The Runaway Children: The heartbreaking, page-turning new historical novel from Lindsey Hutchinson

Lindsey Hutchinson

Feb 2022 · Boldwood Books Ltd

About this ebook

A heart-warming historical novel about surviving against the odds and finding a family, from top 10 bestseller Lindsey Hutchinson.

In two rundown houses, at the side of a barren heath, live six children with no family but each other. Abandoned or orphaned, every day is a fight to find food and keep warm. But they are determined to stay free of the clutches of the workhouse and the horrors that would face them if they were ever torn apart.

Dora Parsons lives with her mother Mary and her evil grandmother Edith. Edith’s house may be comfortable and warm, and food is plentiful, but every day Dora suffers at the hands of her spiteful gran. Desperate to protect her child, Mary longs to run away but she has no money to keep them alive and nowhere else to call home.

When fate intervenes and Mary and Dora meet the children, events are set in train that will change all their lives forever. But will the friends find peace and comfort at last, or does the chill of the winter signal the most desperate ending of all...

The top 10 best-seller is back with a heart-breaking, page-turning story of survival, friendship and what it means to be a family. Perfect for fans of Catherine Cookson, Val Wood and Lyn Andrews.

Praise for Lindsey Hutchinson:

'A great story with a great mix of characters, well written and keeps you hooked with each page turn!' Sarah Davies, NetGalley

'A wonderful read ... The author writes so well, it's a really hard novel to put down!' Grace Smith, NetGalley.

'Make sure to read this book where you won't be disturbed because once it gets going, you won't want to put it down' Andrea Ruiz, NetGalley

'A very poignant, feel-good-factor novel' Shelia Easson, NetGalley

'Excellent story!' Stephanie Collins, NetGalley

'The story will linger in your mind long after you finish it' The Avid Reader

Ratings and reviews

What a wonderful book full of love and joy. I loved these children, their nicknames and their antics and their pure joy for life and love for each other. They had nothing but they had everything they needed. They accepted life as it came to them and made the best of it. Surviving on very little and making it enough. This book had to be written somewhere before 1930 because it talks of workhouses and they were abolished in the U.K. in 1930. It talks of a scarlet fever outbreak which is written about in 1920 as being particularly bad that year. so I am thinking that this book was set in the 1920's. I is set in Wednesbury, England close to the Tame River. Dora and her mother live with her grandmother and have for all of Dora's life. Her grandmother is a hateful spiteful bitter woman that hates Dora and make her life and her mother Mary's life miserable. Dora and her grandmother fight all the time. One day Dora meets a boy called John Skinner but everyone calls him Skinny. Then she meets the other children living in two abandoned houses at the edge of town. She becomes friends with them, but her grandmother tries to put a stop to Dora having friends. Dora and Mary stay because they have no money and nowhere else to go. When Dora's Grandmother hits Dora with her cane and breaks her arm then Mary knows she has to get Dora away from there, but how and where to go. Will Dora's friends help them or will they continue to live with the grandmother that is mean and spiteful? With no money and no job Mary does not know what to do and winter will soon arrive. She must find a way for her and Dora to survive. This story is truly magical and the ending is so beautiful. You won't want to miss reading this wonderful story. I enjoyed every page and I recommend it. Thanks to Lindsey Hutchinson for writing a wonderful story, to Boldwood books for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

loved this book was enjoyable from when I first turned the page to finish 😀 thanks for a throughly enjoyable read 📚 😀

Absolutely loved this book from start to finish. Hooked on the story right from the beginning.

About the author

Lindsey Hutchinson is a bestselling saga author whose novels include The Workhouse Children. She was born and raised in Wednesbury, and was always destined to follow in the footsteps of her mother, the multi-million selling Meg Hutchinson.