In 1912, Tilly
Harper leaves home to become a house mother in a home for former flower and
watercress selling girls; the lucky occupants now work in a factory making
artificial flowers, which were immensely popular at the time. Both belong to philanthropist
Alfred Shaw, who rescues as many of the girls- the poorest of the poor, many of
them with physical problems that prevent them from getting better employment-
from the streets. When Tilly is putting her things away, she discovers a box with
an old journal stored in it, and she reads it over the days as she has time. It’s
the story of Florrie Flynn and the younger sister, Rosie, who she lost when
Rosie was four years old. Florrie spent her entire short life living and
working in the group home, and never gave up looking for her sister. This
poignant tale inspires Tilly to try and find Rosie herself, and let her know
how much her sister loved her.
It’s a sweet
story, and paints a good picture of the lives of the flower girls and poverty
in the late Victorian and Edwardian era in London. The flower factory and group
homes are based on real ones established by John Groom. Tilly is a nice
character with enough of a personal conflict to make her interesting. There is
a love interest, but it really doesn’t add much to the story. There are also
some amazing coincidences, but they are worked in well enough to be believable.
Good story for a rainy or snowy afternoon.
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