The home child

£14.99

In 1908, Eliza Showell, twelve years old and newly orphaned, boards a ship that will carry her from the slums of the Black Country to rural Nova Scotia. She will never return to Britain or see her family again. She is a Home Child, one of thousands of British children sent to Canada to work as indentured farm labourers and domestic servants. In luminous and tender poems, Eliza’s world unfolds, a place where ordinary things are transfigured into treasures – a red ribbon, the feel of a foal’s mane, the sound of her name on someone’s lips. With nothing to call her own, the wild beauty of Cape Breton is the only solace Eliza has – until another Home Child, a boy, comes to the farm and changes everything.

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SKU: 9781784742683 Category: Tag:

Description

Inspired by a true story, a beautiful novel-in-verse about a child far from home. From award-winning poet Liz Berry.

‘A profound act of witness to a long injustice, and a beautifully crafted conjuring of a life lived as truly as possibleGuardian ‘Book of the Day’
‘Ground-breaking’ Benjamin Zephaniah
‘Exquisite’ Hannah Lowe
, author of The Kids

Home’s not a place, you must believe this,
but one who names you and means beloved.

In 1908, Eliza Showell, twelve years old and newly orphaned, boards a ship that will carry her from the slums of the Black Country to rural Nova Scotia. She will never return to Britain or see her family again. She is a Home Child, one of thousands of British children sent to Canada to work as indentured farm labourers and domestic servants.

In Nova Scotia, Eliza’s world becomes a place where ordinary things are transfigured into treasures – a red ribbon, the feel of a foal’s mane, the sound of her name on someone else’s lips. With nothing to call her own, the wild beauty of Cape Breton is the only solace Eliza has – until another Home Child, a boy, comes to the farm and changes everything.

Inspired by the true story of Liz Berry’s great aunt, this spellbinding novel in verse is an exquisite portrait of a girl far from home.

A haunting, deeply compelling narrative‘ Andrew McMillan, author of physical

Only Liz Berry could write such raw and staggeringly beautiful poems‘ Fiona Benson, author of Vertigo & Ghost

Additional information

Weight 0.218 kg
Dimensions 20.6 × 14.3 × 1.7 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

80

Language

English

Edition

Hardback original

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K