Oscar Defoe and the Victorian Workhouse 1834 (Paperback)

Oscar Defoe and the Victorian Workhouse 1834 is a novel set in Victorian England in the village of Isleworth, Middlesex, on the outskirts of London. Mary Anne Higgins, at the age of 18 and unmarried, gives birth to Oliver Defoe and meets with the prejudice of the villagers. Her fiancA(c), Oscar Defoe, is arrested on dubious charges of theft and imprisoned in the notorious Newgate Prison for many months. Here, he endures harsh conditions and a strict regime while awaiting trial at the Old Bailey. While Oscar is held prisoner, Mary Anne, her mother Bess, and her youngest brother Charles endure their own agony as they are reduced to pauperism and are forced to enter the workhouse at Isleworth. Meanwhile, Mary Anneas two elder sisters and her brother are sent into service at Syon House at the Duke of Northumberlandas stately home. After enduring much suffering and anguish, the family members are eventually reunited.