JDCMustReadBooks

By: Hazel Gaynor

ASIN B00RAWBNHU

Narrator: Nicola Barber

Publisher: Harper Audio

Publication Date: 2/3/2015

Format: Audio

My Rating: 5 Stars 

Hazel Gaynor, delivers a poignant and heartwarming tale, A MEMORY OF VIOLETS; A NOVEL OF LONDON’S FLOWER SELLERS, written in magical lyrical-like prose featuring Tilly, Flora, and Rosie, connected by life, history, love, time, tragedy, and a special love of flowers.

From the author of The Girl Who Came Home comes an unforgettable historical novel that tells the story of two long-lost sisters, orphaned flower sellers, and a young woman who is transformed by their experiences.

Set in the late 1800s-early 1900s, we learn of the poverty and wealth of the era. Two young orphaned girls, flower sellers in London, ages eight and four. The poor girls lead a heartbreaking life. Their mother died and their father is abusive, and beats them if they do not bring in enough money from their flower sales. The flowers are a means of survival and many of the flower girls are homeless, blind, crippled and disabled.

On one tragic day, Flora gets separated from her younger sister, Rosie. Flora is heartbroken, scared and afraid for her little sister, as she is responsible for her. She has let her down. How will her little sister survive? She will never stop searching for her. "For little sister... I will never stop looking for you."

Rosie ends up hiding in the carriage of a wealthy woman, who took pity on the poor child and eventually convinced her husband to raise the child as their own. Flora finds refuge working and living with other young girls who makes flowers.

Alfred Shaw is a caring and wealthy man, altruistic with extraordinary insights. He sets up a business as a means to help those less fortunate by creating homes, jobs, and when old enough, taught how to make beautiful fabric flowers. He gets them off the streets; responsible for changing lives for the better; supportive of the girls, with his endeavor— offering them a chance at life.

With new opportunities, a safe home, and a means of making a living; in a world they would not have otherwise. A place and work they can be proud of. Even the wealthy such as the Queen Alexandra orders from the business, with flowers sold throughout London to other rich and famous, while raising money for the poor.

In a parallel narrative, Tilly, another young woman is escaping a home life, (she has a powerful story), now a housemother at one of the homes. She has a very intriguing past, which connects towards the end of the book.

Flashing back and forth alternating between Flora, a young Irish girl whose mother dies and is left in the care of her drunken father; responsible for her four year old sister, Rosie. After she gets away from her she is frantic and spends the rest of her life guilt ridden in search of her little sister.

From the poverty stricken, disabled, and poor conditions of the time, we learn more of Tilly’s past and journal entries by Flora, and many of the young girls, as Flora hopes one day to be reunited with her sister.

A realistic portrayal of life in the late 1800s with vivid sweet smelling roses, posies, violets, and watercress at Covenant Garden’s flower markets, to 1912, with Tilly where she is working as a housemother's assistant in one of Mr. Shaw's Training Homes for Watercress and Flower Girls. This is where she discovers a journal written by a former resident, Flora, and tries to find out what happened to the two sisters.

The audiobook was mesmerizing, narrated by Nicola Barber. I fell in love with Barber’s accent and was captivated by the emotion she portrayed, in perfect sync with the author. Readers will connect with the girls, their disabilities, distinctive voices, their tragedies, love, and their stories as they unfold with even pacing, rich in character- stealing your heart.

The author’s extensive research is impeccable, as she delves into the disparity of the wealthy and impoverished coexisting in Victorian London, bringing history to life! Highly recommend to those who enjoy historical fiction.

If you loved A MEMORY OF VIOLETS, recommend reading:THE LETTER by Kathryn Hughes, and THE PARTICULAR APPEAL OF GILLIAN PUGSLEY by Susan Ornbratt (some of my favorites).