Lily: A Tale of Revenge from the Sunday Times bestselling author
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From Sunday Times bestselling novelist Rose Tremain comes a gripping novel of murder and revenge set in Victorian England
Nobody knows yet that she is a murderer…
London, 1850. On a freezing winter’s night, a baby is abandoned at the gates of a park only to be saved by a young policeman and taken to the Foundling Hospital.
After suffering years of brutal hardship at the Hospital, Lily is released into the world of Victorian London. But she is hiding a dreadful secret…
When Lily and the policeman meet again, Lily is convinced that he holds the key to her happiness. But might he also be the one to uncover her crime and so condemn her to death?
‘Enthralling… Tremain evokes Victorian London with visceral intensity in a gripping and deeply humane novel exploring themes of rejection, poverty, guilt and redemption’ Observer
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Additional information
| Publisher | 1st edition (7 July 2022), Vintage |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 288 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1529115175 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1529115178 |
| Dimensions | 12.9 x 1.7 x 19.8 cm |
by Ralph Blumenau
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS.
We are told on the first page, when Lily is sixteen, that she had a guilty secret: she had committed a murder, which she thought had been justified but whose memory and fear of discovery haunted her. It is nearly three-quarters of the way through the book that we reach the grisly murder scene, though the readers must have guessed, long before that, whom she had killed.
In 1850 she had been abandoned at birth, had been found by PC Sam Trench, who had taken her to Coram’s Foundling Hospital. There she was named Lily.
The Hospital sent her to foster parents for her first six years, after which, the cruel regulations said, the foundlings were to be returned to Coram’s, to be trained there in some apprenticeship to a lowly craft.
Lily had a happy time with her foster parents, Perkin and Nelly Buck, who ran Rookey Farm in Suffolk, and their three sons, and the idyllic rural life is described. The Buck family and Lily were heart-broken when the day came for Lily to be sent back to Coram’s. Nelly drove her back to Coram’s, and picked up a new foster child from there.
Right from the start, she was told by a nurse, Maud, that she was not to call after Nelly; that she was the child of an undeserving mother, and should thank Jesus that she was saved by the Hospital. And this was just the beginning of her cruel treatment. Lily was not afraid of the nurse, but defiantly rebellious and full of hatred. She was forbidden to write to Nelly and was ordered to repeat that Nelly had forgotten her, and when she refused, she was caned on her bare bottom. And the horrors continue at the hands of the pathologically sadistic Maud. She excelled herself in mendacity and cruelty, and, as a punishment for a deed she knew Lily had not committed because Maud had committed it herself, brutally and painfully violated the nine-year old. And this vile deed was committed several times in the days that followed. All this makes for painful reading: Rose Tremain always writes wonderfully well.
When she was sixteen, she had left the Hospital. She worked at a Wig Emporium, making wigs, mainly for theatrical productions. Her employer, Belle Prettywood, admired her skill and was very good to her, and there is a good deal about the warm relationship between them. But Lily lived in a chilly basement, did not eat much, and became thin and frail.
Sam Trench, the policeman who had found her, thought that it was the best thing he had ever done, and had never stopped thinking of her and searching for her. He had tried to visit her at Coram’s, but had not been allowed to see her. Then he found that he and she were attending the same church, and made himself known to her.
He was now in the Detective Department – and Lily was terrified that he might discover her guilty secret. But she could not turn down his invitation to his home, where he and his wife gave her a meal and, as there was heavy snow outside, a bed for the night. The next morning Sam told her that he and his wife had felt that she was troubled and that no one was taking care of her, and they offered to have her stay with them. But she felt that she would sooner or later be unable to stop herself from confessing her secret, and then Sam would have to send her to prison; so she declined the offer.
On a later visit to the Trenchs’ home she learnt that Sam had been called in to investigate the murder. When Sam came to see her to say he needed to talk to her, she assumed that it was about the murder, and she confessed it all to him before he could ask any questions. In fact, what he had wanted to talk to her about was his love for her. He now asked her to leave London for somewhere where he could never find her, for, if he did, he knew where his duty would lie.
