"Far from growing up in the wealthy, fox-hunting circles . . .her mother had in fact been raised in a foundling hospital for the children of unwed women." —Editor's Choice, The New York Times Book Review
Justine Cowan's remarkable true story begins when she found her often volatile mother in an unlit room writing a name over and over again, one that she had never heard before and would not hear again for many years – Dorothy Soames.
Thirty years later, overcome with grief following her mother's death, Justine was drawn back to the past, uncovering 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.
It was the environment that shaped a young girl known as Dorothy Soames, who bravely withstood years of physical and emotional abuse —a resilient child whose only hope would be a daring escape as German bombers rained death from the skies.
Heartbreaking 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.
"A riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately healing journey of discovery." — Christina Baker Kline, New York Times–bestselling author
"Cowan has the doggedness of a public-interest lawyer and a writer's eye for detail. — New York Times
"This frank account of a real-life Dickensian dystopia captivates at every turn." — Publishers Weekly
"Extraordinary . . . fascinating, moving." — The Telegraph
"Book groups will find as much to discuss here as they have with The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and Educated by Tara Westover." — BookList