Grace Parkes has just had to do a terrible thing. Having given birth to an illegitimate child, she has travelled to the famed Brookwood Cemetery to...
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Jul 19, 2011
Nomes
rated it: 
The tale has a Dickensian feel to it: the plot manages to weave it's way through street urchin-type life, to the lives of the incredibly posh upper class folks of the day.
While the story is constantly unravelling (the plot is quite pacy and from one chapter to the next a lot of things seem to go down) it still doesn't read like a tension-filled adventure-y read. It's a story you have to relax and settle yourself into.
It *kind of* reminded me of some of Jeffrey Archer's tale More...
While the story is constantly unravelling (the plot is quite pacy and from one chapter to the next a lot of things seem to go down) it still doesn't read like a tension-filled adventure-y read. It's a story you have to relax and settle yourself into.
It *kind of* reminded me of some of Jeffrey Archer's tale More...
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Sep 10, 2011
Cinnamon
rated it:
This review may also be found on A Thousand Little Pages.
3.5/5
Orphaned at a young age, Grace and Lily Parkes barely scrape by living off of the revenue from their watercress-selling operation. When Grace -- barely sixteen herself -- gives birth to a stillborn baby boy, she embarks on a train ride that causes her to crash head-on into two individuals who ultimately come to define the sisters’ messy future. And what a messy future it is, for the entirety of legal London is More...
3.5/5
Orphaned at a young age, Grace and Lily Parkes barely scrape by living off of the revenue from their watercress-selling operation. When Grace -- barely sixteen herself -- gives birth to a stillborn baby boy, she embarks on a train ride that causes her to crash head-on into two individuals who ultimately come to define the sisters’ messy future. And what a messy future it is, for the entirety of legal London is More...
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Feb 28, 2011
Angelc
rated it: 
Poor Grace and Lily have been through so much! Every horrid thing that could possibly happen to them does happen. They are orphans, they are both abused by a benefactor at their workhouse, Grace become pregnant, and her baby dies. And these things all happen at the very beginning of the book, so you can only imagine how hard times become as the story moves on. The story never has a dull moment it hops right along from one scary adventure to the next.
I was most intrigued by Grace's w More...
I was most intrigued by Grace's w More...
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Nov 12, 2011
Aly (Fantasy4eva)
rated it:
Historical Fiction isn't one of my most favoured genre’s, but it’s books like Fallen Grace that make me more than willing to make the exception. Fallen Grace centres around the not so glamorous streets of Victorian London around the mid 1800s. It's the story of a fifteen year old girl who is struggling to survive alongside her older sister Lily. Her mother is dead and her father long gone before their birth. Meanwhile a promising future is left behind by our MC due to becoming pregnant which le
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Dec 16, 2011
JL (An Avid Reader's Musings)
rated it:
THE TWEET
Set in Victorian London, FALLEN GRACE is the story of a poor young girl who's exposed to the seedy underbelly of the funeral trade.
WHAT WORKED
What first drew me to FALLEN GRACE was the historical aspect of the story. I love history and historical fiction and FALLEN GRACE had an interesting hook with the exploration of the funeral trade in Victorian London. Mary Hooper must have done extensive research prior to writing FALLEN GRACE and this shows in the deta More...
Set in Victorian London, FALLEN GRACE is the story of a poor young girl who's exposed to the seedy underbelly of the funeral trade.
WHAT WORKED
What first drew me to FALLEN GRACE was the historical aspect of the story. I love history and historical fiction and FALLEN GRACE had an interesting hook with the exploration of the funeral trade in Victorian London. Mary Hooper must have done extensive research prior to writing FALLEN GRACE and this shows in the deta More...
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Feb 02, 2011
Rebecca
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The year is 1861 in London. Fifteen-year-old Grace Parkes and her older sister, Lily, live a life of hardship, struggling every day just to earn enough money to buy food. Their father disappeared long ago and their mother died while they were still very young. Though she is the older sister, Lily has the mind of a child and so Grace must look after her. The two girls were safe in an orphanage for a few years but once they had to leave one misfortune had followed another. As the novel begins, Gra
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Feb 04, 2011
Kimberly
rated it:
Really impressive in the way it gives the reader insight into the time period/setting - the historical setting is a part of the story, and it's fascinating. It's also an engrossing story, although most plot points I could see coming from miles away (hence the 3 and not 4 stars - it was written a bit too simplistically for the targeted age group).
Full review: http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2011/02...
Full review: http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2011/02...
