Shadow Baby

by Margaret Forster

A powerful, moving story about motherhood, abandonment and guilt which casts a shadow across generations.
 
Born in Carlisle in 1887, brought up in a children's home and by reluctant relatives, Evie, with her wild hair and unassuming ways, seems a quiet, undemanding child.
 
Shona, born almost seventy years later, is headstrong and striking. She grows up in comfort and security in Scotland, the only child of doting parents. But there are, as she discovers, unanswered questions about her past.
 
The two girls have only one thing in both were abandoned as babies by their mothers. Different times, different circumstances, but these two girls grow up sharing the same obsession. Each sets out to stalk and then haunt her natural mother. Both mothers dread disclosure; both daughters seek emotional compensation and, ultimately, revenge.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Margaret Forster was educated at the Carlisle and County High School for Girls. From here she won an Open Scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford where in 1960 she was awarded an honours degree in History.

From 1963 Margaret Forster worked as a novelist, biographer and freelance literary critic, contributing regularly to book programmes on television, to Radio 4 and various newpapers and magazines.

Forster was married to the writer, journalist and broadcaster Hunter Davies. They lived in London. and in the Lake District. They had three children, Caitlin, Jake and Flora.

Reviews

[Natalie Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this; didn't want it to end.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently reread this and downgraded it from a four to a three. This time around I just did not enjoy it as much. It is about abandoned babies in different eras. More importantly it is about why their mothers felt they had to give them away, and how they coped with that decision in later life. I felt that Evie, the child that was left behind in the nineteenth century, changed from being a lovely and well adjusted girl (considering what she had been through) to absolutely unhinged and acting out of character stalking her mother. In contrast, Shona was given away in the 1950s, in a very strange hideaway in Norway. She also does a bit of stalking. I found the way she ensconced herself in with her natural family to be very quick and unbelievable. Her mother, who I felt lacked emotion, just seemed to let thing happen instead of taking charge of the situation. I also felt that the last few chapters of the book, which draw the stories together, were rather rushed and galloped to the ending. I liked the book to begin with but as the book progressed became more frustrated with the whole thing.

[Eleanor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this well enough, but found Leah's antagonism towards her daughter a bit hard to believe. I suppose it takes all sorts to make the world. I found Hazel much more believable and I liked the way the two separate stories were eventually brought together.

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite books of all times and one of the few that I re-read for sheer pleasure from time to time

The story is about two girls adopted 100 years apart, the reasons why they were adopted and how they and their mothers reacted to adoption.

During the book we get to know the girls and their mothers through their own narratives. This is an emotional story and I often think of the real Evie's that lived in the shadows because of the time and circumstance of their birth. I recommend reading Hidden Lives: A Family Memoir which includes the Margret Forster's family history, including that of her Grandmother who wouldn't speak of her early life at all. I am sure this wonderful book is the author's way of revealing some of what may have led to those secrets.

You can't do better than this for a dual time tale with a hefty dollop of social history included.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Margaret Forster's novels and this was no exception. The two stories are developed in parallel with a chapter devoted to each until the tales become more dramatic. I couldn't put it down and when my tablet ran out of charge (a real book never does) ended up reading the last few chapters on my phone as I had to know how it all worked out in the end! It really does make you think about the different mother-daughter connections, especially when unwanted pregnancies and adoptions are included. The complexity of the different relationships as different personalities and circumstances are involved. I loved the "oh I get it" bit (no spoilers!).

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two daughters given up by their birth mothers, two stories of how they grew up. Two women who relinquished their babies, and what happened after that. Is a (birth) mother’s love superior to all other loves?

She’s one of my favorite writers. She really gets people.

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most miserable books I've ever had the displeasure of reading. Long, dreary, overly dramatic and all the characters were unlikable. I really can't believe the bad light all the mothers were portrayed in. Awful!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slow-build read which, by halfway, had me glued to the page. It is in part a story about unplanned pregnancy - choices, motherhood and how a girl grows to be a mother herself - and part social history. The history is the skeleton on which the flesh of the story hangs and inter-connects. Two young women fall pregnant, Leah in 1887 and Hazel in 1956. Both abandon their babies. ‘Shadow Baby’ by Margaret Forster is the story of Leah and her daughter Evie, Hazel and her daughter Shona. The circumstances are different – Evie is brought up first in a children’s home and then by reluctant relatives; Shona is adopted by a family desperate for a child with a mother whose care is suffocating – but the stories so similar. Both daughters are obsessed with their birth mothers.
From generation to generation, mistakes are uncannily mirrored. Attitudes from the 19th century reappear in the 20th. ‘Shadow Baby’ is a thoughtful and measured exploration of how the nature of being a mother differs from woman to woman, expectations, fears, well-meaning but hurtful family and social pressure. And how, when the daughter grows into a woman who in turn becomes pregnant, the same fears, expectations and social pressures kick in. Forster is perceptive about the rejection felt by the daughters, and the shame of their mothers, shame which prompts denial and continued rejection. These women have to make hard decisions to survive, decisions a million miles away from how we live today in our comfortable 21st century lives but with a stark reminder of how the actions of a previous generation can affect the next.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...

