The Soup Kitchen Girl (Cotton Crisis, #1)

With the closure of the cotton mills, the rich become poor and the poor even poorer

Sally Grimes is a mill girl, the eldest of a family of six surviving children. When the mills stop work completely, they have nothing left to live on. The family decide to emigrate to America where the mills are looking for workers, but tragedy strikes when her father is killed. Sally becomes the main earner for her household and must hold them all together until better times come around.
Ruth Hodgson's father has a confectionery business, but the workers are not buying luxuries and his business is in ruins. He is given the job of supervising the soup kitchen, but when he falls ill, it is up to Ruth to persuade the relief committee that she is capable of taking on the work in his place.
Caroline Haworth is the daughter of a local mill owner. She volunteers at the soup kitchen but they are running out of money. The only solution is accepting a loan from the wealthy Dutton family, but it comes with strings attached, a marriage to their son, Thomas.

A captivating Victorian Saga filled with love, female resilience and friendship for readers of Dilly Court and Mollie Walton.