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Jan 30, 2012
Jules
rated it:
The more of Hooper's books I read, the more I love her. She's got a wonderful talent for heroines, and female characters in general -- there are all kinds of strength in the women in her books, and it's always refreshing not to see someone who feels that the only way the heroine in a historical novel could possibly be interesting is if she hates everything feminine. I appreciated, too, that there was only the slightest hint of a possible romance, and that the male character in question helped Gr
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Dec 10, 2011
Liberty
rated it:
What's Good About It
I picked this up after seeing a friend rave on her blog. It's not the sort of novel I usually reach for. There's a distinct absence of magic and monsters. Despite that, though, I really loved Fallen Grace.
It wasn't the most challenging of plots, and there was never really a sense that things wouldn't turn out all for the best for everyone in the end, even when the situation of Grace and her sister was at its most dire, but it was a beautifully written book More...
I picked this up after seeing a friend rave on her blog. It's not the sort of novel I usually reach for. There's a distinct absence of magic and monsters. Despite that, though, I really loved Fallen Grace.
It wasn't the most challenging of plots, and there was never really a sense that things wouldn't turn out all for the best for everyone in the end, even when the situation of Grace and her sister was at its most dire, but it was a beautifully written book More...
Oct 19, 2011
Taffy
rated it:
First line:
"Grace, holding on tightly to her precious burden, found the station entrance without much difficulty."
The good, the bad and the ugly of Victorian London. Poor Grace and her sister Lily are in the gutter of this city. The girls are orphans and rely on Grace to keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs.
Grace meets James Solent and Mrs. Emmeline Unwin at a cemetery while taking care of a personal tragedy. Solent and Unwin are o More...
"Grace, holding on tightly to her precious burden, found the station entrance without much difficulty."
The good, the bad and the ugly of Victorian London. Poor Grace and her sister Lily are in the gutter of this city. The girls are orphans and rely on Grace to keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs.
Grace meets James Solent and Mrs. Emmeline Unwin at a cemetery while taking care of a personal tragedy. Solent and Unwin are o More...
Sep 12, 2011
Marie
rated it:
Fallen Grace may be a little bit inappropriate for people younger of age because of the story line. It is a little bit scary, truthfully. The story line is based on two sister named Grace and Lily who were orphans at a work house and they both got raped, however Grace got pregnant and she was only 15! Grace's baby unfortunately dies... Grace wants a nice funeral for her baby but can't afford it so she throws the baby in the casket of somebody else. the women's casket happens to be the sister of
More...
Sep 03, 2011
Jonna
rated it:
This YA historical novel was a quick & pleasant read, well-written and quite informative. I'd no idea about Victorian mourning customs, but found the details given here just as interesting as the plot.
15-year-old Grace is a "fallen woman" after being molested by a stranger in the training school she'd been sent to with her sister Lily. Lily is older, but "simple," and from the time the girls were orphaned, ten years ago, Grace has been looking out for her. Grace More...
15-year-old Grace is a "fallen woman" after being molested by a stranger in the training school she'd been sent to with her sister Lily. Lily is older, but "simple," and from the time the girls were orphaned, ten years ago, Grace has been looking out for her. Grace More...
Jul 24, 2011
Dornel
rated it:
Sixteen year old Grace and her simple minded sister, Lily, 17, struggle to survive in Victorian London after the disappearance of their father and the death of their mother. After they are turned out of their boarding house both believe they will find shelter and employment working for the Unwin family mortuary business. Instead what they find places them in great danger. Overall a compelling and credible story with some shocking turns of events and real attention to details of daily life, Engl
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Jul 06, 2011
Laura
rated it:
Fallen Grace is the story of Grace and her simple sister, Lily, and their tough lives in 1861 London.
Its strength is the description of 1861 London and how the very poorest scrambled for their lives. The plot is very predictable and many of the problems are solved too neatly. Almost all of the secondary characters have dual roles -- a kind cook helps locate Lily and then shows Grace an important part of her past.
I was also a little confused about the intended audience. More...
Its strength is the description of 1861 London and how the very poorest scrambled for their lives. The plot is very predictable and many of the problems are solved too neatly. Almost all of the secondary characters have dual roles -- a kind cook helps locate Lily and then shows Grace an important part of her past.
I was also a little confused about the intended audience. More...
Jul 02, 2011
Jade
rated it:
Original review at http://inkscratchers.blogspot.com/
I found Mary Hooper years ago when I was going through my YA historical stage, I found her 'The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose' which I loved, so I knew when I saw this that I had to read it, unfortunately I forgot about it until I opened up my Bloomsbury package yesterday and found a paperback copy in there. I devoured it in a few hours.
Hooper has an amazing skill when it comes to place and time, she set the book More...
I found Mary Hooper years ago when I was going through my YA historical stage, I found her 'The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose' which I loved, so I knew when I saw this that I had to read it, unfortunately I forgot about it until I opened up my Bloomsbury package yesterday and found a paperback copy in there. I devoured it in a few hours.
