Review: The Foundling by Stacey Halls

The Foundling by Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars, follows Bess Bright and Alexandra Callard – two very different women from two very different socioeconomic statuses who are bound by a child. The Foundling takes place in Georgian London–and if you set anything in Georgian London, I’m going to read it or watch it!

Bess Bright is a shrimp hawker, a unique profession for a main character in its wholly unglamorous nature. I enjoyed the little, gritty details about this aspect of Bess; for example, she wears a big hat with shrimp in it in which she scoops from for customers. What an interesting image! And what a smell that follows Bess. The novel opens with Bess dropping her newborn girl off at the Foundling Hospital with a heart token made of whalebone and a child number. Bess has the intent to save as much money as she can to collect her girl in a few years’ time. But when six years pass and Bess goes to collect her child, she is told the child was taken a mere day after by someone using the name Bess Bright.

This intriguing set up propels the story forth and keeps the reader engaged to know all the hows and whys. We later meet Alexandra Callard, the wealthy widow of the man who fathered Bess’s child. Halls keeps the reader guessing how she came to have Bess’s child. Alexandra isn’t exactly likeable, but a traumatic backstory is later revealed that provides explanation for her harsh, cold behavior, as well as her agoraphobia.

Having recently read Benjamin Franklin’s Bastard and The Square of Sevens, I couldn’t help but be reminded of both books as I read The Foundling, as there are similar premises and character dynamics. But Halls is in good company with those books.

I really enjoyed The Foundling and its depiction of class divides and the gritty, unglamorous aspects of the otherwise shining and sumptuous Georgian London. The only complaint I had was that the ending seemed too neatly tied in a bow and perhaps a bit unbelievable, but that’s just me!