Hetty Feather is a book by English author Jacqueline Wilson. It is about a young red-haired girl who was left by her mother at the Foundling Hospital as a baby and follows her story as she lives in a foster home before returning to the Foundling Hospital as a curious and bad-tempered five-year-old. There are more books to the "series" of Hetty Feather, which are recommended for ages 9–11 according to the author. CBBC created a TV series based on the book, with Isabel Clifton portraying Hetty. The programme was first aired in 2015. In the United States BYUtv has the US broadcast rights and began airing it in March 2018.
The book is followed by Sapphire Battersea. The series comprises (in order of publication) Hetty Feather, Sapphire Battersea, Emerald Star, Diamond, and Little Stars .
Plot
Hetty was abandoned at the Foundling Hospital as a newborn baby. Children abandoned at the hospital are in Foster care or fostered until the age of five, at the nearest date when they turn six they will be returned to the hospital to start their education. Hetty spends her earlier life as a foster child under the care of Peg and John Cotton who she knows as her mother and her father, and grows close to their biological son, Jem. She is very unaware that she will one day have to leave the Cottons. There are other foster children in her home as well as Peg and John's own children. One day, she discovers a circus, where she meets Madame Adeline, whom she believes to be her mother because of her bright red hair, which is very similar to Hetty's own.
Finally, the time comes for Hetty and Gideon to be sent back to the Foundling Hospital. Everyone in the family is devastated, and Jem and Hetty promise to find each other again with a coin to remember each other. Hetty finds her time in the hospital miserable and oppressive, and often rebels or otherwise talks back in an environment where she's expected to be meek and obedient. This earns her the animosity of the hospital's Matrons, who punish her severely. Despite that, she manages to make friends among fellow foundlings and even staff, including Ida, a kind kitchen maid.
When Hetty is a little older, the children at the Foundling Hospital go to the Queen's Golden Jubilee. On the trip, Hetty sees a circus and believes it's the one that Madame Adeline belongs to. When she discovers it isn't, Hetty manages to run away to find the right one and Madame Adeline along with it. Upon meeting her, Hetty is appalled to discover that Adeline is much older than she appears and that her red hair is a wig. Madame Adeline is kind to her but tells her she must return to the hospital. Hetty once again runs away but stumbles into a bad district where she is nearly kidnapped by a sinister man until an older girl who sells flowers named Sissy saves her. Sissy takes Hetty to her home, where she meets her terribly ill sister, Lil, and her drunkard father. Sissy and Hetty go out to sell flowers the following day, whereupon they are approached by a writer named Sarah Smith. Miss Smith takes Sissy and Hetty to a restaurant, where she asks questions for her new book "Penny for a Posy" and Hetty concocts an elaborate tale of her life as a flower girl. After asking her questions, Sarah Smith reveals that she is a new benefactor for the hospital and that she recognises Hetty as the girl who has run away but praises her story-telling abilities. Sissy leaves and Sarah takes Hetty back to the hospital after buying her ink and a book as a treat to record her precious memoirs.
When Hetty is returned to the hospital, Ida collapses upon seeing her. Sarah Smith tells the matron that Hetty was kidnapped and there is to be no punishment, which the matron has no choice but to obey. Hetty is allowed to visit Ida in her attic room, where Ida reveals that she is Hetty's mother and has been working at the hospital to look after her. Hetty's father is revealed to be a man with red hair as well as a sailor with whom she has no contact. Ida tells Hetty it must be their secret, as she will get sacked if she is found out and will no longer be able to see her. The book ends with Ida and Hetty planning a happy future together.