The Misplaced Letter

In 2010, a letter meant for Nancy Mitchell is mistakenly delivered to an antiques shop below her apartment. The letter, written by her adoptive mother Frances, contains a life-altering confession: Nancy was adopted, and her birth mother, Margaret Roberts, never wanted to give her up. The letter remains hidden for years, its secret festering, until Angela, the shop manager, discovers it in 2017. Angela, herself adopted and struggling with fertility, is deeply moved and feels compelled to find Nancy and deliver the truth, setting off a chain of revelations that will connect three generations of women.

Secrets in the Attic

Angela's discovery of the letter and a note from Margaret triggers her own memories of adoption and the longing for biological connection. As she debates whether to intervene in Nancy's life, Angela's own struggles with miscarriage and the desire for motherhood intensify her empathy. The letter's contents—Frances's guilt, the forced adoption, and Margaret's desperate love—haunt Angela, who is torn between respecting privacy and the moral imperative to reveal the truth. The attic, both literal and metaphorical, becomes a space where secrets are stored, waiting to be unearthed.

St. Agnes's Shadows

In the early 1960s, St. Agnes's Home for Unwed Mothers is a place of shame, secrecy, and coercion. Young women like Evelyn (later Maggie) and Margaret are sent there to hide their pregnancies and are forced to relinquish their babies. The institution, run by nuns and a complicit priest, profits from the sale of infants to desperate adoptive parents. The girls endure emotional and physical abuse, isolation, and the erasure of their identities. Their friendships become lifelines, but the trauma of separation and the knowledge that their children are being sold, not saved, leaves lasting scars.

The Goodbye Room

The "Goodbye Room" is where mothers are allowed a final, brief moment with their newborns before adoption. For Evelyn and Margaret, this ritual is both a cruelty and a necessity, a space where love and loss collide. The girls write secret notes and tuck tokens—like yellow booties—into their babies' blankets, hoping one day their children will know the truth. The pain of this parting shapes their lives, fueling a determination to seek justice and, if possible, reunion.

The Price of Silence

Frances's decision to keep Nancy's adoption a secret, following the advice of church and state, is rooted in love but results in decades of silence and guilt. Nancy grows up sensing something amiss, her identity always slightly out of reach. The silence is mirrored in the lives of other women—Margaret, who is told her baby died; Evelyn, who assumes a new identity after escaping the home; and Angela, who searches for her own origins. The cost of these secrets is profound: fractured families, lost years, and the perpetuation of shame.

Jane's Whisper Network

In the 1970s, as abortion remains illegal and dangerous, a clandestine network called "Jane" emerges, connecting women in need with sympathetic doctors and volunteers. Evelyn, now a physician, becomes a key figure in the network, risking her career and freedom to provide safe abortions. The Janes operate in secrecy, using code words and constantly shifting locations to evade police raids. Their work is both an act of rebellion and compassion, born from the trauma of their own experiences with forced adoption and lack of choice.

Lost Daughters, Hidden Mothers

Nancy, now an adult, stumbles upon clues about her adoption—baby booties, a hidden note, and her grandmother's slips of the tongue. Her journey to uncover her origins is fraught with fear, anger, and longing. She experiences an illegal abortion herself, witnessing firsthand the dangers and desperation faced by women without options. The parallel stories of mothers searching for lost daughters and daughters seeking their mothers underscore the universal need for connection and truth.

The Abortion Caravan

In 1970, Evelyn joins the Abortion Caravan, a cross-country protest culminating in Ottawa, demanding free and legal abortion. The movement is bold, chaining themselves to Parliament and delivering a coffin to the Prime Minister's residence. The protest is a turning point, galvanizing public attention and laying the groundwork for future legal victories. Evelyn's activism is fueled by her personal history and the stories of countless women denied agency over their bodies.

The Janes Take Root

The Jane Network grows, adapting to new challenges and expanding its reach. Evelyn and her colleagues innovate safer abortion methods, provide counseling, and create a support system for women in crisis. The network's ethos is simple: every child a wanted child, every mother a willing mother. The Janes' work is dangerous, often targeted by police and anti-abortion activists, but their resolve is unshakable. Their legacy is one of courage, solidarity, and the quiet heroism of everyday women.

