The Orphan with No Name by Shirley Dickson
Genre: Historical fiction, WW2
Read: 15th September 2024
Published: 19th September 2024
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
England, 1942: ‘Will I ever find my mammy or daddy?’ She looks up, her bright blue eyes full of unshed tears, but the kind nurse gently says, ‘Sweetheart, if you can’t remember your own name, I don’t think you’ll ever find them…’
Waking up in a rickety hospital bed, the sweet ten-year-old girl with soft blonde hair and flushed cheeks is lucky to be alive. But all she can remember is the screech of the air raid siren. The nurses call her ‘Rosie’, and hope someone will save her. But no one does, and without a family, she is taken to Blakely Orphanage in Scotland under the supervision of the strict Miss Black.
The only glimmer of hope is her new friend Alice and the two lost girls decide to become make-believe sisters. They help each other through the long, hard hours with Miss Black standing over them as they work in silence, wondering if they will ever escape.
One day, Rosie watches a beautiful woman in a pretty dress and a tall, handsome man step through the gates. Her heart squeezes as she hopes they might be her mammy and daddy. But Rosie’s heart shatters when they take the hand of a little boy and leave the orphanage.
Slowly, Rosie begins to piece together the mystery of her past despite Alice telling her they don’t need any adults. But if she does find her mammy and daddy, will she remember them? And will she ever have a happy family again – or is there more heartache to come?
From the bestselling author of The Orphan Sisters comes a page-turning and unputdownable World War Two story of a little girl who loses everything and her journey to finding a place she can call home. Perfect for fans of Lisa Wingate, Nadine Dorries and Diney Costeloe.
MY THOUGHTS:
Welcome back, Shirley Dickson! It has been so long since the author has released a book I had begun to wonder where she'd got to. But her latest book has arrived to deliver a wonderful yet heartbreaking tale that will warm you from the inside out and keep you snuggled until you turn the final page.
I have read all of the author's books and I love how she incorporates something or other into each of her books to link them without being a series. In this case, it is Blakely orphanage, which evacuated to Scotland after the orphanage itself suffered a hit in an air raid.
The story begins in South Shields once again as we meet the little girl who survived an air raid when so many others were killed but her injuries meant that she had no memory of who she was, her name or where she came from. The nurses called her Rosie and after being shifted from the children's ward to the women's ward, Rosie is sent north to Scotland to Teviot Hall where Blakely orphanage now resides. The journey is both unfamiliar and frightening as Rosie watches South Shields disappear from view and into unfamiliar territory.
At he orphanage, run under the strict hand of Miss Black, Rosie befriends the spiky Alice who herself was a foundling left on the doorstep of the old Blakely orphanage almost 14 years before. The orphanage is the only thing Alice knows but she is approaching the age where she will soon leave to go into domestic service. With a huge chip on her shoulder, Alice is unruly, spiky and argumentative at almost every turn. But Rosie brings a calmness to Alice and the two become inseparable...make believe sisters.
Rosie dreams of recovering her memory and finding what became of her parents and why they never came looking for her, which is a bone of contention with Alice who harbours nothing but resentment for the woman who abandoned her on the cold doorstep without a second thought.
The two girls are unlikely friends and while they all suffer under Miss Black's harsh rule, kindness soon comes to the orphanage. First, in the way of the visiting American airmen who wish to sponsor the orphans and then in Miriam, Miss Balfour, who has been with the orphanage for many years. When an accident sees Miss Black housebound to recuperate, the orphanage gets a new lease of life under Miss Balfour's caring hand. But there is always the shadow of Miss Black's imminent return.
This is a moving tale from start to finish in Shirley Dickson's trademark way and I couldn't put it down until I turned the last page, reading it in one day. It is naturally predictable but in a good way and ends with that feelgood sense you have when finishing a wonderfully emotional story.
I hope it's not another three years before Shirley Dickson brings out another as I love her books and can't wait for the next one. If you like Lindsey Hutchinson, you will love Shirley Dickson.
I would like to thank #ShirleyDickson, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheOrphanWithNoName in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Shirley Dickson was born and grew up in the seaside town of South Shields. She left school at fifteen and can’t remember a time when she didn’t write. She entered her first short story competition in ‘School Friend’ when she was eleven. After Shirley retired from auxiliary nursing, she was able to devote her time to writing.
After living in various locations, she settled under the big skies of Northumberland and has lived with her husband in the same house for over forty years. Shirley has three daughters and four grandchildren and likes nothing better than family gatherings.
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