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A Handful of Sovereigns
When fifteen-year-old Maggie , her sister Liz and young brother Charlie find themselves tragically orphaned they know their young lives can never be the same again. And when Liz is taken ill, Maggie has to tend to her, and loses what little work she had. In desperation, she ventures onto the streets, risking her safety and her innocence. A mysterious stranger appears to offer hope, but does he have only her best interests at heart? Will tragedy strike again or can Maggie save the family from poverty, and find the happiness she truly deserves? Set in London’s Bethnal Green shortly after the Ripper murders, A Handful of Sovereigns is a classic East End family saga, perfect for fans of Jennie Felton, Maggie Ford or Dilly Court.
- GenresHistorical
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 1994
72 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Anna King
88 books12 followersAnna King is the pseudonym of Josephine Carr, a writer formerly published by HarperCollins, NAL/Penguin, and Dial Books for Young Readers. She's delighted to embrace independent publishing with her new company, Three Kings Books (also publishing Joseph King with novels CRACK and EVIL DOES IT, currently available for Amazon's Kindle).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 10, 2019
This was a different type of read.
The story started of with a depressing scene & I thought it would get better but things kept on getting worse but I guess that's life. This book deals with many struggles & life of everyday living in a poor condition. Many surprises further along the story which I did not expect but overall, it was a well-written book!
The story started of with a depressing scene & I thought it would get better but things kept on getting worse but I guess that's life. This book deals with many struggles & life of everyday living in a poor condition. Many surprises further along the story which I did not expect but overall, it was a well-written book!
March 9, 2018
3-1/2 stars
I liked this story good enough, but the ending was completely abrupt! I couldn't believe I turned the page, and there was no more. I give it 3-1/2 stars because there are many grammatical and spelling errors. That disrupts the flow of reading. It was a bit predictable, but there were surprises and twists. I would recommend it. It's not a happy-go-lucky story, however. There are plenty of trials and tribulations for one family.
I liked this story good enough, but the ending was completely abrupt! I couldn't believe I turned the page, and there was no more. I give it 3-1/2 stars because there are many grammatical and spelling errors. That disrupts the flow of reading. It was a bit predictable, but there were surprises and twists. I would recommend it. It's not a happy-go-lucky story, however. There are plenty of trials and tribulations for one family.
June 19, 2017
I enjoyed this book, a good read.
Read
July 2, 2016Good story and amazing characters, I felt real empathy for Maggie and Charlie and I really liked the ending.
November 30, 2015
A nice story set in the 1880s with a happy ending, an easy read.
I would like to read more by this author.
I would like to read more by this author.
February 23, 2018
Loved the storyline in this book. Anna King has done a fine job of keeping the reader thoroughly entertained and wanting to find out what happens next. A page turner.
This is the story of 3 siblings Maggie, the middle sister, Lizzy her older sister and Charlie their younger brother. Set in the 1880's of Whitechapel in London's slums, the 3 siblings have been left to fend for themselves after the deaths of both their parents and their 3 younger brothers from a devastating fever.
It is quite a sad story to begin with but deals with the struggles and life of everyday living in a desperately poor part of the London metropolis. Maggie has to leave school to find work permanently in order to help Lizzy support the 3 siblings. Maggie had a part-time job which she loved, but it wasn't enough to bring in a decent amount for them all to live on and keep Charlie in school.
So Maggie goes to work one day to find her lovely old boss had died, and she was suddenly unemployed. The story follows her trials and tribulations at trying to find any sort of job for herself, and so many times is refused. There just are not the jobs in poor Whitechapel.
Then Lizzy gets sick and their life turns to muck. How will they all survive? What is it that happens to Maggie in her desperation? What happens to her siblings and how do they all cope in this horrendous situation?
Well, I will want to read this one again because it was an awesome read and so well written.
This is the story of 3 siblings Maggie, the middle sister, Lizzy her older sister and Charlie their younger brother. Set in the 1880's of Whitechapel in London's slums, the 3 siblings have been left to fend for themselves after the deaths of both their parents and their 3 younger brothers from a devastating fever.
It is quite a sad story to begin with but deals with the struggles and life of everyday living in a desperately poor part of the London metropolis. Maggie has to leave school to find work permanently in order to help Lizzy support the 3 siblings. Maggie had a part-time job which she loved, but it wasn't enough to bring in a decent amount for them all to live on and keep Charlie in school.
So Maggie goes to work one day to find her lovely old boss had died, and she was suddenly unemployed. The story follows her trials and tribulations at trying to find any sort of job for herself, and so many times is refused. There just are not the jobs in poor Whitechapel.
Then Lizzy gets sick and their life turns to muck. How will they all survive? What is it that happens to Maggie in her desperation? What happens to her siblings and how do they all cope in this horrendous situation?
Well, I will want to read this one again because it was an awesome read and so well written.
March 1, 2020
Having read many of this type of book previously I was quite happy with the initial format. However this story brought me back down to earth, thinking how true this all could be. Knowing of al the deaths in those years 1800’s and the plague of diphtheria that took place the, —- this book became very real. A story of a young girl/ woman looking and providing for her siblings. All other family members have died. The stresses that she went through doing the things she did but determined nothing would let her siblings fail. A good story line of the time with class differences exposed. But in the end goodness’s wins.
April 5, 2018
Heartache
Maggie and her sister and brother had a hard start in life, until a bizarre night, from then things looked up as Maggie had been given 23, guineas that had helped them along, until her sister died along with her expected baby, Lizzie 's
husband on the day of her funeral had attempted to rape Maggie. But Charlie her brother hit him with a poker, things set off after that with the gentleman who gave her the 20, guineas sister, and Lizzies husband getting together both full of hate, good ending, need to read to get the final outcome!
Maggie and her sister and brother had a hard start in life, until a bizarre night, from then things looked up as Maggie had been given 23, guineas that had helped them along, until her sister died along with her expected baby, Lizzie 's
husband on the day of her funeral had attempted to rape Maggie. But Charlie her brother hit him with a poker, things set off after that with the gentleman who gave her the 20, guineas sister, and Lizzies husband getting together both full of hate, good ending, need to read to get the final outcome!
September 21, 2018
A great read...
A very good story. Full of good with evil in the midst of all. Tragedy in life as times change for all the characters in this book, who seem very real as they live each day...a family coming together with acceptance of what they can cannot do. Rich and poor alike.
A very good story. Full of good with evil in the midst of all. Tragedy in life as times change for all the characters in this book, who seem very real as they live each day...a family coming together with acceptance of what they can cannot do. Rich and poor alike.
February 15, 2018
Brilliant
Another brilliant read by Anna king, kept me awake half the night wanting to reach the end, but at the same time wanting it to go on for ever! Can't wait to get stuck into another of her books! Well done!
Another brilliant read by Anna king, kept me awake half the night wanting to reach the end, but at the same time wanting it to go on for ever! Can't wait to get stuck into another of her books! Well done!
October 22, 2018
Great read
Could have included a bit more into the stories but liked it very much will contours to read more books
Could have included a bit more into the stories but liked it very much will contours to read more books
August 15, 2018
Very good story
Anna King, again takes her readers right into the heart of the lives she writes about! I am looking forward to starting her next
Anna King, again takes her readers right into the heart of the lives she writes about! I am looking forward to starting her next
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews