In Family Affairs at the Orchard Cottage Hospital, Dr. Frances Brakespeare continues her mission to improve healthcare at Norton Dene's Orchard Cottage Hospital, focusing on women's and children's well-being. She launches a mother and baby clinic, determined to offer family planning advice to local families, despite knowing it will stir controversy, especially with the men in town. Adopted by former suffragette Izzy Brakespeare from a workhouse as a child, Frances now faces legal threats from Izzy's sister, Beatrice, who is outraged that Frances has inherited the Brakespeare name. Amid these challenges, Frances finds solace in her friendship with Reverend Gregory Sampson.

As secrets from her past begin to resurface, a mysterious stranger arrives in Norton Dene, heightening the tension. Frances navigates the challenges of her professional and personal life while advocating for women's rights and battling the prejudices of the 1930s. The novel revisits beloved characters from the first book, and the backdrop of family drama and social issues makes for a compelling read. Family Affairs at the Orchard Cottage Hospital is a heartfelt continuation of the series, blending medical and personal struggles with historical themes. Highly recommended!

Dr Frances is settling in too her new job role at Orchard Cottage Hospital. She is providing quality care for the community and is setting up a new mother's and baby's clinic as she knows how tough childbirth is on the women. So she is trying to provide the use of contraception but not everyone is on board with this! Dr Frances also has some turmoil in her private life as her adoptive mother's sister Beatrice is out for blood. I feel like Beatrice is a horrible woman! Frances also has a lot going on in her love life with Reverend Gregory. It's hard to believe how women and children were treated in those days with abuse and no voice. There is certainly a lot happening in this book and it kept me highly engaged! I welcomed the characters from the previous book and it was nice to read them again particularly the nurses.

Engaging and subtly progressive story involving Dr. Frances and her cast of supporting characters. This was a nice continuation of the story started in A New Doctor at Orchard Cottage Hospital and it had a few interesting twists that fit in nicely without seeming absurd for the point of shock value. I enjoyed the introduction of new characters like Billy Noakes and Mary Devonshire. Looking forward to the next installment!

This is the second book in the series and even though I enjoyed the first, this seemed better. Maybe, because the characters were familiar and I enjoyed seeing how their stories progressed. Dr. France’s Brakespeare is the main character and she is trying to modernise the hospital as well as introducing new concepts to the villagers. This is set in 1931 and many men still believe in men’s rights and their wives being their property. The Rev. Gregory Sampson played a big part in her life and is a good support and sounding block, when Frances was faced with opposition from an unknown source. There was a stranger in the village who has something to tell Frances but is unsure of her reception. This was a lovely story, heart breaking at times, but very much a village story with a variety of different characters. I received a copy and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dr. Frances Brakespeare has many unanswered questions about her birth and her adoption. She needs to find answers especially after her adopted mother's sister threatens to take her name and reputation away from her. Frances is a fighter and she will get the answers. But the truth might come at a cost.

On a historical note, it covers a time period where birth control is just being introduced to women in this community. It's frustrating in seeing how some husbands felt it was a threat. A threat to what?

This is Book two of the series. I was familiar with the characters as I read the previous book. I loved catching up with them.

I expect this story will continue as it ends with wanting more. I'll be right there ready to read more about Frances and the Orchard County Hospital.

This is the second book in the Orchard Cottage Hospital series and yet again I found this to be another great read . Yes it can be read as a stand-alone but I highly recommend reading both .
We meet back with characters we were first introduced to in book one . I loved
to read of the progress of these characters and to get acquainted with some new characters .
Dr Frances Brakespeare is a wonderful advocate for women’s rights and entitlements . She doesn’t want them treated like second class citizens and sets up a family planning clinic as well as a mother and baby clinic. Not everyone how ever is in agreement with this new clinic . As well as trying to implement changes Frances has a lot going on in her personal life and is doing her best to deal with all this as well. There are dark secrets that have been kept hidden and are about to be revealed.
This book kept me completely invested from the very start and I look forward to reading the next book in this series

This is the second book in the Orchard Cottage Hospital series and is following Doctor Frances Breakspeare. Doctor Frances is trying to get the people of Norton Dene to accept a woman doctor but it is hard as the men are against her for starting Family Planning clincs .Her adopted mothers sister is trying to make thing hard for her as well.The local vicar starts too have feeling for Frances but someone reciprocate.Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood.

