Living in the Shadows: The Foundling's Path - Part 1 - Paperback

by Jemima Brigges (Author)

What chance has a girl born into poverty of achieving a position of trust...?

Living in the Shadows - (The Foundling's Path - Part 1) - (Linmore Series Book 4), begins the heartwarming saga of an orphan's struggle for survival, in an alliance between a homeless girl, a country midwife, and a physician; each ready to help the other - in secret - at a time when it is illegal to cohabit with gypsies and herbal treatments are likened to witchcraft. Set in rural Shropshire during the Regency Georgian era of 19th century England (1808-1816).

(A Sequel to Counting the Cost)

Turned off from her job, Nell Walcote is forced to seek shelter with a relative stranger. As a foundling she grew up expecting to be treated with disdain but finds that a gypsy lives a harsher existence than even Nell has known. Whilst they are together, she finds companionship and discovers links to her birth from someone who was present at the time.

Meg Chapel, an enigmatic gypsy midwife, herbalist, and keeper of secrets. An outcast, with the uncanny ability to pass chameleon-like between the social classes - and to teach Nell new skills that will prepare her for the challenges ahead.

Dr James Althorpe, a country physician, has a novel idea to improve his clinical practice. When he meets Nell Walcote, he recognises in her gentle demeanour the person he has been seeking. But it was not his intention, when employing Nell as a nurse, to expose her to the licentious attention of so-called gentlemen.

Cast out into a harsh world, Nell's first steps towards respectability take her through uncharted territory, but will the skills she acquires help her to navigate the pitfalls ahead? Or will her vibrant looks prove a distraction for others? And will the memories of her tainted origins impede her progress...?