This is a review of the 2002 book 'The Doorstep Girls' by Val Wood. Set in 1848 in Middle Court ~ the poorest place in Hull ~ the story follows best friends, Ruby and Grace both sixteen years old in their quest for survival and love.

Not my usual kind of fiction but I like to read different books to shake it around a bit as I read so much it's good to get some different genres to mark the end of one book or I find they can merge into each other when you read back to back similar types!

Ruby and Grace both work at the local mill as general dogsbodies, both having little education and no particular weaving skills. They regret this but have to work to add to their family purse. Many days they go without food and wear rags and no shoes because there is that little money to go around.

This book really opened my eyes to the levels of poverty a lot of people lived in during these tough times. They were starving, many died and yet a general level of optimism and cheeriness was maintained throughout.

Ruby and Grace quickly befriend the new boy on the block, Daniel, who is no better off than them but more genuine than Jamie who lives nearby and pimps for his mother. Daniel has to give up his joiner's apprenticeship so he can earn some money as he feels a burden on his parents. He goes away to sea and comes back a year later to some amazing changes in Middle Court.

Ruby takes a way many poor women choose, becoming a prostitute but she manages to become a kept woman by a rich man so it's not so bad. She is generous with her earnings and manages to keep in touch with all her old family and friends.

Grace is made of sterner stuff and loses her job at the mill because of her outspoken manner. She's not rude though, she just wants to stand up for poor people's rights and fight for a better world.

The characters in the book are all wonderfully depicted and some are nice and some are downright nasty. Ruby's mother is addicted to an opium derivative called Laudanum which she calls her 'loddy' and it eats away all their spare pennies. It's not her fault; she's been addicted since birth and just can't cope without it. She will use the money for her habit to go out drinking and to score the drugs rather than bring home food for her children so it falls to Ruby to manage this and it's a huge burden for a young girl.

I tore through the book, enjoyed every moment, and whilst I predicted the final outcome I would have been disappointed if it hadn't turned out that way so I can't complain!

If you see a copy of this book, get it, it's a good read and will make you appreciate the shoes on your feet and food in your cupboards.