Thursday's Child is a children's fiction book by Noel Streatfeild. It was first published in Great Britain by William Collins Sons in 1970.Thursday's Child is set at the beginning of the 20th century. As a baby, Margaret Thursday was found on the church steps one Thursday morning, with a note "This is Margaret whom I entrust to your care. Each year fifty-two pounds will be sent for her keep and schooling. She has not yet been christened" (Thurdsay's Child, 1970:11). Margaret is looked after by two old ladies and their servant, Hannah, and every year fifty-two golden sovereigns are left in the church some time between Christmas and New Year.
The year Margaret is ten, no money is left: instead there is a note saying "NO MORE MONEY FOR MARGARET". On the recommendation of the archdeacon, Margaret is sent to St Luke's Orphanage. Travelling to the orphanage, Margaret meets Lavinia, Peter and Horatio Beresford. Peter and Horatio are also going to the orphanage; Lavinia, aged 14, is going into service as a scullery maid.
The orphanage is poor, and the children are underfed, and treated badly by the sadistic Matron who is in charge. Margaret wants to run away, but Lavinia asks her to look after Peter and Horatio so she agrees to stay. From the beginning, Matron dislikes Margaret and feels that "she must be humbled" (p 30), but Margaret's spirit cannot be crushed. This book was published in 1970 by Collins and the most recent release was a Collins paperback in 1999.
Source:http://www.whitegauntlet.com.au/noelstreatfeild/ChildFiction/BooksThursdayChild.htm
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