Hooper has an amazing skill when it comes to place and time, she set the book More...
Jun 28, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
This review originally appeared at <a href="http://www.readinasinglesitting.com/2011/06/29/review-fallen-grace-by-mary-hooper/>www.readinasinglesitting.com</a>
If there’s a topic that can never be exhausted in literature, it’s death. The cult of death is something evident in so many aspects of daily life, and its shadow necessarily haunts us. In her novel Fallen Grace young adult author Mary Hooper touches on the topic in myriad and complex ways, exploiting her morbid V More...
If there’s a topic that can never be exhausted in literature, it’s death. The cult of death is something evident in so many aspects of daily life, and its shadow necessarily haunts us. In her novel Fallen Grace young adult author Mary Hooper touches on the topic in myriad and complex ways, exploiting her morbid V More...
Jun 25, 2011
I have always loved historical novels, and Fallen Grace was one of the best I’ve read. A brilliant story of rags to riches, it tells the story of Grace, a strong, tragic orphaned girl, and her disabled sister Lily. It had me completely hooked: Mary Hooper’s writing, characters and plot were absolutely incredibly, and really made you feel as though you were in early Victorian times. All the tiny details made the entire story come to life and really authentic, and all the hardships of Grace and
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Jun 24, 2011
Love YA Lit
rated it:
Nora's Review (originally posted at: LoveYALit.com):
Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper takes place in a Dickensian 1861 London. Grace and her older sister Lily are orphans trying to survive by selling watercress, and it doesn’t help that Lily is mentally impaired. In addition, Grace just suffered through a pregnancy and the birth of a stillborn child. The midwife recommends she bury the child in the casket of a rich lady, and instructs her to go to the necropolis railway and find a suitable More...
Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper takes place in a Dickensian 1861 London. Grace and her older sister Lily are orphans trying to survive by selling watercress, and it doesn’t help that Lily is mentally impaired. In addition, Grace just suffered through a pregnancy and the birth of a stillborn child. The midwife recommends she bury the child in the casket of a rich lady, and instructs her to go to the necropolis railway and find a suitable More...
May 30, 2011
Katie
rated it:
When searching for a new author to read, I generally find that Amazon.com is pretty good in recommending things to me. My latest find is British author Mary Hooper (apparently if you like Eva Ibbotson, you’ll like Hooper).
In her recent novel “Fallen Grace”, we meet Grace Parkes in 1861 London. Suffering from a tragic life, Grace is burdened with not only her survival but also with the care of her simple older sister Lily. They are orphans who must fend for themselves on the mean More...
In her recent novel “Fallen Grace”, we meet Grace Parkes in 1861 London. Suffering from a tragic life, Grace is burdened with not only her survival but also with the care of her simple older sister Lily. They are orphans who must fend for themselves on the mean More...
Apr 10, 2011
Corinne
rated it:
Victorian England, it brings to mind horse-drawn coaches, giant hoop skirts and Charles Dickens-esque romantic adventures. In Fallen Grace, we are introduced to another facet of Victorian life, two facets, really. The life of the absolutely downtrodden poor and the culture and customs of mourning and funerals.
When we meet Grace, she is on a miserable errand. She and her older (but clearly disabled) sister Lily are orphaned and very much on their own. Selling whatever they can manage on More...
When we meet Grace, she is on a miserable errand. She and her older (but clearly disabled) sister Lily are orphaned and very much on their own. Selling whatever they can manage on More...
Apr 06, 2011
Barbara
rated it:
Fallen Grace is a wonderful historical YA story involving a strong heroine, fifteen-year-old Grace. We begin watching her struggles in Victorian London as she tries to find a way to get a decent burial for her stillborn child. Her grandparents disowned the family when her parents married, her father disappeared before her birth, her mother died when she was five-after charging Grace with the care of her sister Lily. Lily is older chronologically, but her mind is forever a child, leaving her prey
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Jan 02, 2011
Danna
rated it:
Fallen Grace is the first book I’ve ever read by Mary Hooper and I must say that I did enjoy it.
The story follows young, poor Grace Parkes who has just given birth to a stillborn baby boy and her older, yet simple-minded, sister Lily as they try to survive. To me, Grace was quite the extraordinary girl because she got raped and then gave birth to a dead baby and yet managed to keep her and her sister fed and sheltered. Lily on the other hand reminded me of my little sister. She was really More...
The story follows young, poor Grace Parkes who has just given birth to a stillborn baby boy and her older, yet simple-minded, sister Lily as they try to survive. To me, Grace was quite the extraordinary girl because she got raped and then gave birth to a dead baby and yet managed to keep her and her sister fed and sheltered. Lily on the other hand reminded me of my little sister. She was really More...
