The Little Hedgehog on Violet Street: A Novel

For more than sixty years, Adelaide Foster has cycled the winding hills of the Five Valleys. Though the world around her has changed, the work that carried her through heartache and the war, and helped build her family's future, continues to give purpose to her days.New arrivals Ben and Grover, lifelong friends who first met aboard HMS Vanguard at the close of the Second World War, come to Painswick seeking different things. Ben hopes to return to the simple pleasures of his childhood and keep the past at bay. Grover, raised in a Bristol orphanage, dreams of giving something back to the institution that raised him.Watching it all unfold from her cottage on Violet Street is Ruth, whose watchful eye and blunt observations have made her one of the village's most talked-about, and most misunderstood, residents.When an injured hedgehog is rescued, an unlikely chain of events begins to draw neighbours together. As friendships form across generations and unexpected partnerships take shape, long-buried stories gradually emerge. The past, once carefully tucked away, begins to cast new light on the present. Old wounds soften, hidden hopes awaken, and lives that seemed settled discover there is still room for change.Threaded with real Royal Navy history, post-war Britain, and the early years of hedgehog preservation in the United Kingdom, The Little Hedgehog on Violet Street is a warm and uplifting novel about friendship, belonging, second chances, and the enduring power of small acts of kindness.