The Mill of Lost Dreams
Book Feature - The Mill of Lost Dreams by Lori Rohda
HBL Note: One of the things I love about reading, especially historical fiction, is when the themes from the past reflect the themes of today. There is a lot of intolerance in the United States, especially of differences. This novel challenges the reader to confront misconceptions about immigrants…that they threaten our society, democracy, and identity. Books help us humanize those who are different than us when we don’t have the opportunity to engage with different individuals face-to-face. Scroll down to read more about The Mill of Lost Dreams by Lori Rohda.
Book Feature - The Mill of Lost Dreams by Lori Rohda
Book Feature - The Mill of Lost Dreams by Lori Rohda
From the publisher:
Between 1870 and 1900, twelve million people immigrated to America. Hundreds of
thousands of them came to work in the textile mills of Fall River, Massachusetts.
The Mill of Lost Dreams is a story of love, friendship and sacrifice that provides an inside view into the world of textile mills and the daily life of seven courageous souls who leave home and risk everything for their shared dream of a better life: Angelina and Guido Wallabee, who have left their family’s failed farm in Italy; eleven-year-old Miranda Alysworth and her fifteen-year-old brother, Francois, who have escaped from indentured service in Canada; twins Phoebe and Charlie Dougherty, the children of Irish immigrant parents, who, though not yet thirteen, are forced to work in Troy Mill to support their family after their father’s untimely death; and eleven-year-old, Anne Kenny, an orphan who’s never known where she came from. All but one take jobs in Troy Mill in Fall River.
Over the course of seven decades, there are marriages, births, secrets exposed, friendships tested, and innocence lost. Some succeed in making a new life away from harm but pay a terrible price. Many cannot build the life they dreamed of and the consequences impact and shape the lives of their children—and their children’s children.
Book Feature - The Mill of Lost Dreams by Lori Rohda
