What do you think?
Rate this book
Rich Girl, Poor Girl
It's Christmas, 1860. Polly, living in grinding poverty, loses her mother in childbirth and finds herself alone on the streets of Hull. Rosalie, brought up in affluence and comfort on the other side of town, loses her own mother in similar circumstances and on the same day. Polly takes a job as scullery maid in Rosalie's lonely house, and the two girls form an unlikely friendship. Traveling to the North Yorkshire Moors they discover a new kind of life and find unexpected joy and fulfillment.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
45 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
About the author
Val Wood
45 books94 followers Valerie Wood
Since winning the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction for her first novel, The Hungry Tide, Val Wood has become one of the most popular authors in the UK. Born in the mining town of Castleford, Val came to East Yorkshire as a child and has lived in Hull and rural Holderness where many of her novels are set. She now lives in the market town of Beverley. When she is not writing, Val is busy promoting libraries and supporting many charities. Find out more about Val Wood's novels by visiting her website: www.valeriewood.co.uk
Since winning the Catherine Cookson Prize for Fiction for her first novel, The Hungry Tide, Val Wood has become one of the most popular authors in the UK. Born in the mining town of Castleford, Val came to East Yorkshire as a child and has lived in Hull and rural Holderness where many of her novels are set. She now lives in the market town of Beverley. When she is not writing, Val is busy promoting libraries and supporting many charities. Find out more about Val Wood's novels by visiting her website: www.valeriewood.co.uk
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 12, 2020
2.5 Quick read and predictable romance. Great descriptions of the area. Some of the expressions and language were too modern for 1860's, but otherwise enjoyable.
June 19, 2019
A charming book about parallel lives - in English historical settings - with marriage-cusp age girls, characterised as "twins" to reinforce the comparisons. Val Wood moves the story along like a meandering carriage on a country road. But, in the final chapters she adds a few horses and it gallops to the inevitable, romantic outcome for both girls. It's an interesting insight into what we imagine would be the daily lives in these traditional settings. It's a paperback, scaled down Downton Abbey really. I particularly enjoyed the gothic flourishes - a contemporary homage to du Maurier or Bronte - with orphans, dark settings [Hull's impoverished slums & isolated, icy, dangerous moors], premature death, dysfunctional relationships stained with jealousy and revenge and mental illness to bring the climax to a head.
November 20, 2018
Couldn’t put it down love this author
Great story of friendship and how life can change for the better, for a girl who could of ended up in the workhouse
Great story of friendship and how life can change for the better, for a girl who could of ended up in the workhouse
April 13, 2020
Another great read by Val Wood, the copy I read was a reissue with a different cover version.
As always a Val Wood book is easy to read and easy to get into. This one tells the story of two girls, Rosalie who is the rich girl and Polly is the poor girl. They both live in Hull and are brought together by the tragic happening of losing their mothers on the same day whilst they were in childbirth.The two girls from very different backgrounds are soon very good friends and soon the story moves to the North York Moors and their friendship grows. A great saga read.
As always a Val Wood book is easy to read and easy to get into. This one tells the story of two girls, Rosalie who is the rich girl and Polly is the poor girl. They both live in Hull and are brought together by the tragic happening of losing their mothers on the same day whilst they were in childbirth.The two girls from very different backgrounds are soon very good friends and soon the story moves to the North York Moors and their friendship grows. A great saga read.
August 27, 2021
Howard reminds me of a fancy version of Luke from tears of themis
October 30, 2014
Years ago someone loaned me one of the early Val Wood books (I can't remember which one, which says a lot), because of the local interest value. I think I did finish it but other than it involving some smuggler-type character on the Humber, I can't recall anything about it. Recently, in my local library, I saw Rich Girl, Poor Girl on the Recently Returned shelf and being short of anything to read I thought I'd give her another chance. Probably I should have trusted my first reaction which was that if the book won the Catherine Cookson Prize, then it probably wouldn't be to my taste but then I decided to over-rule my prejudices.
