Amelia Barber

According to parish records, Amelia was born in 1855. Despite extensive searches of the UK's General Register Office (GRO), her birth certificate could not be found, even though birth registration became mandatory in July 1837. In the parish register, her mother is listed as Mary Barber, but no father is mentioned. Around the time of Amelia's birth, Mary was employed as a housemaid in the nearby village of Yoxford.

Following Amelia's birth, Mary moved to London and left her daughter in the care of her grandparents, Charles and Penelope, in Peasenhall. Amelia stayed there until she was nineteen, at which point she was found working in London. Approximately a year later, she was discovered in a workhouse, where she was admitted on the same day she gave birth to a son, who passed away either during birth or shortly thereafter.

Between 1877 and 1897, Amelia was frequently found in different workhouses, typically staying for periods ranging from a few days to several weeks. In 1888, she reappeared, this time accompanied by her eight-year-old daughter, Matilda.

After 1897, the record trail goes cold, leaving Amelia’s later years shrouded in mystery. The absence of further documentation leaves one to ponder the twists and turns her life might have taken and the fate that befell her and her daughter.

Reflecting on Amelia's plight evoked a deep sense of sadness in me. It's difficult not to feel her loneliness and desperation, to wonder about the choices she made or the circumstances that kept her from seeking solace with her family or turning to her aunt, Anna, for support. The reasons for her isolation and the decisions that led her down this path remain unanswered.

In the novel, I chose to reimagine Amelia's life to offer her a different narrative, one that perhaps she would have cherished. I envisioned a life where she found stability, love, and a sense of belonging, a stark contrast to the fragmented existence she lived.

1888 Workhouse records showing Amelia age 29 with her daughter, Matilda age 8