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    Thursday’s Child
    Thursday’s Child
    Thursday’s Child
    Audiobook6 hours

    Thursday’s Child

    Written by Noel Streatfeild

    Narrated by Lucy Scott

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    About this audiobook

    A thrilling, classic children’s adventure with a courageous heroine, from the beloved author of Ballet Shoes.

    Margaret Thursday was named after the day she was found on the church steps as a baby. But she isn’t really an orphan – each year a bag of gold coins is left at the church for her keep. However, when Margaret is eleven years old, the money suddenly stops and her guardians have no choice but to send her away to an orphanage.

    The orphanage is worse than they could have imagined. The children are poorly treated and barely fed, and fearless Margaret soon makes herself the enemy of the evil matron who runs it. Vowing to protect her new friends, Peter and Horatio, Margaret plans their daring escape . . . but she’ll have to outwit Matron at every turn.

    Margaret’s action-packed adventure, set in turn-of-the-century England, takes her from orphanage to canal boat to the world of the theatre. Through it all, Margaret is propelled by her unwavering sense of self and determination.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins Publishers
    Release dateApr 2, 2020
    ISBN9780008244033
    Author

    Noel Streatfeild

    Noel Streatfeild, the plain middle child between two talented and pretty sisters, trained at RADA and acted for nine years before writing Ballet Shoes, an instant bestseller, in 1936. As vicarage daughter, factory girl, actress, model, social worker, writer, and crusader for good books, Noel touched many aspects of life. Her experiences enriched her stories, which were so popular that, by her eightieth birthday, she had earned herself the title of ‘a national monument’. She died in 1986.

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    Reviews for Thursday’s Child

    4/5

    81 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      ‘Thursday’s Child’, set shortly after the start of the 20th century, is the story of ten-year-old Margaret, who was left on a vicarage doorstep as a baby. It was written in 1970 so is a historical rather than contemporary novel, and it paints a good picture of life in various contexts from the point of view of a child.

      This isn’t a typical Streatfeild book: there are no highly gifted children, at least not until Margaret discovers a talent towards the end. There’s a somewhat unlikely coincidence - although it seems happily believable while immersed in the book - and, being a children’s book, a satisfactory conclusion even though it happens rather quickly and leaves the story open. I knew I had to read the sequel ("Far to Go") soon afterwards!

      I first read this many years ago, but had forgotten the story entirely. Noel Streatfeild has a very readable style, and a gift of characterisation for the children in her novels, even if the adults are rather caricatured.

      Perhaps this wouldn’t be the best introduction to Noel Streatfeild’s books, yet it’s a good story that might appeal to boys as much as to girls. I doubt if anyone younger than about eight or nine would find it very interesting, but a good reader of that age or older might well enjoy it. it would be good as a read-aloud, too, for children of about eight or older who still enjoy a bedtime chapter.
    • 3/5
      A lesser work from Streatfeild, following foundling Margaret Thursday as she lands in a cruel orphanage and resolves to run away. Margaret is a bit too full of herself to be an appealing protagonist, although she has a kind heart and a strong sense of protectiveness.Now back in print as an ebook.
    • 5/5
      One of those books I read several times as a kid and then had to hunt down a copy of to reread as an adult. The story of a young orphan girl who knows she is destined for greater things than what she has, and her struggles to reach them, appealed to me as much at age 30 as at age 9.
    • 4/5
      Margaret finds herself condemned to enter an orphanage, where she befriends a family of two small boys and a girl. Unable to stan the cruel regime of the orphanage, they run away. A really absorbing read - very exciting.
    • 4/5
      Thursday, a foundling so named because she was found on that day, has to enter an orphanage because the money which mysteriously appeared each year has ceased. There, she befriends a family of children, the oldest, a girl who is old enough to go into service, while the two younger brothers remain in the orphanage. A cast of interesting characters - the cruel matron, her malicious assistant, a kindly benefactor who knows nothing about how to handle children, a helpful stableboy.
    • 4/5
      Heartwarming story about orphan who finds her way in the world at the turn of the century.