A Token of Love
This sweet inspirational romance unites a late Victorian and a modern-day timeline around an imagined story of human trafficking taking place through London’s Foundling Hospital. In 1885 London, widowed Lillian Freemont tries to help her sister, Serena, reclaim Alice, the daughter she surrendered to the Foundling Hospital, only to be told the girl died. A hint that Alice is still alive leads Lillian to join forces with ambitious journalist Matthew McGivern to recover girls who have been sold to brothels by a nefarious staff member. Their quest for justice leads Lillian and Matthew into adventure, love, and a growing family for Lillian as her grieving heart is healed.
In 2023, Janelle Spencer, interim director of the Foundling Museum, works with documentary filmmaker Jonas Conrad on a fundraising campaign. While trying to mentor her neighbor’s rebellious teenage daughter, Olivia, Janelle grows closer to Jonas as they uncover Matthew’s century-old story and debate how to handle this bombshell that could sully the Museum’s reputation. Fortunately, as expected, faith and love prevail.
Turansky’s prose is steady, unembellished, and as even-tempered as her characters. The narrative spends equal time on the past and present, intertwining themes of trust and care. Readers will enjoy two pleasant love stories united through this famous London institution and come away with heightened awareness of a problem that the Victorian age shared with our own.