I did try, really I did, but I found it so predictable that, once they left the Hull/Humber area and the local interest was gone, I could think of no good reason to continue. Perhaps predictability is one of the requirements of this genre; if so then this book excels. It's clear that Ms Woods does her historical research in terms of factual accuracy—historical terms for things, which streets particular occupations were located in, that sort of thing—but I found some of the dialogue to be an uncomfortable mix of period vocabulary and modern usage, often in the same sentence. It's a difficulty that historical fiction has to deal with somehow but I found that Ms Wood's solution was clumsy and awkward.
I'm pretty sure that, at sixteen, the rich girl of the title would already be well-versed in dealing with servants and the lower classes. Were she presented as some kind of radical, before-her-time, leftie, feminist, I could have accepted that more easily than the childlike innocence we are asked to accept.
I didn't choose this book because I wanted world-class literature; I chose it for what I hoped would be an easy-reading, local interest, feel-good story. The writing, like the dialogue, I found to be awkward. It reminded me of a school essay story—a good one maybe—in which the writer had made extensive use of a thesaurus to find more sophisticated words; "They handed back the empty cups with effusive thanks", "He grinned and extricated himself from her grasp".
I'm not going to become a fan of romantic fiction but I do wish I could enjoy these books for the local interest and just for a simple, easy-to-read story, but I can't see me trying Val Wood for a third time.
I did try, really I did, but I found it so predictable that, once they left the Hull/Humber area and the local interest was gone, I could think of no good reason to continue. Perhaps predictability is one of the requirements of this genre; if so then this book excels. It's clear that Ms Woods does her historical research in terms of factual accuracy—historical terms for things, which streets particular occupations were located in, that sort of thing—but I found some of the dialogue to be an uncomfortable mix of period vocabulary and modern usage, often in the same sentence. It's a difficulty that historical fiction has to deal with somehow but I found that Ms Wood's solution was clumsy and awkward.
I'm pretty sure that, at sixteen, the rich girl of the title would already be well-versed in dealing with servants and the lower classes. Were she presented as some kind of radical, before-her-time, leftie, feminist, I could have accepted that more easily than the childlike innocence we are asked to accept.
I didn't choose this book because I wanted world-class literature; I chose it for what I hoped would be an easy-reading, local interest, feel-good story. The writing, like the dialogue, I found to be awkward. It reminded me of a school essay story—a good one maybe—in which the writer had made extensive use of a thesaurus to find more sophisticated words; "They handed back the empty cups with effusive thanks", "He grinned and extricated himself from her grasp".
I'm not going to become a fan of romantic fiction but I do wish I could enjoy these books for the local interest and just for a simple, easy-to-read story, but I can't see me trying Val Wood for a third time.
December 27, 2014
This was the first book I read this year and I gave it 4 stars.
It’s about two girls of 16, who both lose their mothers during childbirth on Christmas Eve 1860.
Polly is brought up in virtual poverty and works in a factory in contrast Rosalie is brought up in wealth. They are brought together and form a strong friendship.
I enjoyed this book but I didn’t love it. Most of the story is predictable from the beginning which is a bit annoying.
However I do like the writing style of this book and the author got the setting of the victorian era just right. Like the story actually fits in the time period it is set in.
It didn’t dwell too much on the romance either, it focused on friendship and the similarities and difference between the characters Polly and Rosalie, which was nice and different from most historical romance novels.
This is the second novel that I’ve read by Val Wood and despite them both having predictable tendencies they are well written and enjoyable.
It’s about two girls of 16, who both lose their mothers during childbirth on Christmas Eve 1860.
Polly is brought up in virtual poverty and works in a factory in contrast Rosalie is brought up in wealth. They are brought together and form a strong friendship.
I enjoyed this book but I didn’t love it. Most of the story is predictable from the beginning which is a bit annoying.
However I do like the writing style of this book and the author got the setting of the victorian era just right. Like the story actually fits in the time period it is set in.
It didn’t dwell too much on the romance either, it focused on friendship and the similarities and difference between the characters Polly and Rosalie, which was nice and different from most historical romance novels.
