Victorian Workhouse: The Diary of Edith Lorrimer, England, 1871

My Story: Girls

by Pamela Oldfield

The diary of Edith Lorrimer, England 1871 I was shown the laundry - a vast noisy sunless room full of steam and the sharp smell of soapsuds. I counted seven women slaving over the large tubs where the clothes are washed, their reddened faces shiny with sweat even in this weather...Condensation ran down the windows and pooled on the floor. Heavy wooden racks are pulled up and down from the high ceiling and the sheets and clothes are draped over them and hoisted up to the ceiling from where they drip on the unfortunates toiling beneath. No doubt Rosie takes her turn in here. Just to think of it filled my eyes with tears. What a terrible existence. Edith Lorrimer is the sheltered daughter of a wealthy widow who is on the Board of Governors at a workhouse for the destitute. Whilst visiting the workhouse, Edith meets with Rosie Chubb, a troubled orphan who is a liar, quick-tempered and always in trouble...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Diary, Childrens, Fiction, Historical, British Literature

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2004

Reviews

[Suad Shamma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this one so much. I did so want to learn more about Workhouses back in the day, I don't know too much except what I've read and seen from the likes of Oliver Twist and Annie. I thought I would get a much more realistic version of events, despite the fact that the "My Story" series are based on fictional characters, set in historical times to give us an in-depth version of events.

I've read a lot of books from these series, with protagonists that were much younger than Edith was in this book, who is sixteen, and yet Edith struck me as such a child in the way she writes and portrays herself and the events around her. I could not get into the story because I could not relate to the character in any way. I did not like the way it was written, and the storyline, with Rosie's involvement, was frustrating at most what with the singing and theatre stuff that was added in there.

I think if the story was told from the mother's perspective, it would've been a lot more interesting for me. Or at least, if the writing was a little more mature given that she is sixteen years old, I might have enjoyed it a little more.

[Claire (Book Blog Bird) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I think this is the first My Story book I’ve read (there are about a billion of them, as far as I can tell, covering most major Western historical events) and it was pretty good. There was a huge lack of tension, plot twists, bait-and-switch or anything to make it a real page-turner, but it was well written and the historical aspects were really interesting (and kind of horrific)

[Mary Rayner · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was so intreasting to see what the world used to be like, definitely wanting to reas more of her books

[Kay Seeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written as a children's educational guide to workhouse conditions in 19th Century. As well as being informative it tells a good story which I found very engaging.

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knížky z edice Můj příběh jsou skvělé pro čtenáře zhruba ve věku 10 let. Poutavým způsobem jim přiblíží některé z nejsilnějších historických okamžiků/dob, zároveň ale nejsou příliš brutální a kruté (čímž však rozhodně nechci říct, že kruté, dramatické a velmi tragické nejsou, naopak). A upřímně - to je právě ta dobrá věc. Protože jistě, mnoha lidem se mohlo stát něco horšího než právě nám, ale to neznamená, že nemůžeme mít i přesto silný příběh. Zvlášť pro mladé lidi je toto důležité vědět. Každý příběh stojí zato, aby byl vyprávěn.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, though it could have been much better than it was, given the subject matter.

Edith was not in the workhouse herself, actually, merely a visitor - made it a little different to how these stories usually run! Sadly, the girl in the workhouse that we did meet, Rosie, was simply not likeable enough for me to care much about her fate.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! I thought it was enjoyable and interesting.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good and makes you respect how it was back in those times.

[Carmen Tudor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pamela Oldfield's writing is lovely and I applaud her interest in the period and dedication to the epistolary mode. I always think it's very well suited to Victorian-era fiction, and especially suits younger protagonists who might like to give voice to their inner worlds in a safe way.

Apparently these books are intended to educate younger readers on the basics of the subject -- here, it's the workhouse. I found this book on a $2 table in a bargain shop and thought it was non-fiction. Under the blurb is written: A vivid first-hand account of life during Victorian England. Apart from the odd word choice (during England?), I might have cottoned on had I seen the ad for the Pompeii volume lower down. :)

There's no doubt readers want to identify with their characters, but the main girl, Edith, was too modern for me to accept the story as occurring in 1871. I truly don't mean to be negative. I'd love nothing more than to think that most young, middle-class women were interested in suffrage and basic human rights and dignity for those in the workhouse, but from everything else I've read the reality was likely far different. In fact, victim-blaming seemed the default attitude.

