Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book though the ‘Workhouse’ element was a very minor part of the narrative really. The book centred around Lissie Fairweather and her parents - her mother a slatternly woman out for herself and her father a beloved figure in her life.
Her mother took her from The Peak District to Bradford - and eventually abandoned Lissie in the Workhouse. My husband who knows Bradford well says he thinks there was a workhouse in Little Horton. Dora - her mother - meets her end in a tragic way - which remains (and probably was in the day) unresolved.
Lissie is then taken under the wing of another saintly figure and when she becomes too old for the workhouse gets a job in a drapery with the sister-in-law of her workhouse mentor in Scarborough.
Living in the North East the vernacular speech of her friend Meggie was very odd. Lissie meets and falls in love with Flynn - who works on fairground rides owned by Patience - who owned the drapery. Meggie falls for her own beau Jim
So all a little contrived.
Time moves forward and WW1 intervenes. In my mind this was dealt with very quickly - perhaps too quickly - but then this review is written just before Remembrance Day. The horrors of the Trenches and Warfare were well researched and written but glossed over in a few chapters at the end of the book.
Flynn’s experiences could have been explored better in my view - to provide more would be a very major spoiler.

A well written well researched book which for me was a bit rushed. I would have liked a couple of extra chapters in this book rather than some from. another by Chrissie Walsh.

A heartbreaking whilst heartwarming book

Lissie Fairweather was only seven years old when her mother dragged her away from their home, and the father she loved dearly. Tom Fairweather and Lissie were close and his lessons on life stayed in Lissie's mind when tragedy struck. Her mother, Dora, didn't want Lissie and after Lissie had spent hours, days and weeks cleaning, washing, doing dishes and keeping the fire going, Dora took Lissie to the workhouse, dumping her there and turning her back on her daughter. Frightened, lonely and missing her Dad desperately, Lissie gradually settled in, making a few friends along the way. And as the years went by, the friendship of matron Connie Briggs, kept her sane.

When Lissie left the workhouse, Connie took her to her sister-in-law's place in Scarborough, where Lissie worked in Patience's drapery, and was a companion to Patience. Things looked up for Lissie, but she still thought of her father, and wondered where he was, if he was even alive. What would be the future for Lissie, especially as war was on the horizon?

The Workhouse Lass is a heartwarming, yet heartbreaking historical novel by Chrissie Walsh which I thoroughly enjoyed! Set before and leading into WWI, the characters are well written, especially those who are in the forefront of the story. This is my first by Chrissie Walsh and I'll be checking out her back log. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Boldwood Books for my digital ARC to read and review.

What an emotional read by Chrissie Walsh . Lissie is 7 years old and a happy content child until tragedy strikes the family.

Then we Follow her life’s journey through the years ,
I went through many emotions in this novel.

What an amazing story The Workhouse Lass is. The characters are well thought out, and each one, even the wicked ones, intrigued me. Lissie's life and relationships were told throughout the years; despite the hardships she went through, she remained a kind and likeable person. I ran the gamut of emotions, especially during Lissie's time in the Workhouse, and then when she was older, when her love interest was fighting in the war. The book was beautifully written and I couldn't read it quickly enough to find out if Lissie had her happy ever after.

A fantastic tear jerker by Christie Walsh. Not much about Lissie’s years in the workhouse, but the characters that helped her endure the harsh treatment and conditions were wonderful. Not a complicated story but the story flowed wonderfully. Well worth reading.

My thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an ARC of this novel.

Young Lissie Fairweather was born into a poor but respectable family in late Victorian England, in the industrializing north where mills and mines polluted the air and long hours at low wages meant that many families needed several earners to survive. Tom, her own ‘lovely father’ as she calls him, is a cobbler by trade, but now mostly mends boots and furniture. He is a good man, well liked about town, a doting father, and an extremely patient husband. Tom and Lissie, barely 7 as the story begins, are very close.

Mother Dora, on the other hand, is lazy, promiscuous and selfish. Returning from a delivery trip to town, Lissie and Tom take a short cut through the woods. What they witness shocks them both. Dora attacks Tom, leaving him for dead, then flees with the heartbroken and unwilling Lissie. After much neglect and abuse when they find a new home in a mill slum in Bradford, Dora heeds her new man’s warning to get rid of her daughter. And so Lissie, bright and beautiful and mourning her father, is dumped at the orphanage attached to the local workhouse.

