1891 New York City, Maggie and her younger brother were two of the thousands of Irish immigrants, dreaming of a bright future in America. They were to meet up with their father, but their hopes were dashed when he never turned up and finding his tenement was hard enough but to find he’d absconded without a care for them was heart breaking.
Finding employment was difficult for someone new to New York but Maggie had big dreams and she was determined to get her step on the ladder. She did not think that her fourteen year old brother would get involved in a notorious gang that would eventually put an end to her life that was beginning to turn around, and force her to flee when she became a wanted woman.
The story was descriptive of a change in lifestyles of not just poor but the rich as well. Nouveau rich families like the Steins were beginning to be part of the rich and famous, and for them too social acceptance was a slog. Class divides were very much in existence and both sides did not like someone who did not keep to the rules of “knowing one’s place”. It was good reading of a bit of history of life in New York at tge end of the 19th century.
I am looking forward to the sequel of Maggie’s life once she left New York.
Thanks to Bookouture for sending me the book for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.
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