The Bread of Kindness

The Bread Of Kindness is an original work written by H Meyer.

Currently undergoing a second rewrite, The Bread Of Kindness is available on Deviant ART, as is its sequel Carry On His Name. It is set in in the Victorian Era in London, England, during 1884 through to 1890. It is only read by a very small number of people, but anyone is free to look it up on DA (username over there is Ilite).

In summary, "Bread of Kindness" is told in first person narration, the main character being Lola Reid, who is a young, soon-to-be mother. She first meets Joseph Merrick in the Leicester Union Workhouse, where she shows him some pity through offering him a small loaf of bread. Little does she know that one simple act would gradually bloom into a deeper friendship, where Lola quickly feels a need to protect him, and woe betide anyone who tries to threaten Joseph's life.

Her acquaintance, Rosie, starts to get an idea in her head that Lola is in fact in love with Joseph, and tries to scheme ways to convince Lola that Richard (Lola's husband) is hers now that Mrs Reid has Joseph. Of course, it's all platonic, but Rosie is wholly convinced that it is love, and not platonic. Even Lola's neighbour, Mr Todd, agrees with her.

The climax of the story comes fairly late, where

Tropes include:


 * Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: When Lola embraces him at the Liverpool Street Station after he had been mobbed by the crowd after returning from Belgium exhausted, malnourished, thirsty, and ill. Before, Lola could only bring herself to shake his hand and step away because of his very awful smell (unable to bathe himself for years.) But at the trainstation in 1886, she brings herself to hug him, even though the smell would be overpowering, to show she still cares.
 * The Elephant Man
 * Did Not Do the Research: the first draft had one or two major ones (thankfully fix'd in the second draft!)
 * In the FIRST draft, Lola was nine months pregnant when she first saw Joseph. Normally at that stage, the baby can come out any time, with the whole thing often dissolving into a Screaming Birth, especially when you think about the fact they had no epidurals back then! Got demoted to six months pregnant; still very tiring to walk around, but not nine months along!
 * Fiery Redhead: Lola Reid. That is all.
 * Last Kiss:
 * Mama Bear: Don't threaten to hurt either of Lola's babies, or Joseph Merrick, in front of her, or you'll be saying a sad goodbye to your front teeth.
 * Nothing Is Scarier: Lola's abandonment in the abandoned house well away from the main city of London. Of course this troper just had to write that scene at midnight when everyone was asleep and all the lights out (aside from my lamp). The total silence didn't help either.
 * Tear Jerker: Readers have said the epilogue and are both tearjerkers.
 * The Woobie: Merrick.
 * Victorian Britain