Although there are definite Dickensian elements, and hunger, hard work and arbitrary punishments are common, there is hope in the person of Mrs Connie Gibbs, a widow and workhouse employee who comes to dote on Lissie and takes action to rid the place of its most abusive employees. Lissie also finds comfort in the sympathetic friends she makes among the other girls. After 7 years, during which she hears nothing from her mother but never stops hoping her father survived her attack, Connie arranges an apprenticeship for Lissie with her brother’s widow at the drapery shop she owns in the lively seaside resort of Scarborough. She proves herself to the older woman in every way, and soon finds herself in a loving community, respected for her sewing skills, with good friends and even a kind and protective beau.

Of course, the story is not one big happy fairytale. Lissie was very young when her small world turned upside down. Turn of the century England spared little thought for the poor, and those, especially the young, who were left without family suffered especially. She is plagued by guilt and anxiety for having witnessed the attack on her father. She fears her mother might show up and ruin her life again. And then the Great War happens and Flynn and countless other young men are off to the front. They were to marry. Would that ever happen?

I found the writing and characterization to be excellent, though the author tends to make the main characters all good or all bad. Lissie and Tom are saintly, especially the all-forgiving Tom. Dora is a bit too slatternly even for a Victorian-era slattern, when it didn’t take much. I liked the careful historical detail, and the plausible positioning of the characters within it.

Firstly thank you Netgalley for this Arc

What an emotional book but such a lovely story pulls at your heart strings

Dora leaves her seven-year-old daughter Lissie in an orphanage. this was a sad story, but really good writing.

This is the story of Seven-year-old Lissie Fairweather, losing her family, trying to make her way in a world that is not always kind. This is a story that will break your heart but then lifts you up. it is sad ta times but it then gives you hope.

This is a book where the writing brings the story and the characters to life. I enjoyed every aspect of this book as it had a bit of everything. It is a beautiful book and one I could read again.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A beautifully written heart wrenching saga,Chrissie Walsh is a wonderful storyteller her characters never fail to emotionally engage me kep me turning the pages#.netgalley#boldwoodbooks

Lissie Fairweather has the most despicable mother who abandons Lissie at the orphanage. Lissie is devastated and longs for her beloved father as she worries about what happened to him and if they will ever be reunited. Lissie makes quite a few good friends on her journey but they are not her father. The plot is enchanting and had me captivated as tears streamed down my face it took me on a emotional ride. The author has written a well represented story of the times and although the way some of the characters talk was hard to understand at times it was easier to hear them and by the end I was trying to speak like them but I don't think I can get the accent right! This historical saga drew me in straight away and even though I cried a lot I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Dora Fairweather wasn't cut out to be a wife and mother, and as sonn as she's able, she turns her back on her young daughter Lissie. With no parents to protect her, Lissie has no option but the dangerous streets of soot-sodden Bradford or the workhouse orphanage. Life in the orphanage is bleak, and Lissie longs for the warm embrace of her beloved father. As the years pass, Lissie learns to enjoy the camaraderie of the girls in the workhouse, and when she's taken under the wing of matron Connie Briggs, things begin to look up. A move to the seaside of Scarborough, friends and even love are finally within Lissie's grasp.

Lissie and her father suffered the abuse and beatings she got from her mother Dora, until the night she went too far., and she flew from her maritaal home taking young Lissie with her. But Dora didn't care much for Lissie, and she was left to fend for erself. She ends up in the workhouse orphanage where matron Connie Briggs takes her under her wing.

This is a well-written, easy to read, at times, a heartbreaking read. I was fully committed to this story and read well into the night to see how thngs worked out for Lissise I loved this book.

Published 9th November 2024

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks aand the author #ChrissieWalsh for my ARC of #TheWorkhouseLass in exchange for an honest review/

An emotional read about a young girl getting seperated from her beloved father and a mother who wants nothing to do with her puts her in workhouse.
Lizzie gets put to service working in a shop and begins to make a life for herself.
A lovely story. Thank you for advanced copy.

