The Low Road

The weather outside was frightful. I had been through an exhausting emotionally exhausting experience, and I opened this book with few expectations as the author was new to me. I was immediately plunged into Victorian Britain and the problems the heroine faced.

Quarnby had clearly done her research and created a world that immersed the reader. Low Road is a classic saga in the manner of Catherine Cookson but with a Sapphic twist that pulls at your heartstrings.

When I emerged blinking, having turned the final page several hours later, I realized how pleased I was to live in today’s… show more.

Too much historical fiction concerns the lives of the privileged in society.

I prefer books that deal with the lives of the poor and their struggles to survive in societies lacking the safety nets we take for granted. Based on meticulous research about real events, The Low Road describes the life of a child as she moves from the safety of a Norfolk village through a series of institutions and periods of servitude, before being punished by transportation to Australia.

I loved the way the girl's suffering is handled with such restraint. It is frequently mitigated by the kindness of… show more.