100 books like Dora's Workhouse Child

By Dolly Price,

Here are 100 books that Dora's Workhouse Child fans have personally recommended if you like Dora's Workhouse Child. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Goblin’s Bride

Laurie Bowler Author Of The Realm of Witches

From my list on fantasy you will get lost inside of.

Why am I passionate about this?

I especially love reading fantasy stories and stories based on actual historical events. I've been an avid reader since I was a little girl; while my siblings were playing outside or inside with toys I was the one sat curled up in the corner reading. I've also worked hard and gained qualifications in creative writing. I've also had a passion for writing and have written my own fantasy novels; being an author is simply amazing because you can create characters that are unique and special as well as true to life, plus you get to create worlds that are entirely different to our own. 

Laurie's book list on fantasy you will get lost inside of

Laurie Bowler Why did Laurie love this book?

I loved this book because it is both captivating and well written with different worlds and forbidden romance. This story is based not only on enemies who become lovers but also has sizzling tension and an epic dark mystery element, all beautifully written and combined. 

This book immediately pulled me into the author's world. The tension inside was just as unique as the storyline itself. There is nothing quite like reading a book that has you on the edge of your seat but melting your heart at the same time; definitely, a surprising and unique twist combining many elements.

By Leigh Kelsey, Lysandra Glass,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Goblin’s Bride as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Marry him. Kiss him. Kill him. But never love him.

The goblin prince killed my sister. For years, I've waited for justice, and I've finally found the perfect opportunity: Kier Kollastus, the prince himself, will agree to peace with his human enemies if a sacrifice is given. A human bride.

With my face veiled and my knives hidden, I offer myself as the prince’s sacrifice, wearing a liar’s smile as I wait to cut his throat when he sleeps.

But Kier is indestructible except for one night every year. And worse—he’s not the barbarian goblins are supposed to be. He's…


Book cover of The Workhouse Waif

Laurie Bowler Author Of The Realm of Witches

From my list on fantasy you will get lost inside of.

Why am I passionate about this?

I especially love reading fantasy stories and stories based on actual historical events. I've been an avid reader since I was a little girl; while my siblings were playing outside or inside with toys I was the one sat curled up in the corner reading. I've also worked hard and gained qualifications in creative writing. I've also had a passion for writing and have written my own fantasy novels; being an author is simply amazing because you can create characters that are unique and special as well as true to life, plus you get to create worlds that are entirely different to our own. 

Laurie's book list on fantasy you will get lost inside of

Laurie Bowler Why did Laurie love this book?

This book of the historical workhouse days makes you think and value everything we have today. The tale is heartwrenching and portrays the struggles people faced all those years ago and the treatment they received if they ended up in the workhouse. At times this storyline made me cry, but no matter what the characters faced or what life threw at them, they still fought back and didn't give up. This is a descriptive storyline showing the clear divide between the rich and the poor and the way the sometimes cruel treatment of the poor. 

The descriptions of the workhouse personally made me value not only my family and those around me but everything that I own because historically, people didn't have anything really; in comparison, we are genuinely spoilt with everything we have today and the way our country has reformed, not to mention the assistance available which wasn't…

By Lynette Rees,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Workhouse Waif as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Destined to a life of poverty, this little girl has bigger plans in life...

After the death of her father in a mining accident, Megan and her family had no choice but to move to the local workhouse. Separated from her mother and five siblings, young Megan must learn how to stand on her own two feet.

But one day she meets a young boy who's stealing apples from the local market and together, they set out on a path to find a better life for themselves...

A heartwarming saga, perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Katie Flynn and Nadine…


Book cover of Dragon Soul: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance

Laurie Bowler Author Of The Realm of Witches

From my list on fantasy you will get lost inside of.

Why am I passionate about this?

I especially love reading fantasy stories and stories based on actual historical events. I've been an avid reader since I was a little girl; while my siblings were playing outside or inside with toys I was the one sat curled up in the corner reading. I've also worked hard and gained qualifications in creative writing. I've also had a passion for writing and have written my own fantasy novels; being an author is simply amazing because you can create characters that are unique and special as well as true to life, plus you get to create worlds that are entirely different to our own. 

Laurie's book list on fantasy you will get lost inside of

Laurie Bowler Why did Laurie love this book?

