Sixpenny Girl

A Voyage into Uncharted Waters

Embark on an unforgettable journey with Sixpenny Girl, Meg Hutchinson’s evocingly crafted tale of resilience and identity set against the rugged shipyards of 1920s Northumberland. Raised as an orphan on the mist-shrouded docks of Blyth, sixteen-year-old Eliza “Liza” Carter ekes out a living mending fishermen’s nets while dreaming of a world beyond the rolling tides. When a chance encounter with the enigmatic shipwright Tobias Hawke leads her to discover a hidden legacy—an inheritance long thought lost—Liza must decide whether to embrace her newfound privilege or remain loyal to the community that shaped her.

Winds of Change and Whispered Legends

As autumn gales batter the cobbled quays, ancient rivalries ignite between families vying for control of the booming coal export trade. Liza’s startling revelation—that she may be the heir to an estate once owned by the very industrial magnate whose name still commands respect and fear—throws her into the center of a storm of ambition, betrayal, and whispered legends. With Tobias at her side, she unravels clues hidden in weathered blueprints, half-burned letters, and the iron rivets of a long-abandoned barque. Every discovery draws her closer to truths that some would kill to protect.

Courage Forged in Coal Dust

Against the backdrop of sulfurous smokestacks and echoing hammers, Liza’s transformation becomes a beacon of hope for her fellow dockworkers. As she learns to navigate London drawing rooms and forge alliances with labor organizers, she discovers that true inheritance is not measured in land or title, but in the courage to speak for those silenced by circumstance. In a riveting climax on the decks of a departing freighter, Liza must choose between the certainty of fortune and the uncertain call of her heart.

. “A stirring portrait of grit, grace, and the discovery that home is where the heart finds its voice,” writes Meg Hutchinson’s description.