Author: Ann Bennett
Published by: Forever on Oct. 5, 2021
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Source: Forever
Book Rating: 8.5/10
Two women uncover the secrets of the past in this emotional and poignant story that’s perfect for fans of Lisa Wingate and Kristina McMorris.
1934: Connie Burroughs loves living in the orphanage that her father runs in the English countryside. Exploring its nooks and crannies with her sister, hearing the pounding of a hundred pairs of feet on the wooden stairs, having a father who is doing so much good. But everything changes the day she sees him carrying a newborn baby that he says he found near the broken front gate. A baby she recognizes . . .
Present Day: Arriving at her father’s beloved cottage beside the Thames, Sarah Jennings is hoping for peace and quiet, and an escape from her difficult divorce. But when she finds her father unwell and poring over boxes of files on the orphanage where he was abandoned as a child, she decides to investigate his elusive past herself.
The only person left alive who lived at Cedar Hall when Sarah’s father was there is Connie Burroughs, but Connie sits quietly in her nursing home for a reason. The sewing box under Connie’s bed hides secrets that will change Sarah’s life forever, uncovering a connection between the two women that has darker consequences than she could ever imagine.
A heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting tale inspired by the lives of the children who lived at the author’s great-grandfather’s orphanage
Review:
Pensive, tense, and emotive!
The Orphan House is an engaging, mysterious tale that sweeps you away to the idyllic village of Weirfield and immerses you into the lives of two main characters, Sarah Jennings, a young woman who, after heading to her father’s home to regroup after her marriage falls apart, finds herself taking care of her father, purchasing a historic home, and endeavouring to rebuild a new life in a house that needs a lot of work and seems to contain a lot of hidden surprises; and Connie Burroughs, an elderly woman who, after a recent fall and subsequent move to an assisted-living facility, decides to let the memories she’s been protecting and her father’s long-buried secrets finally come to light.
The prose is evocative and expressive. The characters are focused, troubled, and attentive. And the plot, set in both the 1930s as well as present-day, is a tender, heartfelt mix of life, love, family, friendship, self-reflection, history, abuse, power, negligence, community, new beginnings, and second chances.
Overall, The Orphan House is a hopeful, absorbing, reflective tale by Bennett that, with its compelling storyline and endearing characters, I’m sure glad I didn’t miss.
This novel is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.
Thank you to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Wonderful review, this books sounds like one I would enjoy. I like dual-timelines and some intrigue and this fits the bill.
Have just finished reading “The Orphan House” and I give it excellent status. As I read, I was able to predetermine some of the story. I was quite sure I would find that Connie and Evie would not be related sisters, nor would Connie be the biological child of the “Reverend”. It was a relief to find that true by the end of the story. Evie, also an orphan, surprised me. I also knew Sarah’s father would be the child of Anna and Charles Perry. I suspected right in the beginning Sarah had jumped to the wrong conclusion regarding the relationship between her husband, Alex, and Jemma. I admired and “envied” your descriptive prose. Anna’s descriptions of India took me there, a country I know I will never actually see. I must admit though, Anna’s descriptions were far more romantic to read than my husband’s descriptions to hear of India as he saw it in 1953 on his return from his USA naval deployment to Korea. I enjoy writing and have had people say, “you should write a book” and in fact did just finish two volumes of family history for Story Worth. I write, however, like I speak, without a lot of embellishment.
Now I’ll have to find and read some of your other work.
Sincerely,
Dora Lee Alexander
I loved this book and so sad when I finished it. It was very hard to put down once I picked it up. I am encouraging everyone to read it.