This is a review of my 100th book this year! Woohooo!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I started this one and the first chapter nearly scared me away. It started with young Lissie at home with her father and abusive mother. Her father is lying dead on the floor from what we can tell through the eyes of a 4-year-old. Mom takes Lissie and flees the scene. Awful woman. Hmmm

In the long run, though, it was a very good book!

First, look at the cover. What a beautiful girl and those eyes! The description intrigued me because I love stories about orphans. Trust me, even though the first chapters are hard to read - such cruelty little Lissie experienced - it really does get better. She eventually falls under the care of a good person in the orphanage, Connie, who becomes the matron of the orphanage. When she "ages out" at age 14, she goes to live with Connie's sister, Patience, in a town not far away. At first, the relationship is strained, but the story briefly became reminiscent of "Anne of Green Gables" once the childless Patience learns how to interact with a "child" they grow to love each other as if they were mother and daughter.

The setting is mostly in Scarborough, England, yet for the longest time I thought we were in Ireland. Some fo the language was pretty hard to decipher at times - for example:

"Aw, it's oreight, Jimmy, man. Tek no notice of me. Emmy didn't mean to upset me, did you? Aah took offence, but it w' over summat an' nowt." Some parts you might get and others I wasn't 100% sure but no matter - it still made send to me.

It's a coming of age novel complete with first love, drama, relationships, betrayals, death and so much more. It was a novel of HOPE and encouragement. I really enjoyed it!

A lovely story for the heart! Easy to read, easy to like the characters who are not particularly complex but it works here. The plot is ok , even though one might guess how it will all end...
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

Historical drama featuring the toils and troubles of Lissie Fairweather. Set in the early 1900s there is much drama and heartache as week as joy.

An emotional read massive highs and lowly lows, triumph over catastropic events. I have read the orphans heartbreak by the same author and this is equally excellent a real page turner.

1903 Bradford
Lissie Fairweather ends up in the workhouse after what happened to her beloved father cobbler Tom, her mother Nora doesn't want her.
A tragic tale of the fate of the lass who survived the workhouse.
With no parents to protect her Lissie has to learn to fend for herself.
Oh such a heartbreaking story that readers will love.
This author truly writes from the heart. let's her readers go into another time zone with superb historical stories.
It's a must read with tissues needed.
I loved it.

Oh. My. Word! Keep the tissues handy as you will find your eyes tearing up on several occasions. Chrissie Walsh shares the life of Lissie in such a vivid manner you see the sights, hear the sounds, and feel the touches (good and bad). Seven-year-old Lissie has a loving, doting father Tom and cruel, abusive mother Dora. During a terrible argument, Dora hits Tom with an iron, gathers up Lissie and a few belongings, and leaves Tom lying in his own blood.

As the story ensues, Dora turns to a life of scamming others with the help of an equally awful man, abusing and ignoring Lissie and leaving the little lass on her own all too often. Lissie is befriended by the neighbors who shower her with love, affection, and experiences like she is one of their own children. Dora's boyfriend Jed coerces her into dropping Lissie off at an orphanage/workhouse. The rest of the story is Lissie's life at the orphanage where she ages out at age 14. A kind and caring teacher arranges for Lissie to live with her widowed sister in law to help in her drapery store, making friends on her own, and learning to love and trust others like she has not been able to do since her mother took her from her loving father.

I can easily see this becoming a very popular book and maybe even a movie - it's that good.

A well constructed work of fiction, interspersed with fact which will wring every emotion out of you! Yes, I did love it.

Lissie Fairweather has been brought up under the caring eye of father Tom who Lissie just adores. The fly in the works is Dora who has a wicked temper. One day after allowing her temper to get the better of her she hurts Tom, not hanging around to see what damage she has inflicted, she grabs Lissie and leaves town. At this stage I’m thinking “how could you treat a child so badly “. Believe me it gets worse! I shouted oh no, how could you, please don’t and more. If you read one book this year, make it this one.

My favourite character was Lissie. Least favourite Miss Scroggins followed by Dora
I loved Tom’s thought provoking sayings to Lissie. I liked the battlefield descriptions, they helped picture the scene.
Felt lost on completion. Look forward to next by this author. Just wish I could give more ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️