The Misunderstandings of Charity Brown
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Inspired by award-winning author Elizabeth Laird's own childhood growing up in post-war London, The Misunderstandings of Charity Brown is a classic coming-of-age story, perfect for fans of The Skylarks' War and I Capture the Castle.
Charity Brown’s life is about to change – her family have been left a huge, rambling house by a mysterious benefactor, and her parents want to move in and throw open its doors to the needy.
Only recently back from hospital after months of isolation with polio, Charity is over-protected and lonely as the only child still at home. Her family are very religious – her sisters are called Faith and Hope, and her brother Ted is studying to be a preacher – so she's both excited and nervous at the thought of sharing her family and new home with strangers.
It’s a recipe for confusion, joy and endless misunderstandings, including with the new neighbours, an Austrian family with a daughter just Charity’s age . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A decade after the end of WWII, the event's repercussions still feel alive in Britain, where 13-year-old Charity Brown, who is recovering from polio, contends with whirlwind familial changes. Charity and her older siblings Ted, Faith, and Hope have been brought up as Lucasites, a strict Christian sect. Their charismatic, good-hearted father runs the Lucasites's London-based missionary society, and the family has always lived in financial precarity, believing "the Lord will provide." When a wealthy elderly member of the sect dies and leaves his mansion to the Browns, the family moves in, devoting themselves and their new home as a refuge to the "weary and heavy-laden." Their first guest, Mr. Fisher, is a shell-shocked German Christian minister who was tortured by Nazis; getting to know him along with her new German Jewish neighbor Rachel Stern opens Charity's eyes to the world outside the Lucasites. As she ponders prejudice, her own implicit biases, and the ambiguities of faith, Charity's earnest, questioning voice also pulls readers into the lively ambiance of her high-spirited family. Drawing from childhood experiences, according to an author's note, Laird (The Name Game) crafts a novel that is at once entertaining and thought-provoking. All characters present as white. A glossary concludes. Ages 9–11.
