THE ORPHANS OF MERSEA HOUSE by Marty Wingate

 

MY THOUGHTS

This was my first read by this author. It is such a heartfelt, lovely, touching, story. It will have you in tears many times.

A woman, Olive, is left alone after her mother dies. She's thirty seven years old and has no experience except taking care of a house and her mother. She's got to get out and find a job but feels hopeless. She can become a companion to Ms Binny but doesn't want to do that. When she runs into an old friend, Margery Paxton,  her prayers are answered. Margery is moving back and going to turn Mersea House into a boarding house. She needs a housekeeper and cook. Olive is perfect for this.

This book introduces you to these two women and some of the boarders in the house. One being a child who is left in Margery's care after the death of her father. Her mother had died from Polio and Juniper, the child, was severely stricken with it also. She lived part of her young life in an iron lung in hopes of being cured. She is a very outgoing youngster and you will fall in love with her. The Polio outbreak was horrible. People didn't know what to do or exactly what caused it for a while. Of course there was a vaccine made and many were saved because of that. Isn't science wonderful?

You get to know each of these characters and you will like them all. Each has secrets in their past and when they get to know each other they become a very wonderful family of sorts. Proving that family is more than just blood. Each one begins to open up and share their lives. You will be touched by these people. You will shed quite a few tears. Also a laugh or two. 

I absolutely loved this book. It made me stop and think about quite a few things that happened in 1957. It was the year I was born. I had a cousin that I was very close to who was hit by Polio in a bad way also. She wore a brace on one leg. Went through so many surgeries. Thank goodness a vaccine was discovered. This is a wonderful book and I will read more by this author.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MartyWingate, #AlcovePress for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5/5 huge stars from me. I highly recommend you read this one.

Synopsis

In the tradition of Kristin Harmel and Elise Hooper, USA Today bestseller Marty Wingate transports us to postwar England’s Suffolk coast in a rich historical drama about love lost—and promise found.

England, 1957. Olive Kersey’s only love never returned from World War II, and now, she’s alone and penniless. Then, the last person she ever expected to see again returns to Southwold. Olive’s childhood friend, Margery Paxton, arrives to claim her inheritance: Mersea House, a stately old home she plans to turn into the town’s only lodging. Olive’s life takes a sunny turn when Margery hires her to run the establishment. But Mersea House holds its own mysteries—and its own dangers.
 
First, rumors begin to fly when two enigmatic lodgers move in: Hugh Hodson, manager of the town cinema, and Mrs. Abigail Claypool, a recluse and war widow. And then, the completely unexpected: Margery is informed she has a new ward, eleven-year-old Juniper Wyckes, the orphaned daughter of Margery’s first love. Mrs. Lucie Pagett, Children’s Officer at the local authority, informs Margery that Juniper was severely stricken with polio as a child, and makes clear that she could be taken away if her welfare is in jeopardy.
 
But the past is never far behind for the inhabitants of Mersea House, and looming secrets may destroy these friendships they've created.