This is a box set containing the complete Daughter of Shadow series. Four full-length books filled with spellbinding fantasy romance. The Daughter of Shadow series is a slow-burn and slow-build romantic fantasy that will have you on the edge of your seat sometimes. This is absolutely perfect for those who love reading about unique worlds combined with supernatural creatures such as elves and dragons. This series will draw you into a fantastic world of pure fantasy featuring strong, fiercely protective men who will do anything for the story's heroine, who just so happens to be the centre of their world. The story's heroine is a strong, mighty, magical woman who is a well-written and relatable character. 

By LJ Swallow,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dragon Soul as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A sorceress with dark magic who’s a threat to the kingdom. Three powerful men from the royal courts sworn to protect her. And a pet dragon with a secret.

The dragons are dead, the Ebon Queen has destroyed the elven realms, and the courts are at war. The queen’s dark magic is growing in strength, and the kingdom is losing the battle against her. Three men are sent from the Silvercrest stronghold to seek others who can aid their cause.

Leander, a high-ranking and domineering High Lord. Rohan, a fierce and seductive knight of the realm. Galen, a deceptively gentle…


Book cover of Chosen

Laurie Bowler Author Of The Realm of Witches

From my list on fantasy you will get lost inside of.

Why am I passionate about this?

I especially love reading fantasy stories and stories based on actual historical events. I've been an avid reader since I was a little girl; while my siblings were playing outside or inside with toys I was the one sat curled up in the corner reading. I've also worked hard and gained qualifications in creative writing. I've also had a passion for writing and have written my own fantasy novels; being an author is simply amazing because you can create characters that are unique and special as well as true to life, plus you get to create worlds that are entirely different to our own. 

Laurie's book list on fantasy you will get lost inside of

Laurie Bowler Why did Laurie love this book?

Chosen is an incredible action-packed book that had me on the edge of my seat throughout. From the strong heroine, fantastic hero, and a whole group of crusaders banding together as they fight the very thought out and realistic villain. The depth of the characters is intriguing along with the way the author has set the scene throughout the story. The fight scenes are graphic which adds the extra ‘wow’ factor to the entire story. I personally loved this as a book that you can truly sit back, relax, and be pulled out of this world into the world the author has created. 

By K.F. Breene,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Chosen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This series is what K.F. Breene does best - strong heroine, incredible hero, and a community of underdogs that never say die! Binge this completed series!

"What an incredible action packed adventure!" ★★★★★

"If you like a strong female, great plot, awesome characters, sexy alpha male who is gonna be more complex than you first thought...and a great villain. Then READ THIS SERIES. ★★★★★

It is said that when war threatens the world, one individual will be selected by prophecy to lead the Shadow Warriors out of the Land of Mist and reclaim the freedom which has been stolen.
~~…


Book cover of Victorian London: The Life of a City 1840-1870

Margaret Walsh Author Of Sherlock Holmes and The Molly Boy Murders

From my list on set in or about the Victoria Era.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have loved the world of Sherlock Holmes and the Victorian era ever since I first read A Study in Scarlet at age nine. Despite life getting in the way, I never lost my love for the character and the period. I continue to read both to this day. The five books I mention below are five that have stayed with me over the years. I hope you enjoy the books as much as I do.

Margaret's book list on set in or about the Victoria Era

Margaret Walsh Why did Margaret love this book?

I really loved the way this book told the story of London across the Victorian era. I often call London my spiritual home, and books about the city always capture my attention. Each chapter covers a separate topic, such as the Middle Class, Buildings, Amusements, etc., with interesting stories for each one.

I love the book as it is the sort I can pick up if I only have a few minutes to read.

By Liza Picard,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Victorian London as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Like her previous books, this book is the product of the author's passionate interest in the realities of everyday life - and the conditions in which most people lived - so often left out of history books. This period of mid Victorian London covers a huge span: Victoria's wedding and the place of the royals in popular esteem; how the very poor lived, the underworld, prostitution, crime, prisons and transportation; the public utilities - Bazalgette on sewers and road design, Chadwick on pollution and sanitation; private charities - Peabody, Burdett Coutts - and workhouses; new terraced housing and transport, trains,…


Book cover of The Little Immigrants: The Orphans Who Came to Canada

Valerie Knowles Author Of Strangers at Our Gates: Canadian Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1540-2015

From my list on capturing Canada’s colourful immigration history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Canadian freelance writer, who has a BA in honours history from Smith College, an MA in history from McGill University, and a Bachelor in Journalism from Carleton University. As I have a special interest in Canadian history and Canadian biography, I have authored books in these subject areas. These include an award-winning biography of Sir William Van Horne, a polymath and railway general who pushed through the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Cairine Wilson. Canada’s first woman senator, who was celebrated for her work with refugees in the 1930s and 1940s, and a best-selling survey of Canadian immigration and immigration policy, Strangers At Our Gates.

