The Workhouse Doctor — Sara Fraser

January 1843. Liddy Landser, heroine of The Surgeon's Apprentice, has returned to Bromsgrove in disgrace, to take up a position as schoolmistress at the local Workhouse. The position has been engineered for her by George Harcourt, Liddy's father's creditor, and a man entirely lacking in moral fibre, driven by his appetites. Harcourt has one ambition only: to possess Liddy, in body and spirit, and to see her family ruined.

In the harsh environment of the Bromsgrove Workhouse, ruled over by the unscrupulous Melens, there is little to comfort Liddy. But she takes pleasure in her relationships with some of the children, especially little Katie Kennedy, and she resolves to see their wretched lot improve. Then there are the regular visits of the Workhouse Doctor, handsome James Kerr, who has made no secret of his attraction to Liddy, and who seems to her to embody all that is decent, honourable and kind in a cruel and unforgiving world...