historical fiction.
I would like to thank #LynnJohnson, #NetGalley and #Hera for an ARC of #TheGirlFromTheWorkshouse in exchange for an honest review.
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