by Beezy Marsh
First published 2018
Annie Austin is twelve when her childhood disappears into the steam and soap of an Acton laundry. She works beside her mother for pennies, then returns home to care for her younger brother George and two stepsisters while dodging the temper of her stepfather Bill. London between the wars offers girls like Annie little hope for escape. Her mother refuses to speak about Annie's real father beyond saying he died in the Great War. As Annie grows older, this silence torments her. She pushes for answers, but her questions threaten to tear apart what little family stability remains. When the truth finally surfaces, it changes everything Annie believed about herself. Unable to bear the weight of this revelation, she flees to Covent Garden. Now she must survive alone on London's streets while searching for the love and belonging that have always slipped through her fingers.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, found-family
Setting: Acton, Covent Garden, London
Period: Between the Wars, Great War
400 pages · Paperback · Pan Macmillan
Content warnings: abuse, child-abuse, domestic-violence