Valerie's book list on capturing Canada’s colourful immigration history

Valerie Knowles Why did Valerie love this book?

Journalist, author, and retired United Church minister, Kenneth Bagnell has written a vivid account of the thousands of slum children (not all of them were orphans) who were dispatched to Canada from 1869 to the late 1930s by well-meaning philanthropists, philanthropic rescue homes, and parish workhouse schools. At the time, this seemed to be the ideal solution to a two-pronged problem: what to do with the tens of thousands of children from the slums of Britain who faced a bleak future there and how to meet the soaring demand for cheap labour on Canadian farms.

By Kenneth Bagnell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Little Immigrants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Little Immigrants is a tale of compassion and courage and a vivid account of a deep and moving part of Canadian heritage. In the early years after Confederation, the rising nation needed workers that could take advantage of the abundant resources. Until the time of the Depression, 100,000 impoverished children from the British Isles were sent overseas by well-meaning philanthropists to solve the colony's farm-labour shortage.

They were known as the "home children," and they were lonely and frightened youngsters to whom a new life in Canada meant only hardship and abuse. This is an extraordinary but almost forgotten…


Book cover of Half a Soul

Anne Rollins Author Of The Solitary Rose

From my list on Regency romances with a touch of magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up an avid reader of children’s and YA fantasy, which is how I discovered the subgenre of Regency fantasy. When I stumbled across Wrede and Stevermer’s work in libraries and used bookstores, I absolutely loved it. As an adult, I enjoyed exploring the Regency romances of older authors like Georgette Heyer and Marion Chesney as well as more recent Regency writers. But when I began writing romance myself, I went back to the fantasies that were my first introduction to the Regency era. My Regency novels are primarily romance, with just a pinch of magic, but I hope both romantasy fans and historical romance readers can enjoy them.

Anne's book list on Regency romances with a touch of magic

Anne Rollins Why did Anne love this book?

Atwater’s Regency fairy tales include not just human magicians but also the fae.

In Half a Soul, an elvin lord tries to steal Theadora Etting’s soul, but her quick-thinking cousin helps her preserve half of it. With only half a soul, though, Dora both thinks differently and feels emotions differently than other people. (Author Olivia Atwater has said that Dora’s magical condition parallels real-life neurodivergence, and autistic readers may see themselves in Dora.)

Because of those differences, Dora believes herself to be unlovable, but she is proven gloriously wrong when she encounters Elias Wilder, one of the most powerful sorcerers in Europe. She and Elias work together to stop a magical plague threatening vulnerable children in workhouses. 

By Olivia Atwater,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Half a Soul as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

“Whimsical, witty, and brimming over with charm” (India Holton), Olivia Atwater’s delightful debut will transport you to a magical version of Regency England, where the only thing more meddlesome than a fairy is a marriage-minded mother!

It’s difficult to find a husband in Regency England when you’re a young lady with only half a soul.

Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment—an unfortunate condition that leaves her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season—but when Elias Wilder, the strange, handsome,…


Book cover of What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England

Jonatha Ceely Author Of Mina

From my list on understanding women in 19th century England.

Why am I passionate about this?

Some years ago, I believed that after I had read the “famous” 19th-century novelists Jane Austen at the beginning of the century, the Brontes, Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens more or less in the middle, and Henry James, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton at the end, I had “done” the century and was disappointed that there was no more of worth to entertain me. Wrong, of course. Maria Edgeworth (Anglo-Irish) was a revelation; Catherine Maria Sedgewick (American) opened my eyes to New England; Margaret Oliphant (Scottish) combined the “weird,” spiritual, and a ruthless realism about family dysfunction. So I'm still reading. The 19th-century novels of Great Britain and America are an avocation and a passion.

Jonatha's book list on understanding women in 19th century England

Jonatha Ceely Why did Jonatha love this book?

