A Victorian Miss: A Kind of Courage

Within Victorian Manchester lies the district of Ancoats. It is an industrial wasteland of smoke-blackened brick and polluted streets and waterways. In this grim and barren place, the poor swarm cheek by jowl, living on top of their work. However, here in Manchester, where cotton is king, even a woman can find a job. But hours are long, the work often dangerous and wages low. Eliza struggles to scrape a meagre, dreary existence.

Then the unexpected happens, and Eliza finds shelter in the little Derbyshire village of Spondon. Once again she is a mill-girl. But now she is sharing a cottage with friends. Villagers are welcoming. There is a little scope to make life more comfortable, to better her lot; and she has a determination to make the best of whatever comes her way. Life seems on the upturn.

Will she be able to shed her disgrace and become a respectable member of the community? Will she ever find the husband that she fears her past will deny her?

Eliza was my great grandmother; and this is her story.