Having read the other books by Halls, I am excited that she has written another historical novel, this time about the plight of fallen women, an often overlooked voice. Immediately her world building seems well researched, allowing the reader to engage in a past we often see through film. The ominous storyline of an incarcerated person, with the horrific prospect of being transported adds suspense and a possible complication for the novel. The addition of Charles Dickens as a character adds a layer of familiarity with the reader but few would know about his life in Kent so close to the prison barges. The use of speech to the exposition is not too heavy but necessary to create the character voice, framing the women of the time and their ordeals within the patriarchal era. I look forward to what happens to the main characters and their relationships at Urania Cottage.