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Sep 15, 2010
Rebecca-
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 06, 2010
Larissa
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Grace and her older sister Lily lost their mother at a young age, before that they had lost their father. Alone in the world the girls had been sent to an orphanage and when older to a workhouse, but now they were living on their own making what they could selling watercress in one of the poorest areas in London.
It had always been Grace's responsibility to look after Lily, who now almost seventeen was still as unable to care for herself as she was when a child. Grace and Lily had More...
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Oct 01, 2011
Emily
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Set in the year of 1861 in the streets of London, the book follows the journey of a girl named Grace Parkes as she struggles to provide food and money for her and her older sister Lily. When Grace falls pregnant before marriage and her new born baby sadly dies she is sent to the well known cemetery Brookwood where she is told by her kindly midwife, Mrs Smith, to hide her baby to a rich persons coffin to avoid the baby being buried in a paupers grave.
It is here that she meets the myst More...
It is here that she meets the myst More...
Jan 05, 2012
Payton
rated it:
Fallen Grace
Grace Parkes first was penniless; it was a struggle able to make money. She and her sister were orphans living on their own because their mother died a couple of years ago and their father had left them at an early age. Then they lost their house and were living on the streets of Victorian London until Grace got a job as a mute. But what they didn’t know was that both of the sisters are heiresses and a wealthy family was going to take the money from them. What the main idea is More...
Grace Parkes first was penniless; it was a struggle able to make money. She and her sister were orphans living on their own because their mother died a couple of years ago and their father had left them at an early age. Then they lost their house and were living on the streets of Victorian London until Grace got a job as a mute. But what they didn’t know was that both of the sisters are heiresses and a wealthy family was going to take the money from them. What the main idea is More...
Oct 20, 2011
kari
rated it:
Two word review: Dickens lite.
If Oliver Twist was a girl and had a sister and didn't fall in with Fagan's band of murderous thieves, it would be something like this story with missing heirs and evil plotting people. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this book, I did.
The feel of Victorian London comes through so clearly and is even integral to the story with the clinging fog.
Grace is an engaging protagonist, being dealt some horrible circumstances, she does her best trying More...
If Oliver Twist was a girl and had a sister and didn't fall in with Fagan's band of murderous thieves, it would be something like this story with missing heirs and evil plotting people. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this book, I did.
The feel of Victorian London comes through so clearly and is even integral to the story with the clinging fog.
Grace is an engaging protagonist, being dealt some horrible circumstances, she does her best trying More...
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Jun 13, 2011
Jodie
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www.booksforcompany.com
I am not usually a fan of historical books but after reading Montacute House,which is also published by Bloomsbury, l definitely wanted to give Fallen Grace a go.
Fallen Grace is another book which is proving to me that l actually do enjoy historical books, not books with a lot of depth and explanation into the history but books with in depth characters and a good storyline which just so happens to be in past times. Fallen Grace is a great example of that.
Gra More...
I am not usually a fan of historical books but after reading Montacute House,which is also published by Bloomsbury, l definitely wanted to give Fallen Grace a go.
Fallen Grace is another book which is proving to me that l actually do enjoy historical books, not books with a lot of depth and explanation into the history but books with in depth characters and a good storyline which just so happens to be in past times. Fallen Grace is a great example of that.
Gra More...
Nov 23, 2011
Laura
rated it:
Fallen Grace is set in Victorian England and the main character, Grace, is a teenage girl whose parents have died. She is now the sole carer of her sister, Lily, who has the mental age of a child. At the beginning of the novel Grace is travelling on the Necropolis Railway to bury her stillborn child who was a result of rape. Grace and Lily's life soon goes from bad to worse when they are evicted from their slum home and end up on the streets. They are saved from the streets when Grace is employe
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Aug 14, 2011
Daniela
rated it:
Genre:
Historical Fiction, International, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Suspense
Summary:
Grace must endure the unmentionable. At the vulnerable age of 15, Grace must bury her newly born illegitimate child at the famed Brookwood cemetery, carefully hiding it in a rich lady's coffin. Grace and her sister are orphaned paupers and this is the only way the baby might receive a proper burial. It is at the cemetery where she meets the lecherous, deceitful Unwin family - funeral di More...
Historical Fiction, International, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Suspense
Summary:
Grace must endure the unmentionable. At the vulnerable age of 15, Grace must bury her newly born illegitimate child at the famed Brookwood cemetery, carefully hiding it in a rich lady's coffin. Grace and her sister are orphaned paupers and this is the only way the baby might receive a proper burial. It is at the cemetery where she meets the lecherous, deceitful Unwin family - funeral di More...
