Pippa Goodheart has done such an excellent job with this book - it totally transports the reader to the workhouse alongside Polly, to experience its hardships and loneliness, before whisking them to the bustle and clatter or Quarry Bank Mill (now a National Trust property) to will Polly on both in her work and her bid to escape. Weaving in threads of friendship and family, as well as the complex issue of slavery and the pressures and dangers posed to those working on factory floors during the industrial revolution, this a book that is simple to read but really packs a punch.