This is the second novel that I’ve read by Val Wood and despite them both having predictable tendencies they are well written and enjoyable.
September 18, 2025
3.5 perhaps.
A rather beautiful and heartwarming read!
It was interesting seeing the different lives of Polly and Rosalie, with Polly living a life of poverty while Rosalie lives a life of comfort and luxury. However, while Polly has always had the consistent love and care of her mother, Rosalie has not had the same privilege, especially with her father often being away on business, and while is not cruel, is rather detached and hands-off. Both girls feel distress when their mothers die, on the same day, with Polly finding herself facing more deprivation and hardship as she realises she cannot afford the rented house on her own, finding herself unable to afford food, and is evicted from her rented property. Rosalie meanwhile, while being very well off, worries about her future and what will happen to her, but still also feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness. The setting was also beautiful and it was nice seeing the new lives that Rosalie and Polly took on.
Both girls find romance of course-Polly with Howard, Rosalie's sort-of cousin, and Rosalie with Sonny Blake, Polly's mother's old flame (his age is actually pretty ambiguous as he was clearly a lot younger than Polly's mum but a lot older than Polly), but also her friend. Even though the later part of the story begins to shift its focus from the friendship onto the romances between the girls and their respective love interests, the friendship between Polly and Rosalie is still a central theme to the story, as even when they do go their separate ways with their respective soon-to-be husbands their friendship still remains as strong as ever, with them always having each other even when they aren't together physically. It was great seeing how things turned out for Polly after all the hardship and poverty she had to endure, seeing her thrive in her new surroundings, her new life at that, with a new good, solid circle of friends, but her friendship with Rosalie and romance with Howard being the relationships especially what make her blossom the most.
One thing I didn't quite get that was rather misleading was not actually in the book itself but the blurb, as it says that life deals them another blow after they have moved in with Rosalie's uncle in the countryside, and how this time they at least have each other, but no blow actually ends up coming, or at least I didn't actually see what the blow was. Was it Edwin and his dangerous behaviour? Because while that definitely made things harder for them, especially Polly who he initially victimised, I wouldn't have said it was a blow, as it's not like it anything particularly tragic happened to them as a result of it. In fact once they move to the countryside to live with Rosalie's uncle it becomes a lot more character-driven than plot-driven, as it focuses more on the girl's new lives and adventures, rather than there being any particular build-up of any big event happening. This was fine of course, but the blurb was still rather misleading, seeming somewhat anti-climatic.
I also have to critique one or two other things, for instance I feel that the book didn't need to be as long as it was, with it being a whooping over 500 pages long, as the majority of the book takes place in nab farm, which while takes us on a nice adventure and is lovely seeing the girls, especially Polly, adjust to it after all the hardship she has suffered, did get a bit excessive after a while, with everything largely staying the same in the same setting, no real big events happening or twists and turns. Like I say, it's not plot-driven, so it was more like showing the new lives of these characters in a new setting, and it felt like it would have perhaps worked better as a collection of shorter stories. It's not the most suspenseful of books, like Rosie Goodwin's say, but was still nice to read. I also find that they tried cramming too many characters in, like there were already enough new characters that we are introduced to at nab farm then you also get Rosalie's uncle's new wife, Anna, and her daughter, who we are only told is 'lovely' but never really actually get to see her ourselves as a character to form our own opinion of her and was literally the most pointless character ever, as she never actually really does anything. Then there's Anna's son (who I forget if even properly appears or not), then the wise old grandmother, who only seemed to serve the purpose of being a wise old lady trope. Then of course Sonny just has to know Rosalie's family at Nab farm doesn't he, like what a typical small world, or should I say contrived coincidence! I understand they wanted to keep him as an important character in the story as Rosalie's love interest but they could have easily done that another way, like had him meet her again in Hull and have her and Polly invite him over. It was like these characters were just shoehorned in for the sake of having more characters, who didn't actually add a lot to the story. I also didn't feel totally convinced by Clementine's redemption, as she still didn't seem like she'd made up for being spiteful about Polly properly or that she even stopped disliking her. The writing was also pretty simple and basic, which isn't necessarily a terrible thing but I guess I'm just so used to Rosie Goodwin's more creative and exciting writing, which gets me gripped more. As part of this, it meant that things were spelled out for us more, with the characters repeatedly saying about how young women should have more freedom (especially Rosalie and Sonny), rather than just keeping it subtle, letting the story convey itself.
