Justine Cowan had always been told that her mother came from noble blood. The proof could be found in her mother's elegance, upper-crust London accent, and aristocratic airs. She regularly charmed guests at lavish parties. But behind her polished veneer was a fearsome temper that drove Justine from home. Years later, when she received an envelope filled with secrets from the past, Justine set it aside until after her mother's death. Surprised by the grief she felt for a woman she loathed, Justine was drawn back to that envelope. Its contents revealed a shocking truth that stretched back to the early years of World War II and beyond, into the dark corridors of London's Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children. Established in the eighteenth century to raise "bastard" children to clean chamber pots for England's ruling class, the institution was tied to some of history's most influential figures and events. It is the reason we read Oliver Twist and wander the halls of the Royal Academy of Arts. It was also the environment that shaped a young girl known as Dorothy Soames, who withstood years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of a sadistic headmistress-and who was a resilient child whose only hope would be a daring escape as German bombers rained death from the skies. Heartbreaking, surprising, and unforgettable, now with an additional chapter revealing even more discoveries, The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is the true story of one woman's quest to understand her mother-and herself. Book jacket.