Signs for Lost Children

By Sarah Moss

Shortlisted for the Wellcome Prize for Historical Fiction

Award-winning author Sarah Moss's most recent work of historical fiction is a portrait of a young couple's unconventional marriage as it's tested by separate quests for identity in work and life. Set in the Victorian Age, Signs for Lost Children grapples with central themes of early feminism, mental health reform, and marriage as an imposed institution. 

Ally Moberly, a recently qualified doctor, never expected to marry until she met Tom Cavendish. Only weeks into their marriage, Tom sets out for Japan, leaving Ally as she begins work at the Truro Asylum in Cornwall. Horrified by the brutal attitudes of male doctors and nurses toward their female patients, Ally plunges into the institutional politics of women's mental health at a time when madness is only just being imagined as treatable. She has to contend with a longstanding tradition of permanently institutionalizing women who are deemed difficult, all the while fighting to to be taken seriously as a rare woman in a profession dominated by men. Tom, an architect, has been employed to oversee the building of Japanese lighthouses. He also has a commission from a wealthy collector to bring back embroideries and woodwork. As he travels Japan in search of these enchanting objects, he begins to question the value of the life he left in England. As Ally becomes increasingly absorbed in the moral importance of her work, and Tom pursues his intellectual interests on the other side of the world, they will return to each other as different people.

With her artful blend of emotional insight and narrative skill, Sarah Moss creates an entrancing novel sure to draw critical acclaim. From the blustery coast of Western England to the towns and cities of Japan, she constructs distinct but conjoined portraits of two remarkable people in a swiftly changing world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Apr 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781609453800

Sarah Moss

Sarah Moss is the author of several novels and a memoir of her year living in Iceland, Names for the Sea, shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize. Her novels are Summerwater, Cold Earth, Night Waking, Bodies of Light (shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize), Signs for Lost Children (shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize), The Tidal Zone (shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize) and Ghost Wall, which was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2019. Sarah was born in Glasgow and grew up in the north of England. After moving between Oxford, Canterbury, Reykjavik and West Cornwall, she now lives in the Midlands and is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Warwick.

Reviews for Signs for Lost Children

[oldblack-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I hadn't picked this book till now because I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but I now conclude that Sarah Moss can probably make any topic interesting. I really like her work, although it's very hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that appeals. I think it's probably the right balance of internal thoughts and external actions that connects with me. More than that, I reckon she's able to present characters who are fully three-dimensional - with insecurities and doubts as well as achievements and attractions. And this applies equally to men and women. In this novel I also found a fascination with Japanese culture and its impact on an English engineer, Tom, who visits. I found myself to be influenced towards adopting aspects of a (19th century) Japanese lifestyle, such was the engineer's experience. The main character, Ally, is very much under the control of her mother, and how Ally deals with that influence is a large part of the story. I found this to be very satisfying, showing the true complexity of such a relationship in which the maternal manipulation is done in the name of 'good'. The one thing that troubled me with this story was my failure to understand the ending. Perhaps this is my problem, but there must be other simple readers out there who also needed to be taken more by the hand?

[lauralkeet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In 1878, Ally Moberley had just become one of Britain’s first female doctors, and after years of self-denial also fell in love with lighthouse engineer Tom Cavendish. The two marry just before Tom leaves on a long-term assignment in Japan. During her studies Ally developed a keen interest in women’s health, especially mental health, and in Tom’s absence begins her career with an unpaid position at a women’s asylum. Ally struggles to overcome the extreme emotional abuse inflicted by her mother, whose criticisms are a constant drumbeat in Ally’s mind.Meanwhile, Tom has approached the Japanese assignment with an unusually healthy open mind. He explores the countryside, gets to know a couple of local guides, and learns a great deal about everything from cultural norms to art. The experience has a profound impact on him, and has mixed feelings about returning to England. Signs for Lost Children is a sequel to Bodies of Light, and while it can be enjoyed as a standalone, reading the first book will add depth. Most of the novel is about Ally and Tom living apart and experiencing personal growth that could complicate their reunion. For me, this part was resolved hastily and was a bit too tidy, but I would still recommend this book for any fans of Sarah Moss or novels set in this time period.

[brangwinn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have not read the prequel to this book, Bodies of Light, but that did not keep me from enjoying this book. Ally moved to London to attend medical school and get away from her overbearing missionary mother in the 1880’s. She falls in love with an engineer. Her husband, Tom, is sent to Japan to plan the building of lighthouses. The juxtaposition of her fear of failing at the Hospital for the Mentally Ill, and the berating she continues to hear in her head from her mother, as well as the voice of her dead sister, telling her to live her own life and not worry about her mother’s dissatisfaction and Tom’s falling in love with the simplicity and gentle beauty of Japan is nicely done.