A Daughter's Discovery

As an adult, Nancy finally uncovers the truth about her adoption, her birth mother's identity, and the circumstances of her birth. The revelation is both liberating and devastating. She grapples with feelings of betrayal, gratitude, and loss. Her own experiences with motherhood, marriage, and abortion are reframed in light of this new knowledge. Nancy's journey is emblematic of the struggle to reconcile the past with the present, to forgive, and to move forward.

The Past Unraveled

The secrets of St. Agnes's and the forced adoptions ripple through time, affecting not only the women directly involved but their children and grandchildren. As the truth comes to light—through letters, confessions, and long-delayed conversations—there is both pain and healing. The women confront the institutions and individuals that wronged them, demand accountability, and begin to reclaim their stories. The process is messy and incomplete, but it marks the beginning of true reconciliation.

Reunion and Reckoning

With Angela's help, Evelyn (Maggie) and Nancy (Jane) are finally reunited. The meeting is fraught with emotion—joy, grief, relief, and the ache of lost years. Both women must navigate the complexities of their relationship, shaped by decades of absence and longing. Their reunion is not a simple happy ending, but a testament to resilience, forgiveness, and the enduring power of love.

The Weight of Choice

The novel's final chapters reflect on the hard-won victories of the abortion rights movement, the persistence of stigma, and the unfinished work of justice. Evelyn, Angela, and Nancy each embody different facets of the fight for reproductive autonomy. The story acknowledges the pain of choices made and unmade, the necessity of solidarity, and the hope that future generations will inherit a world where every woman's body is her own.

Generations of Silence

The legacy of secrecy and shame is finally confronted as Nancy shares her story with her own daughter, Katherine. The act of telling the truth, of refusing to let secrets fester, is both an act of healing and a promise to the future. The novel ends with a sense of closure, but also a recognition that the struggle for justice and autonomy is ongoing, and that each generation must choose whether to perpetuate silence or speak out.

The Circle Closes

The story comes full circle as the women—mothers, daughters, friends—find connection, understanding, and a measure of peace. The past cannot be undone, but its wounds can be acknowledged and, in time, healed. The novel closes with a call to action: to remember the women whose stories were silenced, to demand justice, and to ensure that every child is a wanted child, every mother a willing mother.

Characters

Angela Creighton

Angela is a modern-day bookseller, adopted herself and struggling with infertility. Her discovery of the lost letter sets the novel's events in motion. Empathetic and determined, Angela is haunted by the parallels between her own life and the secrets she uncovers. Her journey is one of agency—choosing to intervene, to connect the dots, and to facilitate healing for others. Angela's relationships—with her wife Tina, her birth mother, and the women she helps—reflect her deep need for belonging and her belief in the power of truth.

Nancy Mitchell (Jane)

Nancy is the adopted child at the heart of the story, raised in loving ignorance of her origins. Her life is shaped by a sense of otherness and the unspoken secrets of her family. As she uncovers the truth about her birth, Nancy is forced to confront her own choices—her abortion, her marriage, her motherhood—and the ways in which silence has both protected and harmed her. Her evolution is marked by courage, vulnerability, and a hard-won acceptance of her complex identity.

Evelyn Taylor (Maggie Roberts)

Born Margaret "Maggie" Roberts, she is forced to give up her child at St. Agnes's and later assumes the identity of her friend Evelyn after a suicide attempt and escape. As Dr. Evelyn Taylor, she becomes a leader in the Jane Network, channeling her trauma into activism and care for others. Her journey is one of transformation—from victim to agent, from lost mother to found. Her relationship with Nancy is the emotional core of the novel, embodying both the pain of separation and the possibility of reunion.

Frances Mitchell

Nancy's adoptive mother, Frances is a product of her time—loving but constrained by social norms and religious doctrine. Her decision to keep Nancy's adoption a secret is rooted in fear and love, but ultimately causes pain. Frances's posthumous letter is an act of atonement, a final attempt to set things right. Her character illustrates the generational impact of silence and the difficulty of breaking free from inherited shame.

