In the small hours of Christmas morning, a shrouded figure moves quickly through the biting storm in the Old Nichol, a tiny bundle wrapped in tattered rags hidden beneath its coat. “I’m sorry” the figure whispers, as it places the bundle on the cold stone of the work-house steps, “There is no other way.”
For Frances Noel, a nobody’s child-work house waif, named simply for the day she was found, Christmases somehow seemed alive with promise and the possibility of miracles. So, when Frances is chosen to work in a grand house, more beautiful than she has ever seen, Frances believes that her miracle has arrived. But the beautiful house holds no comfort for a nobody such as Frances, as she suffers the tyrannical rule of the housekeeper and the unwanted attentions of Master Felix Ainsworth, the son of the house.
But Ainsworth house holds a deep and dark secret that sheds its gloom over all who dwell within. The only joy in Frances’ life is Peter Gibson, the gentle-eyed stable lad who has become her friend. Christmas after Christmas, their friendship deepens, until a terrible event occurs that tears them apart.
What is the secret that brings doom to all those who dwell in Ainsworth house? Why are the house keeper and the young Master so cruel? Will Frances ever be able to make amends to Peter, or are Christmas miracles simply a foolish child’s dream?
Nell Harte writes clean and sweet historical fiction.
Hello, I'm Nell Harte. I write Victorian Saga Romance where you can’t keep a good woman down. I tell the stories of the working class poor, the street people, the paupers who survived in the harsh conditions of Victorian England. I love to show the human spirit prevailing over hardship and tragedy. My heroines always triumph, and sometimes, their enemies get their just deserts.
Frances was raised in a orphanage and had to work very hard and had little to eat. One day a woman came for her to work at the home of a wealthy family. She thought she had received the miracle of Christmas by leaving this place. But she soon discovered this place was worse than the orphanage. Peter, the stable boy was the only kind person to her. Frances kept looking for a miracle every Christmas. After years of torture she was kicked out onto the streets. Will she ever find this miracle she dreamed of? How will she survive in the freezing weather? A sad story of a girl who never was given a chance, but still believed.
This is fantastic reading for mid teens and above. This sweet and clean and very hopeful story tells of the longing for family in orphanages, hardship of service and homelessness for servants and unemployed and most of all, grace to forgive and heal when wronged. May every lonely heart have a caring Felix and a loving Peter to give them Christmas hope. Harte writes clean, inspired novels of hardship and redemption that is consistent in quality and entertainment. Please read and enjoy!
Francis was left as a baby at the workhouse. She always spoke of a Christmas miracle that was to come some day. She met Peter when she was a sulleymaid at the Aimsworth mansion. He was a stable lad who befriended her but didn't believe in the miracle she proclaimed.
I'm a big fan of the Victorian era and Christmas is my favorite holiday. And this book did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed it! It is well written and held my interest throughout. I immediately fell in love with Frances, the heroine and her indomitable faith, especially in Christmas miracles.
From start to finish, this book was a page-turner.....I couldn't put it down! The author's writing is easy-reading with a plotline that's full of twists and turns and fully-developed characters. If you have a couple of 'me' hours and want to immerse yourself into a good story, this might be the read for you.
What a great book to read! I could barely put it down. So much heartache, fear, hunger and pain. But it ends so well after lies are explained. A must read!
Even with a happy ending, still quite a depressing story. The despicable actions of a bitter person cause so much harm in addition to her physical abuse of others.