Although this is the second book in a series, it can be read as a standalone if you haven't read book 1 already.

It's a thought-provoking story that made me realise just how things have improved over the years when it comes to people's attitudes toward women in the workforce and family planning to name just a couple of things.

Along with the educational side of the story, of course, there are the characters and their relationships to get fully engrossed in and enjoy. There were romances or possible romances, bitter people who you aren't sure whether they need your pity or your anger, and some reconciliations that brought tears to my eyes.

I enjoyed this book and am happy to recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood for an ARC of this novel.

‘Girls who fall into wicked ways have no rights.’ Presumably, neither do the infants who are born to such girls. So declares the smug ‘lady director’ of a certain Sussex workhouse, which, even in the 1930s was still so oppressive that most mothers and children, even the ones successfully adopted, preferred any other fate.

As director of the Orchard Park cottage hospital, Dr Frances Brakespeare is frequently involved with people who were once workhouse residents. Often the younger ones have run away from bad homes or the workhouse itself, preferring even the former. Mothers are dealing with the physical and emotional after-effects of marriages contracted to get out, and keep out, of the dreaded workhouse.

Some are actively seeking the contraception that Frances, like Marie Stokes before her, tries to persuade them to adopt as an effective counter-measure in her newly-established ‘mother and baby’ clinic. This is a controversial program, however, even in 1930s England as Stokes had discovered.

This is fundamentally a story about relationships. Frances discovers the truth about her past and how she came to be adopted out of the workhouse. The woman who delivers the news, Mrs Devonshore, was one of the ‘wicked girls’ whose baby was born in the workhouse. A little boy who refuses to tell his name flees the hospital to avoid both the workhouse and his abusive adoptive family. And in the case of nurse Lucy Daniels, hired to care for a blinded Great War veteran with whom she becomes increasingly involved, his titled family, especially his mother. sustains both the hospital and many of the poor who find treatment there.

Lizzie Lane has set up a number of such relationships, taking care always to demonstrate the courage and resilience of the women in particular. Frances loves and intends to marry the kind Anglican minister Gregory, but while she appreciates his support, especially as many townsfolk are offended by her recommendation of ‘unnatural’ practices, she does not truly need him. She can fight her own fight and take up the cause of all women, poor and rich. Lucy and the blinded Devlin are far apart in wealth and status. She may be attracted to him but never hesitated to assert herself and the rights of all women. And Mary Devonshire, the key to solving Frances’ family mystery, was herself abused but never stopped trying, over many years, to overcome her tragic youth. So this is also very much a tale of hope and resilience and of women taking care of themselves and other vulnerable people.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This is the second book in the series. It’s set in 1931.

Doctor Frances is settling into her new life, but is facing challenges professionally as well personally.

Some people like her views that women have the right to make decisions when it’s about their bodies.

But Frances’ and Reverend Gregory who are in a relationship are happy and he’s there for her giving his support, especially when things start to stack up, including what happened in her past.

Trying to straighten out the past of her family, Frances comes face to face with the outcomes of hidden truths, and why it’s necessary to forgive.

I highly recommend this book.

Norton Dene in Somerset was where the Orchard Cottage Hospital was situated, and Doctor Frances Brakespeare continued to improve the hospital, with a mother and baby clinic about to open, plus family planning advice for those families who had many children already. Frances knew it would be a controversial topic, especially with the men in town, but she was determined. Originally adopted by Izzy Brakespeare when she was a young child, taken from the workhouse, Frances had adored her adopted mother. But when she died, Izzy's sister, Beatrice, was incensed that Frances had benefitted from the Brakespeare name. When Frances heard from Beatrice's solicitors, she passed it all on to a solicitor in Norton Dene, on the recommendation of the local vicar. She was prepared to see what would happen.

Reverend Gregory Sampson and Frances had become close, and was always Frances' safe haven. With the turmoil of the family's past, secrets hidden and horrors yet to be unfolded, the stranger who entered Norton Dene seemed to be searching for someone. Would Frances find the answers from her past any time soon?

