The Orphanage

Absolutely Heartbreaking Historical Fiction (Shilling Grange Children’s Home, Book 1)

By: Lizzie Page

Narrated by: Emily Barber

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Shilling Grange Orphanage, England, 1948. She was their only hope. Now they are hers. A gritty, heartbreaking, and unforgettable story of love and hope in the darkest of times.

Clara Newton is the new Housemother of Shilling Grange Orphanage. Many of the children have been bombed out of their homes and left without families, their lives torn apart by the war, just like Clara’s. Devastated by the loss of her fiancé, a brave American pilot, she is just looking for a place to start again.

But the orphans are in desperate need of her help. Funds are short, children cry out in the night, and tearful Rita tells Clara terrible stories about the nuns who previously ran Shilling Grange. Clara cannot bear to see them suffer, but what does she know about how to look after eight little ones?

Clara can’t get anything right, and then she accidentally ruins Rita’s only memento of her mother. Overwhelmed, she wonders if they’d be better off without her. But she’s not completely alone. Living next door is Ivor: ex-Shilling Grange resident, war hero, and handyman with deep brown eyes. He doesn’t trust Clara and she is fiercely independent, but he has a way with the children. And with his support and the help of other locals, Clara begins to find her way.

As she heals from her grief and adjusts to her new life, Clara wonders if she has finally found her home and family among the orphans. Can she find the strength to fight for them when nobody else will? And dare she open her heart to love again?

©2021 Lizzie Page (P)2021 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

I loved it.

I purchased the audible book and I enjoyed the storyline and the narrator. I will be looking forward to the next book.

What a wonderful book !!

If you love a very good story that you can't predict the ending of, this is It! Set in post WWII, a beautiful young woman gets let go of her job in London and faces a very limited job market as in the 50's weren't supposed to work outside the home. She ended up taking a job being a House Mother in a small orphanage far off in a small town in the English country side. From there, the story becomes a story of personal discovery. Can she manage an orphanage herself? What makes her think she can manage several children with a variety of problems when she has absolutely no experience? And what about her personal life? Will she ever find a man so wonderful as Michael: her American GI fiancée who died in the war?

Great book. Reading needed gaps

Great story. Great narration except there were not any needed gaps between paragraphs or moving into another subject. I found it to be a little offsetting and odd.

found it hard to follow and boring.

struggled to finish it. i found it difficult to follow and the story boring.

A confusing timescale.

This story was a little bit different to many about Orphanages, the narrator was good and the story line was good too. I'm looking forward to listening to the next in the series.
Occasionally the narrator didn't pause long enough between paragraphs which was noticeable when there was a subject change.
There seemed to be a discrepancy in the timeline there was a time when it mentioned Miss Newton had been there for 8 months which would have made it May but then next it was cold and snowing and March was mentioned. It got me a bit confused.

The Orphanage

loved this book. most entertaining. Couldn't stop listening to it. Thank you very much.

loved it, really loved it!

I loved the narrator's voice. very apt for every character.
It made me cry and made me laugh. Lots of twists and absolutely not predictable!
just when you think you wish
there was a book two, she tells you that too.
I will recommend this book to anyone and everyone
Thankyou very much Lizzie Page, and Emily Barber for one of the best