The Bad Penny by Lindsey Hutchinson
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, Victoria era
Read: 9th September 2023
Published: 14th September 2023
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
If you're born with nothing you have to make your own luck.
When Jared Johnson first meets Clarice Connaught he saves her from the hands of her father, who is brutally beating her in the street. Never one to walk past someone in distress, Jared doesn’t hesitate to help. But who is this girl and what is her story?
Jared Johnson started with nothing. At just twelve-years-old he was orphaned and homeless, but eight years later, Jared is a success. Running McGuire’s Rag & Bone Yard and surrounded by friends, all Jared needs now is to find the perfect girl to settle down with.
Nothing has come easy for Clarice but still she has dreams of a grander life and the finer things. And if her father isn’t willing to provide them then Clarice will do anything to find someone who is.
Jared and Clarice have one thing in common – they are survivors – and in Queen Victoria’s Birmingham you need your wits about you to keep the wolf from the door. But Clarice isn’t everything she seems, and like a bad penny that always shows up, she brings more trouble for Jared and his friends than they could ever have imagined…
Lindsey Hutchinson, the top 10 bestseller, Queen of the Black Country Saga, is back with a page-turning and heart-warming story perfect fans of Katie Flynn, Val Wood and Lyn Andrews.
MY THOUGHTS:
Her life can turn on the toss of a coin...
Birmingham 1894: We meet up with Jared Johnson once again as he manages Toby Maguire's Rag and Bone yard, this time not as a ragged orphan, but an established man of means and dreams. When he hears the screams of a young girl being beaten by her father, Jared immediately comes to her rescue of this damsel in distress. He offers her to afternoon tea and to take her on as a housekeeper to keep her away from her father's mean drunken fists. But Clarice has other ideas. Grander ideas. And they won't be found with Jared Johnson.
Clarice Connaught is the only child of John and Jenny, her mother having died of pneumonia after the death of a baby she tried birthing. Since then she has had to skivvy and keep house for her and her father while he works hard to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. At 19, John feels it's long past time Clarice got herself a job to help bring in another wage. That, or finds herself a husband. But again, Clarice has other ideas. None of which mean lifting a finger or become a man's skivvy.
As soon as Jared saw Clarice he was taken in by her beauty...and the stories she told him about her life at home. He worried for her and her safety and stopped by the next day to check on her. As he turned to leave, he was disheartened to see that she did not wait to see him off but had rather closed the door. Jared thought it was love at first sight...until he met Rose. Then life changes considerably as he finds love and secures his place in the world.
Wanting more than love and a life of skivvying, Clarice packs a few belongings and with the housekeeping money flees to find greener pastures. She wants a more comfortable life, a grander life. She wants money and status and all the things those have to offer which she won't find around here. And so she becomes Clara Christian and meets Clifford St John who introduces her to casinos. There she plays the hand she knows best - cards - and wins handsomely. Her appetite whet, she craves the tables and the winnings she collects from them, building her wealth and therefore able to keep herself in the luxuries to which she has grown accustomed. But like a bad penny, nothing lasts forever...
What a delightful read THE BAD PENNY is! I was so thrilled to revisit Jared and his friends at Maguire's once again. Though mostly feel good throughout, there is an emotional event that is both heartbreaking and lifechanging for Jared and everyone else. I love how they all band together like one big family. The two stories of Jared and Clarice are woven together nicely while two separate threads they still entwined on the fringes. As much of a bad penny Clarice was, I was actually please with her outcome despite the circumstances. And as for Jared? I'd love to see more of him, Rose and their friends.
As usual, Lindsey Hutchinson has woven another delightful tale that is worthy of 5 stars. It is an exceptionally easy and quick read easily devoured in one sitting.
I would like to thank #LindseyHutchinson, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheBadPenny in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Lindsey lives in Shropshire with her husband and Labrador, loves to read and enjoys photography.
Social Media links:
Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
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