Lily: A Tale of Revenge from the Sunday Times bestselling author

My late Wife recommended this book to me and so as the last book she read, I felt obliged to read it, I was not disappointed this is an excellent book. While as a sixty six year old grumpy Yorkshireman I am sure I am not the target audience i thoroughly enjoyed it. Beautifully written with superb characterisation throughout. Atmospheric clever descriptive intelligent storytelling, at times poignant and sad at others laugh out loud funny, completely absorbing.Completely and utterly recommended.

A tale of great imagination of the past. It takes you away from our world and leads you back to another world. It cannot be put down until the end and then your mind is forever leading back to the pages you have read.

There was parts that I loved in this book, but also parts that was too long. Did really like Lilly and Bridget they was very well written.

Enjoyed the story. Lily is likeable as a character. The main theme is being disgraced for being born out of wedlock and left as a Foundling.Lily’s life unfolds as a child who is Fostered until the age of 6, when, by law, she has to be returned into care.Lily is then subjected to abuse until she reaches an age when she leaves the home. Then Lily exacts her revenge.

Lily is an unwanted baby who is abandoned at park gates in Victorian London. She ends up in a Foundling Hospital but for the first six years of her life she enjoys living with her paid foster parents. However she is then forced back to the Foundling Hospital and has to live a life of hell.This is not a happy tale but it is very well written and you cannot help but want Lily to succeedI don't want to give anything away but this story is exactly the reason I would not vote to bring back the death sentenceMy only criticism is that the story relies on Lily remembering her life before reaching the age of six. I can remember very little of my own life yet Lily remembers the minutest detail which I find odd.Other than this it is a great read and recommended unless you are already feeling a bit down in the dumps!

3 things stood out when I first noticed this book, foremost my daughters middle name is Lily so that actually caught my eye, not just the name but the fact it’s a short, sharp title for a book which intrigued me, I also loved the vivid colours on the book cover, it’s very pleasing on the eye. I picked up the book to check the blurb and after that there was zero chance I could walk away without buying a copy. I imagined a very emotional journey but I had no idea just how emotional it would be and I underestimated greatly how I would feel.As a young girl Lily is abandoned, only to be saved from certain death.. but as you read on it can I feels like death might have been a blessing from the terrors she will see in her life.Lily is taken to the Foundling Hospital.. but care is not there primary aim.. it’s obedience and failing to do as commanded has severe consequences.It’s a horrible cruel journey but one Lily isn't really aware of yet, she’s too young and at first each foundling has a chance to be fostered for a short time with a real family, but for some this means they form strong connections with the family but these families are bound by rules to return the children.Lily, among others, loves her foster family.. it’s only when they are to be returned to the hospital that many find out they are a foundling.. they were too young when fostered so the family is all they know and in a split second they are torn from that family comfort and thrust into a life of terror.. beating.. head shaving..I can’t even find the words to describe how horrible the hospital is.. but the worst is yet to come.At one point Lily makes a very close friend and they plot to escape and go back to their foster families..they manage to escape but being young girls they don’t manage to get far and in that short time they are free they see how cruel the outside world can be.. just a glimpse but a taster of things to come.When they arrive back at the hospital they are separated and not allowed to comfort each other. I won’t spoil what happens next but to say Lily’s small world is crushed is an understatement, added to mental pain she endures physical pain too as there’s a nurse obsessed with sin, who isnt above a bit of abuse.. you have no idea how bad she is,When Lily is old enough, she leaves the hospital, finds a job and in time reconnects with the man who saved her.. and he still wants to save her.The mental heartache continues when a strange connection grows between them..there’s also some striking events that happen when Lily revisits her past that could lead to the end of the connection the pair have.In the end Lily revisits her past.. as far back as she can go and more heartache awaits her.. but maybe also her chance of a new life, of redemption.. who knows?You can probably tell as I’ve ranted on so long that I loved the plot, engrossing and so damn emotionally draining..you feel every low with Lily, her heartache.. the moments when she just admits defeat.. the moment she snaps.. a lot of her pain in held inside but as you read the story you kind of take the role of Lily on so when events play out it’s like it’s your own emotions playing out on paper!I don’t think many books have managed to emotionally connect with me as a reader as much as Lily did. I can’t praise this one enough. There’s a lot of tough moments but I would really recommend this to anyone who wants to feel that connection with a character as I’ve no doubt at all that you’ll love Lily just as much as I did!

Quick delivery, great book - happy customer! Thanks 👍

The story of Lily who was abandoned as a baby, rescued, taken to the Foundling Hospital and adopted before being returned to the hospital at the age of 5. Lily's time with her adopted parents was happy but the law was for the child to be returned to the Foundling Hospital where life was anything but happy. Rose Tremain evokes what life was like for children at that time very well with a wealth of historical detail. Lily searches unsuccessfully for her mother after she leaves the hospital and the poverty of her circumstances is well conveyed. Life does improve for Lily so the book ends on a positive note. An enjoyable read, well written as is usually the case with books by Rose Tremain.

I am unable to finish this book. It is unrelentingly miserable.

Ho letto quasi tutti i libri di Rose Tremain e la delusione dopo la lettura di questo titolo è stata enorme.A parte il suo stile sempre piacevole, nel libro non c'è assolutamente niente che mi sia piaciuto.Degli orrori degli orfanotrofi e della vendita dei bambini dati in affido abbiamo letto già tutto.Questo libro non aggiunge niente.

Unputdownable, a Dickensian style story from modern day author. Will read again, plan on taking it to my book club.

This time, the wonderful Rose Tremain brings us a Victorian tale of a girl, abandoned as a newborn, rescued by a policeman who brings her to a London orphanage. As was common, she is fostered out for six years before being returned to spend several miserable years in the orphanage before being apprenticed to a wig maker. Lily’s fostered years at Rookery Farm were happy, so it’s not hard to imagine her confusion and sorrow at being parted from kind Nelly. Kindness is in short supply at the orphanage, particularly from the meanest nurse of them all, who calls Lily “Miss Disobedience”. Tremain throws a deeply unflattering light on the Victorian interpretation of Christian charity.We’re told right at the beginning that Lily is a murderer and as the book progresses we can guess the victim. Schooled in Biblical morality, Lily supposes that it won’t be long before she ends her days with a noose around her neck. As Lily makes contact with the policeman who saved her and his equally charitable wife, Tremain explores the notion of the need the guilty have to confess. We begin to wonder if Lily’s life will end on the gallows or if another path will open up. This is a high level revenge tale with a great deal of wonderful period detail. The character of Lily is striking and complex and all the supporting characters vivid. There’s much sadness and injustice, yet great moments of beauty, connection and balm for the soul as well. Four and a half stars.