*WINNER OF THE WRITERS' PRIZE - BOOK OF THE YEAR*

Inspired by a true story, The Home Child is a beautiful novel-in-verse about a child far from home

‘Ground-breaking’ Benjamin Zephaniah
‘Beautifully crafted’ Guardian
‘Extraordinary’ Hannah Lowe

In 1908, Eliza Showell, twelve years old and newly orphaned, boards a ship that will carry her from the slums of the Black Country to rural Nova Scotia. She will never return or see her family again.

With nothing to call her own, the wild beauty of her surroundings is the only solace Eliza has – until another Home Child, a boy, arrives at the farm and changes everything.

Inspired by the true story of Liz Berry’s great aunt, this spellbinding novel in verse is an exquisite portrait of a girl far from home.

‘One of the outstanding books of this year. Although this is a historical tale its resonance is timeless’ Sunday Times

‘Deeply moving. A graceful, delicate book, stunning in its emotional depth... I know I'll return to it many times in the future’ Megan Hunter, author of The End We Start From

-Now in paperback
-Liz Berry is a brilliant and award-winning poet, with accolades including the Somerset Maugham Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, and the Forward Prize for Best Collection. She is a hypnotic live performer and has a dedicated following among readers and poets.
-In The Home Child, a novel in verse, Liz Berry explores the story of her great aunt Eliza Showell, in a moving narrative sequence that imagines Eliza's life following her separation from her family in 1909. Family - its absence, and what it means - is a strong theme throughout.
-Liz Berry shines a light on the experiences of 'Home Children' more broadly. The treatment of these poor and vulnerable children constitutes a national scandal; it is a part of British history that is too often overlooked.
-Home Children was a child migration scheme founded in 1869 under which more than 100,000 children were sent from the UK to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. The program was largely discontinued in the 1930s but not entirely terminated until the 1970s. Later research, beginning in the 1980s, exposed abuse and hardships of the relocated children.