Orphans Home

Virginia, 1933: Lauren Greenwood was born to look pretty and land a rich husband. For her and her high-society family, it’s easy to forget that America is in the devastating grip of the Great Depression, where children run wild in the streets, endless queues for soup kitchens line sidewalks, and desperation hangs in the air. But when a young servant comes to Lauren, pregnant and begging for help, her world crumbles. Someone she loves is responsible, and when she finds out the shocking truth she must decide: Protect the Greenwood name or be cast out?

Molly Ayer has been in foster care since she was eight years old. Most of the time, Molly knows it's her attitude that's the problem, but after being shipped from one family to another, she's had her fair share of adults treating her like an inconvenience. So when Molly's forced to help an elderly woman clean out her attic for community service, Molly is wary. Just another adult to treat her like a troublemaker.

Heading west in search of a new beginning, Lily Harmon loses her heart to little Maddie Cullinan, an orphan whose father was presumed killed in a bloody battle of the War Between the States. Lily adopts Maddie, so the young widow and the bereft little girl begin to make a new home together in frontier Wyoming, unaware that Maddie's father, former Union Army Major Luke Cullinan, is very much alive. An angry, determined man who has sworn to reclaim his cherished daughter, Luke is hot on Lily's trail. Nothing, and no one, had better stand in his way. An evocative, poignant story of the healing...

On the island, everything is perfect. The sun rises in a sky filled with dancing shapes; the wind, water, and trees shelter and protect those who live there; when the nine children go to sleep in their cabins, it is with full stomachs and joy in their hearts. And only one thing ever changes, on that day each year when a boat appears from the mist upon the ocean carrying one young child to join them - and taking the eldest one away, never to be seen again.

Edie’s hopes of serving overseas are dashed when she’s sent to be a Land Girl in a sleepy Cumbrian village. Prue has shut the world out since her son went away to fight. Yet when asked to take in a Land Girl and two little evacuees from London, she has no choice. Edie’s heart breaks seeing the children’s cold welcome. But when the evacuees take in a stray puppy, even Prue can’t say no. Edie realises Applefield Manor could become a sanctuary. But can she persuade Prue to open her heart, and her home?

Four orphans have escaped from the Home for Friendless Children. One is Lucy, who used to talk and sing. No one knows why she doesn't speak anymore; silence is her protection. The orphans find work and new friends at a traveling circus. Lucy loves caring for the elephants, but she must be able to speak to them, and to warn others of danger. If Lucy doesn't find her voice, she'll be left behind when the circus goes on the rails. Meanwhile, people are searching for Lucy, and her puzzling past is about to catch up with her.

The Galveston Orphans Home of Texas has been a fixture of the historic city for over a hundred years. Surviving the great storm of 1900 and giving children a place to call home, there are countless stories about the house’s rich history.