LILLI de Jong - Janet Benton

nLibrary Journal Best Historical Fiction 2017 nA powerful, authentic voice for a generation of women whose struggles were erased from history--a heart-smashing debut that completely satisfies. n--Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet n nPhiladelphia, 1883. Twenty-three-year-old Lilli de Jong is pregnant and alone--abandoned by her lover and banished from her Quaker home.

She gives birth at a charity for wronged women, planning to give up the baby. But the power of their bond sets her on a completely unexpected path. Unwed mothers in 1883 face staggering prejudice, yet Lilli refuses to give up her baby girl.

Instead, she braves moral condemnation and financial ruin in a quest to keep the two of them alive. n Lilli confides this story to her diary as it unfolds, taking readers from a charity for unwed mothers to a wealthy family's home and onto the streets of a burgeoning American city. Her story offers a rare and harrowing view into a time when a mother's milk is crucial for infant survival.

Written with startling intimacy and compassion, this accomplished novel is both a rich historical depiction and a testament to the saving force of a woman's love.n