Ohh and I have to be honest here and say that while my heart really went out to Polly at the beginning after she loses her mum and she finds herself in deeper hardship and poverty and as nice as it was seeing her settle into nab farm, she could get a bit annoying at times, like she could be a bit too skittish and hyper for my liking! This is subjective to be sure though.
Also such a sad shame there was no real closure on the poor servant girl, Dora (?), who had been raped by Edwin, as yes it's said that Anna finds her a post at one of her houses, but we don't actually see how she's getting on, especially after seeing the lack of support she had from her parents! It was like everyone was just glad to get her out the way so she was no longer a problem to deal with and just celebrated their own happiness within the family with the births and marriages and that. I forget now actually if there was mention of her and Sam possibly finding happiness, though I don't think there was, at least not that was confirmed.
Still a lovely, heartwarming book that was clearly absorbing enough given I finished it within a week-and it was a long book of course!
A rather beautiful and heartwarming read!
It was interesting seeing the different lives of Polly and Rosalie, with Polly living a life of poverty while Rosalie lives a life of comfort and luxury. However, while Polly has always had the consistent love and care of her mother, Rosalie has not had the same privilege, especially with her father often being away on business, and while is not cruel, is rather detached and hands-off. Both girls feel distress when their mothers die, on the same day, with Polly finding herself facing more deprivation and hardship as she realises she cannot afford the rented house on her own, finding herself unable to afford food, and is evicted from her rented property. Rosalie meanwhile, while being very well off, worries about her future and what will happen to her, but still also feeling an overwhelming sense of loneliness. The setting was also beautiful and it was nice seeing the new lives that Rosalie and Polly took on.
Both girls find romance of course-Polly with Howard, Rosalie's sort-of cousin, and Rosalie with Sonny Blake, Polly's mother's old flame (his age is actually pretty ambiguous as he was clearly a lot younger than Polly's mum but a lot older than Polly), but also her friend. Even though the later part of the story begins to shift its focus from the friendship onto the romances between the girls and their respective love interests, the friendship between Polly and Rosalie is still a central theme to the story, as even when they do go their separate ways with their respective soon-to-be husbands their friendship still remains as strong as ever, with them always having each other even when they aren't together physically. It was great seeing how things turned out for Polly after all the hardship and poverty she had to endure, seeing her thrive in her new surroundings, her new life at that, with a new good, solid circle of friends, but her friendship with Rosalie and romance with Howard being the relationships especially what make her blossom the most.
One thing I didn't quite get that was rather misleading was not actually in the book itself but the blurb, as it says that life deals them another blow after they have moved in with Rosalie's uncle in the countryside, and how this time they at least have each other, but no blow actually ends up coming, or at least I didn't actually see what the blow was. Was it Edwin and his dangerous behaviour? Because while that definitely made things harder for them, especially Polly who he initially victimised, I wouldn't have said it was a blow, as it's not like it anything particularly tragic happened to them as a result of it. In fact once they move to the countryside to live with Rosalie's uncle it becomes a lot more character-driven than plot-driven, as it focuses more on the girl's new lives and adventures, rather than there being any particular build-up of any big event happening. This was fine of course, but the blurb was still rather misleading, seeming somewhat anti-climatic.
