The Orphan of Ironbridge (Ironbridge Trilogy #3) by Mollie Walton
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, Victorian era
Read: 23rd March 2022
Published: 15th April 2021
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Shropshire, 1875.
Hettie Jones has grown up in Ironbridge. She has never known her father and, since her mother's death, has been brought up by the Malone family, who treat her as one of their own. She works as a pit girl at the local coal mine, alongside her childhood playfellow, Evan - although lately, their friendship seems to be blossoming into something more.
But when Queenie King takes a fancy to her, Hettie's life is transformed. Trained first as a lady's maid, and then hurtled into a world of luxury and gentility, she finds her new position difficult to reconcile with her past life. And with Queenie's daughter-in-law scheming against her, Hettie's situation becomes dire.
Can Hettie really use her new position for good, and will she find a way to bridge the divide between rich and poor?
MY REVIEW:
When I read "The Daughters of Ironbridge" I was immediately drawn into the story of Anny and Margaret that upon finishing it, I delved straight into "The Secrets of Ironbridge" immediately. If I thought the first one brilliant then it's sequel was phenomenal! The only disappointing factor being I had to wait a further seven months or so for the release of the final book completing the trilogy THE ORPHAN OF IRONBRIDGE. Over a year later, I finally got around to reading it...and despite the length of time between now and when I read the last book in September 2020, it was like I had never left. Once again I was swept away in the beauty and magic of the tale, because that is essentially what it entailed. And this final story completes the trilogy, bringing each of the stories that have taken place across all three of the books together and completing them. And what a perfect ending it was, although I was sad to leave Ironbridge and all the much-loved characters behind.
While the trilogy began in 1830, the year is now 1875 and many of those who have gone before have come and gone, leaving remnants in their place. After the fire of the King's residence, Southover, some seventeen years prior which claimed the lives of Margaret Ashford (nee King) and Owen Malone, the remains of the once grand house have merely served as a reminder to all of the tragedy which had befalled the two families across that great divide of class.
Anny Malone (nee Woodvine) had once been an idealistic young girl who befriended the rich young heiress Margaret King when they were children, but circumstances came between the two when they both fell in love with the same young man, Jake Ashford. Betrayed, Anny was sent to prison and Margaret eloped with Jake returning only after the death of her father, her marriage long since broken and with a daughter Beatrice in tow. As a young woman, Beatrice fell in love with young Owen Malone who was Margaret's former friend Anny's son. Anny had not forgiven Margaret for her betrayal and forbid Owen to have anything to do with the Kings, including Beatrice. But neither would listen to their mothers who wanted neither of them to have anything to do with the other. But fate had other plans, as did Beatrice and Owen, but on a night when the brickworkers decided to take a stand against the Kings and their rule fate stepped in and tragedy struck when Southover was set fire to and Owen braved the flames to save his love and ended up claiming his life. Since then, Anny has blamed the Kings for the death of her son despite her old friend Margaret also perishing in the fire.
Now the year is 1875 and the curse which has befallen the Kings rears its head once again as matriarch Queenie, now ninety six, sees the vision of maid Betsy Blaize once again declaring that "the child is the answer" who will "bring the two houses together". Having outlived her children and grandchildren, Queenie has but one great granchild left, Beatrice Ashford, who now lives in America and wants nothing to do with the King estate having claimed the lives of her mother and the love of her life. So when she dies, Queenie's wealth (the King wealth) will pass to her daughter in law Benjamina King who currently runs the business. The two women share no love loss between them and Benjamina quietly counts the days until the old woman pops her clogs and she inherits all, as she believes is her right. But she has miscalculated her wise old mother in law as Queenie has other plans for her fortune.
When Martha Jones quietly passed in 1861 leaving her three year old daughter Hettie all but an orphan, Anny Malone took her best friend's daughter in and raised her as her own amongst her own brood of children. No one knew where Martha had come from when her childless Quaker parents adopted her, her past a mystery to all but one. And when she passed, that person remained in the background of young Hettie's life until the time was right.
