Louella and Effie live in the protected environment of wealthy New
Yorkers in the Victorian era. Roaming about their wooded
neighborhood, they discover gypsies camped in a field. Drawn to the
colorful life the girls keep returning.
When the girls
discover that their father is guilty of a shocking indiscretion, they
act out their unhappiness. Louella becomes wild. Eventually, she is
sent away. Effie thinks she’s been sent to the House of Mercy, a
nearby home for wayward girls where they are virtually imprisoned and
worked to death. Longing to find and rescue her sister, Effie gets
herself admitted to the House of Mercy, but finds escape is not so
easy.
The story is told
from three points of view although the first half of the book is in
Effie’s voice. After she enters the House of Mercy, we have
chapters by Mable a girls who befriends her, and Jeanne, her mother.
I loved Effie’s character. In spite of her poor health, she is
plucky and takes on challenges that in some cases are beyond her.
Luella is less likable. However, she seemed to have grown into a much
more compassionate person at the end.
This is a story that
tells of the terrible treatment of women and girls in the Victorian
era. It’s hard to believe that religious institutions like the
House of Mercy were so merciless and treated the people confined in
their care so poorly. The book is well researched, and I found the
scenes in the House of Mercy well done and interesting. The author
discusses some of her research in the Afterword.
I received this book
from Harlequin for this review.
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