The Bereaved

October 16, 2023
In this vivid historical novel, Tracey (author of Tongues of Angels) finds inspiration in her own ancestry, drawing on her great-great grandfather’s family, the Loziers, as they struggle to overcome heartbreak, poverty, guilt, and grief in the rugged Manhattan of the late 19th century. Recently widowed Martha and her four young children are forced to flee their Hudson Valley farm after a sleazy attorney tries to make them his wards. Once in New York, Martha, an aspiring dressmaker, Martha must do whatever she can to keep her family safe, feeding them a diet of turnips and biscuits while grieving the death of her beloved husband and shaking off the attentions of men she thinks of as “insinuating scalawag”s. Hope springs anew with the family’s discovery of The Home for the Friendless, a charity that promises to care for the children of impoverished parents. But soon Martha is shocked to discover that the Home has sent her eldest son and daughter on The Orphan Train to be indentured in other states, while the younger sons are put up for adoption.
As the Union lists toward Civil War, Martha struggles to find her scattered family, the wrenching circumstances drawn from the actual Lozier family, though Tracey acknowledges that the hows and whys have been changed. The Bereaved is a relatable story of love, heartbreak, poverty, and healing, set in a detailed New York of watermelon sellers, haberdasheries, and “wet clothing hung like garlands of bunting at Independence Day” in the “canyon” between the buildings lining Broad Way Alley. Such detail, though, can come at the expense of pacing, as the novel is more thoughtful evocation than page turner.
Still, some jolts of violence are upsetting, as when an “important man” preys upon Martha. Tracey deals frankly with prejudice, both in the run up to the war, and in Martha’s evolving acceptance of the Irish. The most uplifting parts focus on the Loziers working together to survive and finding moments of happiness, but the book’s heart is its bustling portrait of a city in constant change—and in a mother’s love.
Takeaway: A mother’s desperate search in a vivid 19th century New York.
Comparable Titles: Martin Sixsmith's The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, Elizabeth Gaffney’s Metropolis.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A