Hettie Jones had grown up in a pit family and though they were poor they wanted for nothing. The Malones were not her family by blood but they were her family in every sense of the word. Since her mother died when she was three years old, Hettie assumed her father who had been transported to Australia almost two decades ago for being responsible for the fire at Southover had died out in the colonies. So when there was a knock one evening at the Malone's door, no one was more surprised to find Adam Jones standing there than Hettie. From that moment on, she intended to keep the silent promise she had made to her mother to look after her father should he ever return. But Adam Jones wasn't the same man as he once was. He was now a broken man and a drunkard. Anny's second son Evan had grown up alongside Hettie and the two were inseparable as two friends could be. And upon Adam's return, Evan was loath to see how his behaviour was affecting his beloved Hettie. For Evan harboured a secret love for the girl he had grown up with and hoped to one day make her his bride. But no matter what Evan said, Hettie would not abandon her father nor the promise she made her mother.
But life was about to change for both Hettie and Evan in a way that neither of them, nor Anny, could imagine. And when Queenie's beloved lady's maid suddenly died, leaving her bereft, the matriarch knew then it was time to put her plan into action; to make things right once and for all. She offered Hettie, a pit bank girl, the position of lady's maid which Hettie gratefully accepted not knowing the great wheels she would thus be setting in motion. For Hettie's advancement places her in a whole new league which estranges her from her peers who now see her as above them and thus leads to unforeseen circumstances, adding intrigue and other complications to the storyline.
As the final installment of the trilogy, THE ORPHAN OF IRONBRIDGE deserves a more than satisfactory end. It deserves to go out with a bang, complete with surprise and satisfaction. And it did not disappoint. It was a bittersweet experience as I knew it was coming to a close and that I would miss all the characters of whom I have become so fond. I have loved each of the stories in this wonderful trilogy and this one just brings the entire saga full circle with a culmative conclusion that is fully deserved.
Those who have followed the series from the beginning will know that each book has not been complete without the matriarch Queenie King doing what what she does best. And in THE ORPHAN OF IRONBRIDGE she comes up trumps with her ingenuity in such a delightful twist in which she really does have the last laugh. Queenie has been, of course, a firm favourite of mine and most likely many others with her quick quips and sharp tongue but a heart of gold. When all is said and done, Queenie knows the heart of truth and where destiny truly awaits. I will miss her and the other much loved characters of Ironbridge.
THE ORPHAN OF IRONBRIDGE truly is a fitting end to a lovely trilogy and I enjoyed it just as much, if not more, than the others. The reader is transported back in time to the industrial age of the Victorian era when the divide between the classes was still vast. One did not cross that divide for any reason - there are the working class, the middle class and the upper class...and never the twain shall meet...ever. But this trilogy seeks to bridge that divide in each brilliant installment yet each in somewhat different ways. It is cleverly done, well-written and skillfully plotted blending real history, period detail and a wonderfully authentic story entwined with love, loss, intrigue and hope. It is, essentially, a classic saga.
THE ORPHAN OF IRONBRIDGE can be read as a standalone, as with each of the stories, but read together the reader can appreciate the past, the present and the future as a whole. Starting at the beginning with "The Daughters of Ironbridge" before moving on to "The Secrets of Ironbridge" will pave the way for you to read the final part of this breathtaking and lovely trilogy.
I thoroughly recommend THE ORPHAN OF IRONBRIDGE, as well as the entire trilogy, for any fan of Dilly Court, Catherine Cookson and Lindsey Hutchinson. You will not regret it. Once read it will never be forgotten.
I would like to thank #MollieWalton, #Netgalley, #ZaffreBooks for an ARC of #TheOrphanOfIronbridge in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Mollie Walton is the saga pen-name for historical novelist Rebecca Mascull.
Rebecca Mascull is the author of three historical novels. She is currently hard at work on her next trilogy of historical fiction, with the first novel out in April 2019, published by Bonnier Zaffre as The Ironbridge Saga. These are published under the pen-name of Mollie Walton and the first book in the series is set in the dangerous world of the iron industry: THE DAUGHTERS OF IRONBRIDGE.
Her first novel THE VISITORS (2014) tells the story of Adeliza Golding, a deaf-blind child living on her father’s hop farm in Victorian Kent. Her second novel SONG OF THE SEA MAID (2015) is set in the C18th and concerns an orphan girl who becomes a scientist and makes a remarkable discovery. Her third novel, THE WILD AIR (2017) is about a shy Edwardian girl who learns to fly and becomes a celebrated aviatrix but the shadow of war is looming. All are published by Hodder & Stoughton.
She also completed the finishing chapters of her friend and fellow novelist Vanessa Lafaye’s final work, a novella called MISS MARLEY, a prequel to Dickens’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL. This novella was published in November 2018 by HarperCollins.
Rebecca has previously worked in education, has a Masters in Writing and lives by the sea in the east of England.
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