Curious about the century that produced works as varied as Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Bleak House? This is the book for you! Because it is organized by topics—money and social precedence to begin and the workhouse and death to end—it is easy to dip in and out of. It has added greatly to my understanding of 19th-century fiction. The invaluable glossary at the end lists terms that are strange to us in the 21st century and gives clear brief definitions. Now I know that loo was not an English euphemism for a toilet and that a ha-ha was not a joke! 

By Daniel Pool,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A "delightful reader's companion" (The New York Times) to the great nineteenth-century British novels of Austen, Dickens, Trollope, the Brontes, and more, this lively guide clarifies the sometimes bizarre maze of rules and customs that governed life in Victorian England.

For anyone who has ever wondered whether a duke outranked an earl, when to yell "Tally Ho!" at a fox hunt, or how one landed in "debtor's prison," this book serves as an indispensable historical and literary resource. Author Daniel Pool provides countless intriguing details (did you know that the "plums" in Christmas plum pudding were actually raisins?) on the…


Book cover of Rumors of War

J.L. Stowers Author Of Vengeance Lost

From my list on space opera written by women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve held a burgeoning interest in the stars since I was a young girl. Daydreams of adventure and exploration guided me to the genre. Once I found it, I consumed everything I could find, both on-screen and in the pages of books. There’s something to be said about the vulnerability of being in the vastness of space, oftentimes with strangers who grow to be family. I guess, in a way, it reminds me of that moment when we set out into the world, away from our families, to learn and explore more about our surroundings and the characters we meet along the way (only on a much grander scale). 

J.L.'s book list on space opera written by women

J.L. Stowers Why did J.L. love this book?

Amy is amazing at writing characters you really care about. Her fans have dubbed her the Queen of Space Opera and they’re not wrong. On top of her characters, she does a great job with suspense and plot twists that make it hard to stop reading. I loved how entertaining these books are and I feel as though every space opera fan should check them out. 

By A.K. DuBoff,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rumors of War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Taran Empire is fighting a secret interdimensional war... and they're losing.

When High Dynasty heir Wil Sietinen comes face-to-face with the Bakzen, a mysterious race skilled in advanced telekinesis, he's forced to confront his destiny. A secret war is being waged within a hidden dimensional rift, and his unique gifts can help win the fight.

As the dire nature of the conflict and the truth about his own abilities unfolds, Wil realizes he's at the center of a galactic conspiracy. And enemies are not who they seem.

With the future of the entire Taran Empire hanging in the balance,…


Book cover of The Wheelwright Girl

Terri Nixon Author Of The Secrets of Pencarrack Moor

From my list on not confusing strong women with hard hearts.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the author of 10 books published in the historical genre, and 7 more in other genres (which also feature women who have been tested and hardened in various fires). I have spent years reading first-hand accounts of wartime ambulance drivers, nurses, farm labourers, pilots, and others, and I have uncovered the startling true lives of some remarkable women – it’s furnished me with a desire to showcase women like this in fictional settings, and give them the satisfactory stories they deserve but too often never had. My characters are all fictional, but they couldn’t exist without those powerful examples of strength and courage.

Terri's book list on not confusing strong women with hard hearts

Terri Nixon Why did Terri love this book?

Being a Devon girl, I have really enjoyed this series, and this book in particular resonated with me on a number of levels. Grace is such an ‘everyday’ kind of character at the beginning, albeit with ambitions towards working in a ‘man’s world.’ But, as circumstances force her to take on new roles, and her life takes unforeseeable turns, she grows in character and strength. Both ‘sections,’ if you like, are equally compelling, and the research is impeccable, but never screamingly obvious. Having written WW1 books myself, that era was always going to be the part that interested me the most, but I was happy to find the whole story equally absorbing. Dartmoor and its surrounds are, as ever with this author, painted subtly, but with love

By Tania Crosse,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Wheelwright Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A compelling wartime saga about a spirited young woman seeking happiness on her own terms.

Perfect fans of Nadine Dorries, Rosie Goodwin, Dilly Court, Freda Lightfoot and Catherine Cookson.

Originally published as Wheels of Grace.

Dartmoor, 1914.

Grace Dannings is a farmer’s daughter. But that’s never stopped her wanting more.

She dreams of making her mark as a London Suffragette. Too bad she’s still stuck in Walkhampton, the sleepy village where she was born.

As a child, she could escape to the wheelwright’s mill. Spellbound, she’d watch labourers hammer white-hot iron and timber into wagon wheels.

Now she’s a woman,…


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