The Rag Princess

LoveReading Says

I first reviewed bestselling author Rosie Goodwin in 2014 with The Solider’s Daughter, ten years after her debut novel The Bad Apple which was reviewed by LoveReading Editorial Expert Sarah Braodhurst, who wrote of the author: “will she make it in this crowded area? I think so”. 

Since 2004, Rosie Goodwin has written more than 40 books and is known for her emotionally powerful saga novels most of which are set in and around her home town in the Midlands. 

The Rag Princess is the first in the The Rags to Riches Trilogy, the three novels cover the story of one woman and her friends, family, and community, from childhood through to motherhood and beyond during the turbulent times of pre, during, and post First World War. The first book begins in 1900 and finishes just months before the start of the First World War. 

The story is simply and effectively told, gathering the cast and creating the feeling of the location and time, to ensure you not only start to care about the characters but also the wider community. As the years roll by and the seasons with their traditions feature, the story focuses on Annie, plucked from the workhouse to be a servant to a woman grieving the loss of her daughter and driving her family to climb the social ladder. 

Trauma, duty, snobbery, resilience and hope are themes that run through the novel, with family secrets and sacrifices causing turbulence, and leaving Annie at the centre of a family not chosen, but loved. 

The Rag Princess is a moving tale detailing identity and belonging, secrets and expectations, in a time of huge social change.

Reviewed by Liz Robinson
Liz has been an Editorial Expert writing reviews for LoveReading since 2014.
More reviews by Liz Robinson

About The Rag Princess

A Rags to Riches novel.The first book in a brand-new historical trilogy from Britain's best-loved saga author. Book 2, One Woman's War is out now and pre-order book 3, The Winter Bride, coming September 2026. Nuneaton, 1904Abandoned on the steps of the workhouse shortly after her birth, little Annie never felt the love of a family. When she's taken from the only world she has known to a smart home on Swan Lane, she dares to hope her life might be changing for the better. But hope is fragile. Grieving the loss of her own child, Maggie Lilburn didn't adopt Annie out of kindness - she wants her as a servant, not a daughter.Despite Maggie's coldness, Annie finds flickers of warmth elsewhere: in the bond with her adopted brothers and in the quiet kindness of Maggie's husband Levi, the local rag-and-bone man. He sees Annie's potential and takes her under his wing and into his trade. As Maggie crumbles beneath the weight of her sorrow, Annie is determined to hold the fractured family together - and carve out a place of her own.Through all of this one question remains for Annie: who were her parents and why did they abandon her at the workhouse all those years ago?The Rag Princess is an emotional tale of resilience, heartbreak and the power of family and the first book in the brand-new Rags to Riches Trilogy from bestselling author, Rosie Goodwin.

Read the full description

Find This Book In