Margaret Roberts (original Maggie)

Margaret is Nancy's birth mother, whose desperate note and tragic fate haunt the novel. Her love for her child and her powerlessness in the face of institutional cruelty are emblematic of the thousands of women whose children were taken from them. Though she dies young, her presence is felt throughout the story, a ghost urging her daughter to seek the truth.

Tina Hobbs

Angela's wife, Tina is a women's studies professor who provides both emotional support and critical perspective. She challenges Angela's decisions, urging caution and respect for boundaries, but ultimately stands by her. Tina's own struggles with the fertility journey and her pragmatic approach to life balance Angela's emotional intensity.

Alice

Alice is Evelyn's trusted nurse and partner in the Jane Network. Practical, compassionate, and unflappable, Alice is the steady hand that enables the network's work. Her own experiences with marriage and motherhood add depth to her character, and her loyalty to Evelyn is unwavering.

Sister Mary Teresa (The Watchdog)

The warden of St. Agnes's, Sister Teresa embodies the punitive, dehumanizing aspects of the maternity home system. Her rigid adherence to rules and her complicity in the sale of babies make her a symbol of the broader societal forces that oppress women. Her eventual downfall is both a personal and systemic reckoning.

Jack Roberts

Maggie's brother, Jack, is one of the few men in the novel who acts with compassion and agency. He helps Maggie escape, supports her reinvention, and provides the practical means for her to become Evelyn Taylor. His presence is a reminder that change requires allies across gender lines.

Katherine

Nancy's daughter, Katherine, represents the possibility of breaking the cycle of silence. Her open, honest relationship with her mother is a contrast to the secrets of the past. Katherine's encouragement for Nancy to reconcile with Michael and to share her story signals a new era of transparency and healing.

Plot Devices

Nonlinear, Multi-Generational Narrative

The novel unfolds across several decades, shifting between the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and present day. This structure allows the reader to see the ripple effects of secrets, trauma, and resistance across generations. The gradual revelation of connections between characters builds suspense and emotional resonance.

The Lost Letter and Hidden Note

The misplaced letter and the note hidden in the baby booties serve as tangible links between past and present. Their discovery triggers the unraveling of secrets and the eventual reunion of mother and daughter. These objects symbolize the persistence of truth, even when buried.

The Jane Network

The clandestine abortion network is both a plot engine and a thematic anchor. It provides a space for women to reclaim agency, support one another, and challenge oppressive systems. The network's evolution—from whispered code words to organized activism—mirrors the broader social changes of the era.

Foreshadowing and Parallelism

The novel uses foreshadowing and parallel events—such as Nancy's abortion echoing her mother's loss, or Angela's search for her own origins—to highlight the universality of women's struggles for autonomy. These echoes reinforce the idea that history repeats until it is confronted and changed.

Epistolary Confessions

The use of letters—Frances's confession, Margaret's note, and others—allows characters to speak truths they could not voice in life. These confessions are acts of both love and desperation, offering the possibility of forgiveness and closure.

Analysis

Looking for Jane is a sweeping, emotionally charged exploration of motherhood, autonomy, and the intergenerational consequences of secrecy and shame. By weaving together the stories of women separated by time but united by experience, Heather Marshall exposes the devastating impact of forced adoption and the criminalization of abortion, while celebrating the resilience and solidarity of women who refuse to be silenced. The novel's nonlinear structure and use of physical artifacts—letters, notes, tokens—underscore the persistence of truth and the necessity of confronting the past to heal the future. At its core, the book is a call to action: to remember the women whose stories were erased, to demand justice for historical wrongs, and to ensure that every woman has the right to choose her own destiny. The lessons are clear—secrets, however well-intentioned, breed pain; silence perpetuates injustice; and only through truth, connection, and collective action can cycles of trauma be broken. Looking for Jane is both a tribute to the unsung heroines of history and a timely reminder that the fight for reproductive rights and bodily autonomy is far from over.

Last updated: May 30, 2025