Family Affairs at the Orchard Cottage Hospital is the 2nd in the Orchard Cottage Hospital series by Lizzie Lane and I enjoyed it very much. Following on well from #1 in the series - A New Doctor at Orchard Cottage Hospital - it was great to catch up with Frances again, as well as Lucy and Nancy; Ma Skittings was at her best once again - but the old fashioned prejudice from the 1930s era was horrendous! I'm looking forward to #3 already. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & Boldwood Books for my digital ARC to read and review.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion

I had read the first book in the series and looked forward to this one as I shall the next (fingers crossed) - this certainly did not disappoint.

It brought together the loose ends hinted at in the first book regarding Dr. Frances Brakespeare and her adoption. In some ways it was incredibly sad - and highlighted how entitled some men felt they should be.

It was well written as are all of Lizzie Lane's books - and had the right amount of light heartedness as well as heartache.

Set once more in the mining area - called Norton Dene by the author - of Somerset, it was a great read.

Hope there will be more

Brilliant read once again from Lizzie, great to catch up with all the characters and the storyline had me hooked, mystery and intrigue as to who Frances real mother and father are,couldn't out the book down, hope to see more from the series

The second book in the Orchard Cottage Hospital Series, set in Norton Dene, Somerset, featuring Doctor Frances Brakespeare. This is a saga and as such I really recommend reading book one first as it sets the scene for everything that follows in this book. The main storyline in this book is centred around the recently established mother and baby unit and Frances controversial decision to offer family planning advice.

Briefly, although Frances was expecting some opposition to her advocacy for family planning she certainly couldn’t have expected some of the violent reactions she received. At the same time her adoptive mother Izzy’s sister is still trying to cut all ties between them, going as far as to try to prevent Frances using the family name.

Alongside Frances’s storylines there are a number of other threads, a new one about an abused child and an ongoing thread about Captain Delvin Compton-Dixon - both compelling stories. With more dark revelations from the past and shocking experiences in the present this is another excellent addition to the series highlighting social and medical history of the times. A very enjoyable and entertaining read.

This is a beautiful book and it is so amazing, the story is so lovely and very enjoyable to read. i loved everything about this book and i would recommend to anyone who loves reading to give this book a go. it is a lovely book and i will read other books from this author.

What a brilliant start to the new saga by the brilliant Lizzie Lane.
It was a very enjoyable read and I am looking forward to more in this series

A great follow on story featuring strong-willed women, small-town secrets, and the complexities of family relationships, set against the backdrop of a bygone era.

Family Affairs at Orchard Cottage Hospital by Lizzie Lane, is the second instalment in the Orchard Cottage Hospital historical saga series. It is set in rural Somerset, England, in 1931. I had not read the previous book, and despite some gaps in the back story it was a very enjoyable and captivating read.

Doctor Frances Brakespeare continues to settle into her new life, but continues to face both professional and personal challenges. Not everyone is happy with her "progressive" outlook on medicine and giving women a choice when it comes to their bodies.

Her relationship with Reverend Gregory Sampson is going from strength to strength with hime providing comfort and support when everything piles up, including her past.

As Frances unravels her family's past, she confronts the consequences of hidden truths and the importance of forgiveness.

Family Affairs at Orchard Cottage Hospital is an engaging story that explores themes of love, loss, and the enduring power of human connection, spearheaded by Frances' amazing colleagues and Gregory.

this is the second book in a series, the first book introduces the characters, and the second book continues the story.

The second book in a new series and a very good read. While the first book was setting up the scene and the characters, there's a lot going on in this one.
Frances is settling into her new life and job. She gets a whopping surprise and another not so pleasant one when Beatrice, Izzy's sister, stirs up trouble with a demanding solicitor's letter. What an unpleasant, nasty, bitter woman Beatrice is.
The Reverend Gregory is here again, with the romance more muted this time but still in the background. Gregory is her buffer against the world.
A lot of the issues Frances is trying to address, concerns women's health. It's hard to believe how badly women were treated still in the 1930's. Also cruelty to children rears it's head. Men really were a different breed back then.
This book has it all, romances, sorrow, tragedies, surprises and secrets.
I thoroughly enjoyed the read. This author never fails to tell a good story. I'm looking forward to the next in the series and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys heartfelt stories with a touch of realism.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an early copy of this book.