Edith might have been more realistic had she gradually come to be interested in Rosie's case and the plight of the destitute rather than forming an immediate connection. I'm also not sure that she would have been allowed anywhere near the workhouse, let alone had some influence on its running and fund-distribution, etc and then free time alone with Rosie.

It's tricky. I love the subject matter and want everyone to have access to all kinds of info, but I'd rather the grim reality over sanitised versions. Workhouse inmates were real people, so let's not pretend it was 'pretty bad'. It was unimaginable.

[Lauren Atack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose to read this because it's been collecting dust on my shelf for years after my grandma gave me it and the book was overall pretty average. It was an insightful look into Victorian workhouses and made me realise how truly awful they were but I feel like the story was very mixed up. As it is such a short story, I think that it was rushed and not enough detail was given, on the other hand, I enjoyed reading it but it wasn't gripping at all.

[Zee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about the workhouses. Though, it would have been so much better if the story was told from Rosie's perspective, instead of Edith's. Edith was a visitor to the workhouse, but Rosie was the one who actually lived there and caused all the mischief. Would have been interesting to read about her thoughts.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was mostly enjoyable and Edith a likable character. The historical note was a jumble about the Victorian era and didn’t even mention workhouses. There’s one little note about them in the timeline, but at least the photos were relevant to the topic.

[Tessie Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Série Můj příběh je založen na skutečné události s fiktivní postavou.Edith mi byla hned sympatická,Rosie už tak moc ne. :D Jinak ty podmínky chudobince byly příšerné!Lituji všechny ty lidi,co si tím prošli.Ten cynik ředitel mě vytáčel,naštěstí knížka dopadla nakonec dobře,i když pro některé ne.

[Danni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love this genre of book and this one did not disappoint

the diary style was different but still enjoyable and so fascinating to learn about our history

I would recommend this book and would be interested in reading some of the other "diary of a" books

[Leia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twists and turns plenty

[Alice Hannah Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book, though I wish it was Rosie telling the story not Edith

[Ella.Mp3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

.....enough said

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in the Victorian era and how a workhouses actually worked, you will enjoy this one.

[Lucy-Jane Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book, i like that the sole focus was on the warehouse and it wasn't a love story.
Really makes you think of the conditions of those places!

[Caitlin Worley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, safe introduction to young readers about the horrors of the Victorian workhouses.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! The only diary in the series the only goes for one year! Edith Lorrimer the young woman who owns the diary is the only daughter of wealthy widow. She's a character to look up too. Throughout the book she is finding ways to help the poor people in the Stonleigh Workhouse. Especially a wild red headed girl called Rosie who I quite rude but helps those around her in the Workhouse. Rosie is an orphan a troublemaker who always messes up jobs she is offered and is always given lecturers by The Board Of Guardians of the Workhouse. She never learns from her ways but manages to escape the Workhouse unintentionally with help from Edith and finds love with a boy called Bernard and lives a life she's always wished for away from the workhouse with her cat Oddsey. She lets Edith and her family know that she is alright and is singing at music halls and is finally happy. Edith is a kind hearted girl who is now always along with her mother devoting her life to helping the poor. Though she knows that there will always be injustices in life no matter how you try. She is 16 and is not going to write another diary but a novel that she's thought long and hard about. Poor Edith's mother is now fragile from suffering from being kicked by terrible people. It's really horrible the things you learn in this book about Victorian Workhouses. Deaths,terrible work etc. But Queen Victoria hasn't done anything to improve it yet. Her mother is a likeable character so is the new Workhouse master Mr Edward Phipps who improves the workhouse a bit who replaced the horrible Alfred Frumley who stole and cared for no one but himself. It's a good thing he was sent to prison for his crime. This is another one of the best in the series!

[Abbie Collinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of the little series this book comes from it was one of the least interesting reads to me, which I found a shame from having an interest in this period of time.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one in the My Story series. The books in this series are fictional diaries of young girls living during different periods of British, Scottish, and Irish history.

