The Vanished Child

by M J Lee

[Heather]

This is the fourth book in this series of mysteries solved by a genealogical researcher.  I hadn't read the previous ones but I didn't have any trouble following this book.  I do think this is an interesting angle for a mystery.  I love watching genealogy shows on TV and researching my own family history.

This book hits hard on one of my push button issues - the horrific treatment of unmarried women with children at the hands of Christian churches.  I spent my whole time reading this book muttering to myself about how abusive the church is and how it always seems to be coming up with new ways to be awful.  It was not unusual for unmarried women to be separated from their children because it was considered better for the children to be raised elsewhere away from their immoral mothers.  This book looks at the practice of shipping English children to Australia to be trained as domestics and laborers.  Yes, it was considered better for them to be raised as virtual slaves than to stay with their mothers.  People were told they were orphans and they wanted to believe that so they dismissed the children when they talked about having mothers at home in England.

The whole book is pretty heartbreaking but it highlights some British history that isn't well known.  If you want to continue your outrage after this one, check out the movies Philomena or The Magdalene Sisters.  The first one is sad but has funny moments.  The second is just deeply horrifying.

This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story