So she went to Rookey Farm in Suffolk. Jesse, the eldest son of the Bucks, now ran the farm. Perkin had died, and Nelly had partial dementia. But when Nelly was told who their visitor was, she remembered her and the grief she had felt when she had had to take her back to Coram’s. She and Jesse were happy that Lily had come to stay. And, though Lily would always fear that Sam would find and arrest her, this is where the book ends. Not an entirely satisfying ending.
by pennyplain
One of Tremain’s best novels. An insight into Victorian philanthropy through the heart-rending story of orphaned Lily. She is portrayed without sentimentality, carrying her ‘crime’ as a darkness that robs her of final happiness.I
by helen
A sad tale of an unwanted baby in times when having a child out of wedlock was frowned upon. It yells a story of the young woman who searches for her birth mother exacting revenge for the miserable life she endured in an orphanage after being prised away from her early Foster family.
by A Harris
The comparison between Lily’s life with her kind foster family and that of the Foundling Hospital later was most moving. The comparison of what is real love and cruelty is portrayed so vividly. Tremain is her usual talented self laying down words in such a way that draws the reader into her characters and makes them so real.
by David Baird
3 things stood out when I first noticed this book, foremost my daughters middle name is Lily so that actually caught my eye, not just the name but the fact it’s a short, sharp title for a book which intrigued me, I also loved the vivid colours on the book cover, it’s very pleasing on the eye. I picked up the book to check the blurb and after that there was zero chance I could walk away without buying a copy. I imagined a very emotional journey but I had no idea just how emotional it would be and I underestimated greatly how I would feel.
As a young girl Lily is abandoned, only to be saved from certain death.. but as you read on it can I feels like death might have been a blessing from the terrors she will see in her life.
Lily is taken to the Foundling Hospital.. but care is not there primary aim.. it’s obedience and failing to do as commanded has severe consequences.
It’s a horrible cruel journey but one Lily isn’t really aware of yet, she’s too young and at first each foundling has a chance to be fostered for a short time with a real family, but for some this means they form strong connections with the family but these families are bound by rules to return the children.
Lily, among others, loves her foster family.. it’s only when they are to be returned to the hospital that many find out they are a foundling.. they were too young when fostered so the family is all they know and in a split second they are torn from that family comfort and thrust into a life of terror.. beating.. head shaving..I can’t even find the words to describe how horrible the hospital is.. but the worst is yet to come.
At one point Lily makes a very close friend and they plot to escape and go back to their foster families..they manage to escape but being young girls they don’t manage to get far and in that short time they are free they see how cruel the outside world can be.. just a glimpse but a taster of things to come.
When they arrive back at the hospital they are separated and not allowed to comfort each other. I won’t spoil what happens next but to say Lily’s small world is crushed is an understatement, added to mental pain she endures physical pain too as there’s a nurse obsessed with sin, who isnt above a bit of abuse.. you have no idea how bad she is,
When Lily is old enough, she leaves the hospital, finds a job and in time reconnects with the man who saved her.. and he still wants to save her.
The mental heartache continues when a strange connection grows between them..there’s also some striking events that happen when Lily revisits her past that could lead to the end of the connection the pair have.
In the end Lily revisits her past.. as far back as she can go and more heartache awaits her.. but maybe also her chance of a new life, of redemption.. who knows?
You can probably tell as I’ve ranted on so long that I loved the plot, engrossing and so damn emotionally draining..you feel every low with Lily, her heartache.. the moments when she just admits defeat.. the moment she snaps.. a lot of her pain in held inside but as you read the story you kind of take the role of Lily on so when events play out it’s like it’s your own emotions playing out on paper!
I don’t think many books have managed to emotionally connect with me as a reader as much as Lily did. I can’t praise this one enough. There’s a lot of tough moments but I would really recommend this to anyone who wants to feel that connection with a character as I’ve no doubt at all that you’ll love Lily just as much as I did!
by Kevin
Lily is an unwanted baby who is abandoned at park gates in Victorian London. She ends up in a Foundling Hospital but for the first six years of her life she enjoys living with her paid foster parents. However she is then forced back to the Foundling Hospital and has to live a life of hell.
This is not a happy tale but it is very well written and you cannot help but want Lily to succeed
I don’t want to give anything away but this story is exactly the reason I would not vote to bring back the death sentence
My only criticism is that the story relies on Lily remembering her life before reaching the age of six. I can remember very little of my own life yet Lily remembers the minutest detail which I find odd.
Other than this it is a great read and recommended unless you are already feeling a bit down in the dumps!