The captivating Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Familiars Two women, bound by a child, a nd a secret that will change everything . . . London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London's Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst, that Clara has died in care, Bess is astonished to be told she has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl - and why. Less than a mile from Bess' lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend - an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital - persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart. From the bestselling author of The Familiars comes this captivating story of mothers and daughters, class and power, and love against the greatest of odds . . . 'The new Hilary Mantel' COSMOPOLITAN 'Stacey Halls is a writer of great originality, great imagination and great sense of place. Atmospheric, intelligent, accessible, every novel is worth reading, then reading again and again' KATE MOSSE Another gripping, immersive, intelligent work of historical fiction from the bestselling author of The Familiars ' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE, author of THE MERCIES A moving, atmospheric chiller ' INDEPENDENT ' A breathtaking achievement' SUNDAY EXPRESS ' Enjoyable and atmospheric ' THE TIMES ' Historical drama at its very best ' MY WEEKLY ** THE HOUSEHOLD, the brand new novel from Stacey Halls, is available to pre-order now** *Sunday Times bestseller February and September 2020* *Winner of Women's Prize for Fiction x Good Housekeeping Futures award - Good Housekeeping 14 Oct 2022*