A Baby on the Doorstep

In this heartbreaking and beautiful tale, a woman running an orphanage during the Great Depression does everything she can to help the children in her care—perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours and The Orphan Train.

Distant rumblings of conflict in Europe have reached even the secluded, snow-dusted mountains of Virginia, where Lauren Greenwood faces a battle of her own. The Great Depression is crippling America, leaving millions of its victims without shoes on their feet and clothes on their backs. Hope House––the orphanage Lauren runs––is suffering more than ever.

The one thing Lauren is not short of is love. But with just a handful of dollars to her name, every day is a struggle to feed the orphans and keep a roof over their heads.

Yet she refuses to give up. When a baby is left on the porch, Lauren welcomes her with open arms. The abandoned new-born, Maisie, is left with a crumpled letter––her parents begging Lauren to look after the girl and promising to return for her one day. Lauren refuses to allow another child to fall prey to the Depression, and vows to provide little Maisie with the love and protection of a mother.

But when the debt collectors come calling, threatening to shut down the orphanage, Lauren runs out of hope. Any day now the children could be thrown onto the frozen streets, where survival is impossible.

With tragedy just around the corner, how can she ever reunite Maisie with her parents? And if she doesn’t manage to save the orphans, how will she live with herself?

Rachel Wesson is the author of several bestselling series including her latest based on the Orphan Trains. Having always been a fan of history, Rachel tries to combine her love of history with a good story.

While born in Kilkenny, Ireland, Rachel considers herself to be from the capital, Dublin, as that’s where she spent most of her life. She grew up driving everyone nuts asking them questions about what they did during the War or what side they were on in the 1916 rising etc. Finally her Granny told her to write her stories down so people would get the pleasure of reading them. 

Now Rachel lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, two boys and a girl. When not reading, writing or watching films for “research” purposes, Rachel likes to hang out with her family. She also travels regularly back home to Ireland.