An Orphan’s Song (Shilling Grange Children’s Home)
This is Book Three in the Shilling Grange Children’s Home series, with books Four and Five still to come. It is 1951 in Suffolk, England, and Clara Newton is housemother to five children in a small, council-run orphanage. She is attracted to her next-door neighbor, Ivor, who has lost an arm—presumably in World War II, although his background is never explained. Ivor is caring for his ex-wife’s baby, and oddly, while Clara handles older children comfortably, she is not at ease with infants. The orphans come with problems that Clara addresses kindly and with common sense, although one boy’s issues are serious enough to make him a potential danger. The children perform well as a musical group and earn a place singing in the Festival of Britain. This huge honor takes them to London for their national debut. The festival is meant to mark an end to England’s post-war dreariness, and the book does end with some positive resolutions.
The book cover lauds this story as “utterly unputdownable.” In fairness, the annoying blurb is not far off. Readers will cheer for Clara and the bereaved children who all must somehow rebuild their lives after the tragedies of wartime. This narrative does not stand alone, and we could really use more backstory for Clara, Ivor, and several of the secondary but interesting characters. I think it would be best to start with the first book in the series and read them in order.