I also have to critique one or two other things, for instance I feel that the book didn't need to be as long as it was, with it being a whooping over 500 pages long, as the majority of the book takes place in nab farm, which while takes us on a nice adventure and is lovely seeing the girls, especially Polly, adjust to it after all the hardship she has suffered, did get a bit excessive after a while, with everything largely staying the same in the same setting, no real big events happening or twists and turns. Like I say, it's not plot-driven, so it was more like showing the new lives of these characters in a new setting, and it felt like it would have perhaps worked better as a collection of shorter stories. It's not the most suspenseful of books, like Rosie Goodwin's say, but was still nice to read. I also find that they tried cramming too many characters in, like there were already enough new characters that we are introduced to at nab farm then you also get Rosalie's uncle's new wife, Anna, and her daughter, who we are only told is 'lovely' but never really actually get to see her ourselves as a character to form our own opinion of her and was literally the most pointless character ever, as she never actually really does anything. Then there's Anna's son (who I forget if even properly appears or not), then the wise old grandmother, who only seemed to serve the purpose of being a wise old lady trope. Then of course Sonny just has to know Rosalie's family at Nab farm doesn't he, like what a typical small world, or should I say contrived coincidence! I understand they wanted to keep him as an important character in the story as Rosalie's love interest but they could have easily done that another way, like had him meet her again in Hull and have her and Polly invite him over. It was like these characters were just shoehorned in for the sake of having more characters, who didn't actually add a lot to the story. I also didn't feel totally convinced by Clementine's redemption, as she still didn't seem like she'd made up for being spiteful about Polly properly or that she even stopped disliking her. The writing was also pretty simple and basic, which isn't necessarily a terrible thing but I guess I'm just so used to Rosie Goodwin's more creative and exciting writing, which gets me gripped more. As part of this, it meant that things were spelled out for us more, with the characters repeatedly saying about how young women should have more freedom (especially Rosalie and Sonny), rather than just keeping it subtle, letting the story convey itself.
Ohh and I have to be honest here and say that while my heart really went out to Polly at the beginning after she loses her mum and she finds herself in deeper hardship and poverty and as nice as it was seeing her settle into nab farm, she could get a bit annoying at times, like she could be a bit too skittish and hyper for my liking! This is subjective to be sure though.
Also such a sad shame there was no real closure on the poor servant girl, Dora (?), who had been raped by Edwin, as yes it's said that Anna finds her a post at one of her houses, but we don't actually see how she's getting on, especially after seeing the lack of support she had from her parents! It was like everyone was just glad to get her out the way so she was no longer a problem to deal with and just celebrated their own happiness within the family with the births and marriages and that. I forget now actually if there was mention of her and Sam possibly finding happiness, though I don't think there was, at least not that was confirmed.
Still a lovely, heartwarming book that was clearly absorbing enough given I finished it within a week-and it was a long book of course!
August 18, 2019
A wonderful read. This book is over five hundred pages long, so it's a really decent novel. The further I read, the more absorbed I became. The story takes place in the mid-nineteenth century and has all the authentic period details that take you fully into that era and really give you a feel of how it would have been to live back then. I was left feeling nostalgic for simpler times. This book is beautifully and vividly written, with tension building as it progresses, I ended up changing my plans today because I simply couldn't put the book down any more until I had finished!
Won't spoil the story further, romance, friendship, intrigue. Good boys and bad boys, all the right ingredients!
Won't spoil the story further, romance, friendship, intrigue. Good boys and bad boys, all the right ingredients!
September 6, 2025
A nice and easy read filled with predictable romance as well as an unpredictable faith for both of the young girls.
I loved the descriptions of the differences between Polly and Rosalie due to their different upbringing.
Touched great themes such as mental health, love, social expectations and womanhood.
I would say it was a bit too easy to read for my taste, because I like a more unpredictable lovestory, but overall it was a very good book - which I would recommend for a beach day.
I loved the descriptions of the differences between Polly and Rosalie due to their different upbringing.
Touched great themes such as mental health, love, social expectations and womanhood.
I would say it was a bit too easy to read for my taste, because I like a more unpredictable lovestory, but overall it was a very good book - which I would recommend for a beach day.
March 30, 2021
After reading so many of these types of books some better than others, I've decided this is one of the better ones. All the usual elements are there, the class divides' the love story etc. This was an easy and enjoyable read that will not be in your all time favourites but is a harmless, simple story which is all that's needed sometimes.
