Best Seller
The Soup Kitchen Girl
Ebook
Published on Sep 17, 2026 | 320 Pages
PRAISE FOR THE SOUP KITCHEN GIRL
‘This was such a good read…Sally, Ruth and Caroline felt like friends – I could read a whole series about them!’ – Emma Hornby, best-selling author of the Worktown Girls at War series
PRAISE FOR LIBBY ASHWORTH
‘Engrossing’ – Kitty Neale, Sunday Times best-selling author
A captivating Victorian Saga filled with love, female resilience and friendship for readers of Dilly Court and Mollie Walton.
With the closure of the cotton mills, the rich become poor and the poor even poorer…
Sally Grimes is a mill girl, the eldest of a family of six surviving children. When the mills stop work completely, they have nothing left to live on. The family decide to emigrate to America where the mills are looking for workers.
Ruth Hodgson’s father has a confectionery business, but the workers are not buying luxuries and his business is in ruins. He is given the job of supervising the soup kitchen, but when he falls ill, it is up to Ruth to persuade the relief committee that she is capable of taking on the work in his place.
Caroline Haworth is the daughter of a local mill owner. She volunteers at the soup kitchen but they are running out of money. The only solution is accepting a loan from the wealthy Dutton family, but it comes with strings attached.
Can the three woman from different classes come together in difficult times?
What readers are saying about The Soup Kitchen Girl:
‘Great opener to a new series!’ 5-stars
‘A captivating historical saga that is about women and what they sacrifice to keep themselves and their families fed and happy. The emotions are real and enthusiastic while I was enthralled in the middle of the plot.’ 5-stars
‘This was such a good read…Sally, Ruth and Caroline felt like friends – I could read a whole series about them!’ – Emma Hornby, best-selling author of the Worktown Girls at War series
PRAISE FOR LIBBY ASHWORTH
‘Engrossing’ – Kitty Neale, Sunday Times best-selling author
A captivating Victorian Saga filled with love, female resilience and friendship for readers of Dilly Court and Mollie Walton.
With the closure of the cotton mills, the rich become poor and the poor even poorer…
Sally Grimes is a mill girl, the eldest of a family of six surviving children. When the mills stop work completely, they have nothing left to live on. The family decide to emigrate to America where the mills are looking for workers.
Ruth Hodgson’s father has a confectionery business, but the workers are not buying luxuries and his business is in ruins. He is given the job of supervising the soup kitchen, but when he falls ill, it is up to Ruth to persuade the relief committee that she is capable of taking on the work in his place.
Caroline Haworth is the daughter of a local mill owner. She volunteers at the soup kitchen but they are running out of money. The only solution is accepting a loan from the wealthy Dutton family, but it comes with strings attached.
Can the three woman from different classes come together in difficult times?
What readers are saying about The Soup Kitchen Girl:
‘Great opener to a new series!’ 5-stars
‘A captivating historical saga that is about women and what they sacrifice to keep themselves and their families fed and happy. The emotions are real and enthusiastic while I was enthralled in the middle of the plot.’ 5-stars
Author
Libby Ashworth
Libby Ashworth writes sagas set in Lancashire, England where she was born and brought up.Libby still lives in Lancashire and is passionate about its history. She can trace her direct ancestors back to the village of Whalley in the Middle Ages. Many of her ancestors worked in the cotton industry – first as home-based spinners and hand loom weavers, and later in the mills of Blackburn. It is their lives Libby has drawn on to tell her stories.Libby also writes under the name Elizabeth Ashworth.
Learn More about Libby Ashworth
