The Girl Who Had Nothing

Joan Carthew, a twelve‑year‑old who has spent her childhood shuffling between the cramped rooms of a Brighton lodging house and the streets of the seaside, is determined to mark a birthday she can barely remember. With her mother vanished, a meager allowance gone, and a tiny baby she has taken under her wing, Joan survives by running errands, cleaning, and weaving elaborate fantasies to keep the bleakness at bay. When she finally flees to a seaside shelter, she clings to the hope of returning home once the infant she cares for cries for food.

There, amid the salty air, Joan encounters another girl of her age, impeccably dressed and seemingly living a life of ease. The sudden contrast shatters Joan’s fragile sense of balance, stirring a fierce envy she has never felt before. As their paths cross, Joan must confront the stark divide between her own dreams and the world that appears to belong to someone else.