May 4, 2022
A good book . About two girls from very different class systems . Their paths cross and a lovely friendship starts. Set in Yorkshire . It’s a good story , which is one of those reads which you can just get lost in their world and forget about yours a few hours . The writing is simple but tells the story lovely . I didn’t want to leave Nab farm or the characters .
November 29, 2019
From Sadness to Happiness
As always Val has produced a good book that takes you on a journey through a couple of years of the lives of two young girls, whose lives come together through grief to find happiness.
As always Val has produced a good book that takes you on a journey through a couple of years of the lives of two young girls, whose lives come together through grief to find happiness.
January 19, 2020
Polly and rosalie
2 girls who lost there mothers on the same day one rich one poor but they became friends a friendship that would last and see them through the hardest days .5 STARS
2 girls who lost there mothers on the same day one rich one poor but they became friends a friendship that would last and see them through the hardest days .5 STARS
August 26, 2023
What a heart warming story where class divides and somehow they get together to help each other helping one another through loss to become best of friends and finding love. Absolutely loved this story
December 27, 2019
Two girls meet when both lose there mothers and there lives change forever
March 6, 2020
Another excellent read from this great author!
May 4, 2021
Loved it could not put it down!
May 26, 2023
Loved it, really enjoyed it but i feel that there should be a second.
September 21, 2023
I love a good historic romance
February 18, 2024
Fantastic book. I've read it twice and I devoured it in days both times. Love this story and the characters. Such a lovely story about friendship and forging your own family
February 22, 2025
Very good read
November 28, 2012
It's a really simple story with nothing much of conflicts. Some are predicted from the first time of characters were introduced. However, there's something in the way of the story telling that hooked me up. I recalled a few other classic stories which have the same vibe of writing & i'm not saying that this is a copy of those but a mere similar feeling of it & it is a good one.
Polly & Rosalie are total opposite with some similarities. Both girls are 16 years old nearly 17, with light hair color & lost their mothers on the same day because of the same reason. Then again, Polly is a lower class girl who worked for a mere bread & hoping not to lose the roof over her head because she hadn't enough money to pay rent. Rosalie on the other hand is living in a house too big for her with a maid & a cook, having meals planned for her, keep the fire burning & someone who keep asking, "Is there anything else, Miss Rosalie?" in their subtle way. They met as a master & a maid but end up being the best of friends.
Polly & Rosalie are total opposite with some similarities. Both girls are 16 years old nearly 17, with light hair color & lost their mothers on the same day because of the same reason. Then again, Polly is a lower class girl who worked for a mere bread & hoping not to lose the roof over her head because she hadn't enough money to pay rent. Rosalie on the other hand is living in a house too big for her with a maid & a cook, having meals planned for her, keep the fire burning & someone who keep asking, "Is there anything else, Miss Rosalie?" in their subtle way. They met as a master & a maid but end up being the best of friends.
April 17, 2015
Rich girl, Poor girl is one amazing novel by Val Wood. I haven't read any others by her but definitely she has the most plot-gripping writing style ever. Even better than Enid Blyton. Set in 1860, this book should have some elements of the period more to incorporate that lifestyle into my mind. I love how Val Wood didn't rush about changing events so much which most authors do because they think it could make a strong grip on the story with the readers more.
It was natural and beautiful. I like Polly so much.
It was natural and beautiful. I like Polly so much.
December 8, 2013
Really liked this different take on a Victorian coming-of-age story about 2 girls from vastly different backgrounds who are brought together by tragedy and become best friends. I enjoyed it very much and would like to read more books by Val Wood
February 2, 2012
on the fifth chapter of this book by a local author, who is book signing this week, her new book which i havent bought yet, called the harbour girl at £18.99, bit pricey for me!
May 18, 2013
Very easy to follow and remember who all the characters are. A very enjoyable light bedtime read.
May 11, 2013
Excellent book, thoroughly enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews