I do enjoy historical fiction, especially when it deals with times and situations that I don’t know a lot about. I found The Vanishing of Margaret Small to be very emotional for me and want to thank Sandy over at Sandy’s Book A Day for this recommendation. You can read her review here.

The Vanishing of Margaret Small by Neil Alexander, Narrated by Annie Aldington & Rachel Atkins

Published November 16th 2022 by Embla Books

5 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Having spent many years teaching children with learning disabilities this book made me cry. Margaret Small was seven when she was taken from her home and placed in long-stay institution for children with learning disabilities, St Mary’s. While there, she was not taught, no attempt was even made to teach her to read or write. She was used as a “slave” working in the laundry and helping others. She knew no other life and was actually afraid to go out in the world. The girls and boys were kept separate, most of the time, but she did meet a male patient and they cared for each other, until he met her roommate and they ran away together. As an adult, policies changed and Margaret moved into a group home and eventually her own flat supervised by her support worker, Wayne. Throughout the story, we learn about Margaret’s past (dual timeline story) and her present. What is her fascination with Cilla Black? Who is sending her letters with money signed only with “C”?

I am shocked that this is a debut novel. I will definitely be watching for more books by Neil Alexander. The characters in this story were well drawn and recognizable. It dealt with social issues, not only the institutionalization of people with learning disabilities, but also homosexuality. As expected, the workers at St. Mary’s were very different from each other. Some nurses were the stereotypical brutal, punishing and didn’t seem to even like the people they were dealing with, while others were caring and tried to help the “patients” or residents. I loved Margaret. She might not be able to read or write, but she was caring, had amazing common sense and wasn’t afraid to ask for support or what something meant. As her story unfolds, my heart broke for what she had been through. I highly recommend The Vanishing of Margaret Small. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Annie Aldington and Rachel Atkins. They did a wonderful job with this story and added to my enjoyment. I recommend either format, whichever you prefer.

As an aside, I went online and looked up Cilla Black and listened to several of her songs. She has a very powerful voice and I enjoyed her music.