Blessings and Sorrows — Christine Thomas

Sadie Carswell is only four years old when her parents plunge to their deaths while skating on a frozen pond one bitter January day. The little orphan is taken in by her great aunts - two elderly spinsters who live in an isolated cottage - and grows up wishing for a more conventional childhood. Recognising her needs, Queenie and Victoria send her away to boarding school, where she befriends Maria Giangelli. The Giangellis represent Sadie's ideal family, and when her great aunts eventually die, she is unofficially adopted by Giovanni and Rosalie.