[Clare Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Margaret Forster is a brilliant writer. I'm not a mother (a regret) nor am I adopted but I am a daughter and the development of the various relationships, the family connections, social pressures, is so beautifully written I read it in a couple of days. The way she develops the two stories concurrently is so moving I just had to continue reading until finished. Emotional and gripping.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very similar to the author’s memoir’ Hidden Lives: A Family Memoir’ E.g. the illegitimacy not being spoken of, the girl wanting to marry a butcher from Carlisle market etc.
I still enjoyed it immensely and never saw the twist in the epilogue Leah’s daughter from her marriage had an illegitimate daughter herself, who turned out to be Hazel’s mother, Hazel herself being the mother of the illegitimately born Shona.

[Sarah Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on holiday and it was good as holiday reading since I always wanted to pick it up and read more. Margaret Forster is brilliant at constructing a story. This novel is several, tied together near the end. And it is full of human experience especially that of mothers and daughters.

[Jenny Barron · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting tale of two single mothers seventy years apart, the impact on their lives and on their illegitimate daughters. So many women left in this position - wonder how the father’s stories read…

[Mareli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very touching story about the power of mother -daughter ties. Keeps you pondering long after the book is finnished.

[Christine Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5. Reminiscent of Catherine Cookson

[Sue Heaser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong writing from a great author. Compelling and fascinating.

[Judith Falkner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking and addictive.

[Gayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about adoption. The characters were well thought out. The stories very believable. Descriptions of feelings and emotions very well written.

[Sonia Archdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent story line following two abandoned babies set decades apart. It becomes more gripping as the stories develop and the understanding and reasoning for abandonment become clearer.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second Margaret Forster. I enjoyed Lady's Maid so much, I think I didn't seek out others because I didn't want to be disappointed! While Shadow Baby didn't appeal to me as much as Lady's Maid, I was still sucked into the story. Forster has a great knack for writing about women, for writing how they think and feel, but what is most unique is her ability to convey complicated relationships between women, which most novels boil down to simple elements like jealousy, envy, etc. Forster blends the motivations behind her characters neatly but not simply; you truly understand the women and how they feel toward each other and why they act as such, without being told "She felt this and so said this." I really admire Forster's storytelling and will be reading everything I can get from here on out.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discovered this author after hearing a interview with the author, now deceased, on CBC Vancouver. The book is looks at illegitimacy in the late 1800 and the 1950's from the perspectives of the women that give birth to their illegitimate daughter and the perspective of the daughters. It was really well written, at times hard to read but I think an honest look at what the reality of having a child out of wedlock would have been at these times. The author also writes from personal experience as her grandmother had an illegitimate daughter - I believe she tells this story in her book Hidden Lives: A Family Memoir which I hope to read soon.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two girls who were abandoned as babys, and their two mothers. The girls want to find their mothers but the mothers don't want to be found. The stories are set 70 years apart and the two girls have quite different personalities but both have a tenacity in trying to find their mothers in common. You follow stories of these four people and see their different viewpoints. As a final twist, there is a connection between the two abandoned girls.
This is an excellent read and quite gripping - just like every other book by Margaret Forster I have read.

[Leya]

I read this awhile ago but I remember that I really got into it. It was one of those books that you feel you live in the time. Then when the real world needs your attention you have to shake your head to get back there.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

illegitimacy whether in the 1880s or 1950s was frowned upon. 2 babies born seventy years apart are given away by their mothers and in parallel stories Shadow Baby is about how this affects the lives and characters of both children and their mothers. Gripping and very sad.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Margaret Forster will be much missed. After her death I tried to get hold of the few of her books I hadn't read. Shadow Baby was one and it didn't disappoint. Miss Forster was a wonderful story teller.

[Wangũi Ng'ang'a · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one of those I pick because they look interesting, start on because of my ego,and finish because they are unbelievable. Evey went mad. That stayed in my head.

[Myriel Morley · Rating 3 out of 5]

exquisitely written, but for me, the plot and theme were harder to believe in and engage with. Nevertheless, another tour de force

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evie was born in 1887 and Shona born in 1956....one was abandoned and one was given up at birth. Very good book

[Rae Argent · Rating 5 out of 5]

A haunting and very moving story. Well worth a read.