The Empty Cradle - Rosie Goodwin

To the outside world, Charlotte is the privileged daughter of the local vicar, but her life is cruelly controlled by her father. She longs for freedom, but when her captivating innocence leads her into trouble, she is sent to Ireland to hide a shameful pregnancy.

Forced into a convent’s harsh and humiliating regime, she must eventually give up the one thing that makes her life worthwhile.

When Charlotte returns to England, older than her years, she chooses to forget the past. Becoming a London midwife, she longs only to help others at this hardest and most joyful moment in their lives. But her deep compassion, and desire to prevent anyone else suffering the horror she did, leads her into a darker and more dangerous place.