A beguiling and disarming novel about a mysterious group of children who appear to a disfigured recluse and his country doctor. In a sprawling estate, willfully secluded, lives Morgan Fletcher, the disfigured heir to a fortune of mysterious origins. Morgan spends his days in quiet study, avoiding his reflection in mirrors and the lake at the end of his garden. One day, two children, Moira and David, appear. Morgan takes them in, giving them free rein of the mansion he shares with his housekeeper, Engel. Then more children start to show up. 'The Children's Home' is an inversion of a modern day fairy tale. Lambert writes from the perspective of the visited, weaving elements of psychological suspense, abandonment, isolation, and the grotesque - as well as the glimmers of goodness - buried deep within the soul. AUTHOR: Five facts about Charles Lambert 1. Beryl Bainbridge described him as 'a seriously good writer'. 2. His memoir 'With a Zero at its Heart' was named one of The Guardian's Ten Best Books of the Year in 2014. 3. He was born in the UK but has lived in Italy since 1980, exactly halfway between Rome and Naples. 4. Charles is currently a university teacher, academic translator and freelance editor for international agencies. 5. Past occupations include kitchen hand, shop assistant, medical journal editor, guidebook writer, receptionist, teacher of political science and journalist with ANSA, the Italian news agency. REVIEWS: "The Children's Home is a not-nice sort of fairy tale, where the magic doesn't sparkle prettily but boils and oozes, where the Prince has a face of tatters, where the children take grown-up revenge on their monsters. It is also, somehow, a searching, empathetic narrative about forgiveness." Owen King, author of Double Feature: A Novel "Charles Lambert could one day attain classic status." Maggie Gee "This genre-bending debut is by turns dread-inducing and heartwarming, a masterful exploration of whether innocence can truly sprout from ignorance .a magical, mesmerizing tale about the courage it takes to confront the unknown." Booklist, STARRED review