Edith Lorrimer, who lives in Stoneleigh, Kent, begins her diary in January 1871, a month before her sixteenth birthday. Unlike many other people in England, Edith is lucky. Even though her father died when she was a young child, Edith and her mother still live a comfortable life. They have a good home, and are able to afford to have two servants. Edith's mother is on the Board of Guardians at Stoneleigh's workhouse, and because she hopes Edith will someday take her place, she begins bringing Edith with her to the workhouse to learn how it is run. What Edith discovers horrifies her. She never knew how bad conditions are at the workhouse, and how terrible life is for the people there. She begins to take a special interest in Rosie, an orphan girl her own age who has lived in the workhouse since she was a very young child, and decides to try and educate her so that she can someday leave and find employment.

Although this book didn't seem to have that interesting a premise, unlike some others in the My Story series, I ended up really enjoying it. It was very well written, and flowed along well, so I never lost interest. I enjoyed reading Edith's diary and learning about how different life was for the middle class and the poor in Victorian England. Readers who enjoyed other books in the My Story series will most likely enjoy this book as well.

[Amalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm yet to read many other stories in "My Story" series but I have a feeling this is still going to be one of my favourites. “Workhouse” is a story set in the Victorian era. It is 1871 and sixteen year old Edith Lorrimer dreams to be a writer. She reads Charlotte Bronte, Mrs. E. Gaskell and Harriet Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin grabs her attention.

Meanwhile Edith’s mother takes her sheltered daughter to visit a workhouse for the poor and it changes Edith’s life forever. She learns the lives of the people in workhouse are too dreary almost as the lives of the slaves in America in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. She sees neglected consumption patients waiting to die, locked up insane people due to lack of room in asylums and generally the poor with very little in everything.

Edith becomes friends with Rosie, a rebellious orphan who some always manages to get into trouble. Her brother, Theo who wishes to be a musician soon learns Rosie has talents. They begin to practice together and their performances together become success and popular but tragedy will soon arrive…

I really liked it because the novel contains some boiling issues of the underclass which I’ve not seen in the Victorian novels I’ve read so far. The young boy, Amos reminded me of Oliver Twist, who owns the same fate. Over-all it’s a good YA novel that gives an awareness to a important period in history.

[Mimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story is told from the viewpoint of Edith Lorrimer who is a fifteen year old girl in 1871.

Edith begins her diary by describing her first meeting at the workhouse. It is in this meeting that she sees Rosie Chubb for the first time. A girl which Edith describes as being wild but later goes on to like and want to help.

The further the story goes on you get a sense of what the workhouse was like. Though this is only a fictional account I think the writer has got the descriptions right. You can see how hard the inmates had it. It looked as though it was difficult to escape the life they had to endure.

It was the ending that ruined it for me. Just as I was getting into it came to rather abrupt end.

I think this book would be better for younger readers. It certainly felt that way when I was reading it.

[Nataliec7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice quick read. The book is aimed at a younger audience but i found it rather interesting. Its a fictional diary of Edith who is quite well off and she writes a diary around what she experiences at the workhouse. She attends the workhouse as her mother is on the board there and she gets some insight into how it works, how people are treated etc. She becomes 'friends' with and 'inmate' for the workhouse Rosie and thats how Edith starts writing as she wants to write it form Rosie's perspective. All in all, quite good. I enjoyed it.

[Molly]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Molly]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Venuskitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edith Lorrimer's diary sets out in graphic detail the horrors of life in a Victorian workhouse. This book was written for young adults and is a quick read (approx 200 pages) but it packs a serious message about the huge gap between rich (Edith is from a well-to-do family), and the poor (eg Rosie, a young woman befriended by Edith and her mother) who were often in the workhouse as the only option available to them after falling on hard times. Recommended

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was going good up until the ending. It just didn't seem right at the end.

I like the way Edith likes the inmates of the workhouse and wants them to be treated fairly. It seems she is very sweet.

There is sad parts, and happy parts, but the book is brilliant. The ending, however, doesn't seem right.