
The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames
A Memoir
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $21.59
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Lisa Flanagan
-
By:
-
Justine Cowan
A riveting family drama evocative of Angela’s Ashes and The Glass Castle, about a woman who discovers the shocking secret at the center of her mother’s life.
Justine had always been told that her mother came from royal blood. The proof could be found in her mother’s elegance, her upper-crust London accent - and in a cryptic letter hinting at her claim to a country estate. But beneath the polished veneer lay a fearsome, unpredictable temper that drove Justine from home the moment she was old enough to escape. Years later, when her mother sent her an envelope filled with secrets from the past, Justine buried it in the back of an old filing cabinet.
Overcome with grief after her mother’s death, Justine found herself drawn back to that envelope. Its contents revealed a mystery that stretched back to the early years of World War II and beyond, into the dark corridors of the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children. Established in the 18th century to raise “bastard” children to clean chamber pots for England’s ruling class, the institution was tied to some of history’s most influential figures and events. From its role in the development of solitary confinement and human medical experimentation to the creation of the British Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts, its impact on Western culture continues to reverberate. It was also the environment that shaped a young girl known as Dorothy Soames, who bravely withstood years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of a sadistic headmistress - a resilient child who dreamed of escape as German bombers rained death from the skies.
Heartbreaking, surprising, and unforgettable, The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is the true story of one woman’s quest to understand the secrets that had poisoned her mother’s mind, and her startling discovery that her family’s fate had been sealed centuries before.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Justine Thompson Cowan (P)2021 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...




















People who viewed this also viewed...

Tears in my eyes
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
meaningful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
life in a london foundling hospital
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great read!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enlightening
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
outstanding
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Captivating Tale
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved it! Book club material 100%
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Five Stars!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Slow Family History
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.