4 Stars

I really enjoyed this book. The plot twists were unexpected, and I felt like I learned a lot about 1929 London from this story.

Set in the 1920's, this book starts out with the perfect family, until Edward and Eleanor's daughter, Mabel becomes very sick. Once Mabel is diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy among children, this startling and unfortunate revelation has negative effects on their family. Edward, who is a professor having spent the majority of his lifetime working with eugenics, is dedicated to pushing for sterilization of 'imperfect' people in society and other meaningful ways and methods to 'remedy' epilepsy. Even with his daughter's diagnosis, he continues to push forward with legislation in regards to what is best for society - leaving him at opposite ends with his wife.

At times, I found this to be a very hard read, given the way he reacts to his daughter's prognosis and future and learning more of the underlying principles of eugenics when it comes to society. I liked the point of views from Edward and Eleanor throughout the novel, but found the point of view from epilepsy, I'm assuming, to be very odd. Having not read anything on this subject and eugenics, I did find the topic interesting and felt the book was well written.

Thank you to NetGalley, Louise Fein, and William Morrow for providing me with an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this great book. It’s set in the 1920’s and it’s about eugenics and a man who believes in it and is strongly pushing for the sterilization of imperfect people. I have never read anything on this subject and found it very interesting.

This is a story about A perfect family who’s life’s changes when their daughter gets sick. The story deals with Edward who is a professor working with eugenics and his family and how this family deals with the very thing that Edward's career is based on. While Edward is worried how this with effect his career Eleanor is Shocked by the way he reacts to their daughter illness .The book was well written and I did read where the author does have knowledge of the issues address in this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Hidden Child" and all opinions expressed are my own. The description sounded interesting but unfortunately I could not get into this book. This is DNF for me.

I received an advanced reader copy of The Hidden Child by Louise Fein through NetGalley for an honest review and I'm so pleased to have received it. I greatly enjoyed this book, the characters, and the subject at hand. I felt Louise Fein did a great job balancing the pro-eugenics standpoint of some of the main and secondary characters along with the story line and enjoyed the developments/changes of those views. I didn't mind the Edward v Eleanor POV chapters but I was slightly confused on the addition and reason for adding the chapters from, I assume, epilepsy's POV.

The beauty of every single person in this world is their uniqueness. Why a group of people believe everyone should look the same and act the same is beyond me. Who is to say these people’s lives are worth nothing just because they are poverty stricken, are of a different race, have a chronic illness, or are not of high intelligence? The word eugenics strikes fear in my soul, makes my stomach roll, and I can feel tears well. Louise Fein takes an incredibly challenging topic and turns it into a beautifully written story.

Edward and Elanor Hamilton appear to have the perfect life, the perfect marriage, the perfect family. Edward is a professor working diligently to prove that eugenics is the way for England’s future. Eugenics can solve all of England’s problems in one swipe. To be rid of the unfit and the feebleminded. What could possibly go wrong with forced sterilization, the locking up of children who are afflicted, to be rid of the lesser classes, essentially to breed out anyone who is different.

Tragedy strikes this perfect family, when their daughter Mabel begins having seizures. She is quickly diagnosed with epilepsy. One of the diseases that the eugenics program is pushing to have people such as Mabel locked up and to be forgotten. Edward is worried about how this will affect his career and what people will think of them. He wishes to have Mabel whisked away and hidden, to protect the rest of their family. Eleanor is shocked and appalled by the way Edward reacts. She becomes a force to be reckoned with. She is a strong, intelligent, and most importantly has a mind of her own. The characters that Louise Fein has created are deeply layered. Their secrets being peeled back layer, by layer. Adding depth and a need to completely devour this book.

The Hidden Child will destroy you pulling at every one of your heart strings. Even though the topic is horrific and will leave a bad taste in your mouth, this book is also about hope and love. The love one mother has for her daughter. The hope that people will stand up for others, no matter their differences. Because in the end we are all just people, no matter what makes us unique. Thank you to Louise Fein, William Morrow, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this truly thought provoking, well researched gem.

Early in the 20th Century, eugenics was a popular scientific theory. It was based on Darwin's "survival of the fittest" applied to the human population. Proponents were trying to get legislation passed to sterilize people who were of low mental capacity, people with epilepsy, etc. Edward Hamilton, a WWI veteran, was very vocal in the eugenics society. His wife Eleanor had helped Edward in his research before they were married, but now she is content to be a wife and mother to Mabel. Then Mabel exhibits symptoms of epilepsy and the Hamilton's world comes crashing around them.

The Hidden Child, by Louise Fein takes the reader into the controversy eugenics created as seen through the Hamilton family. How much is a human being worth, even if they are not among the socially elite or the intellectuals? How much is nature, and how much is nature? These are questions addressed in this book. Parts of the book are technical explanations of eugenics, but underneath that is the story of familial love.

The Hidden Child is such a perceptive look at how we value other people as human beings, how we view ourselves, and the need to fight for others rather than judging what we don’t understand. And what we choose to believe at face value when data can be so easily manipulated towards a bias, rather than doing our own reevaluation.

Eugenics is such a dangerous view. We’ve all seen it from Hitler’s reign of terror and hate but Ms Fein shows how much it was subversively laced in American, British, and other countries pre-WW2. It lumps people who aren’t “perfect” (whatever that means) or having desirable genetics and intelligence into this “Undesirable” category and therefore, not valuable and not necessary. However, at what extent is that line drawn? How perfect do you have to be? And as is pointed out in the book, you also begin to “wonder whose right it should be to decide what is a valuable human life.” Eugenics strips humanity from an individual diagnosis. There are so many people who are or who know someone that would fall in their category of “deficient” but their lives and those around them have been enriched to have them and all the hardship and yet, joy, they often bring.

Ms Fein also does a great job showing a mother’s love and fight for her child, no matter what value someone else puts on her.

There were times the book dragged a bit towards the middle, which is really my only detractor in my review. It was both at times a sad and hopeful book watching Eleanor’s struggle to sort out what she’s believed thus far compared to what her mama heart is telling her, and hoping and fighting for Mabel.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. Well researched and thoughtful book about eugenics and morality. I found the ending a little too tidy but the story was compelling enough for me to forgive that.

I found this to be disappointing, overall, and quite tedious at times. The ending was predictable, and some of the subplots added nothing to the story.

2.5 stars that I am rounding to 3. First 1/2 -⭐️⭐️, second 1/2- ⭐️⭐️⭐️.


I think the idea behind this book was a good one and it definitely was well researched. I feel the message the author was trying to give us with this story came across clearly.

So many people seem to really like this book, but I just didn’t care for it. First, I really disliked the chapters narrated by Epilepsy. I felt it detracted from the story and it just came across as strange. It had a completely different feel then the rest of the novel. Second, although my main reason for loving historical fiction is to learn something new, this book often made me feel like I was reading exerts of someone’s lecture notes. Every time eugenics was discussed among friends or colleagues, every time a speech was told or an article read, it came across to me as dry and overly filled with facts and information that was just thrown at the reader, instead of being interwoven in the plot. Most of this occurred in the first 1/2 of the book so the second half did get a little better, but there still was some of this throughout the novel. Third, none of the characters were particularly likable, in my opinion.

I did really like how there was a POV for both the husband and the wife. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that did that before. At least not throughout the entirety of the novel. I appreciated the fresh perspective that brought.

Thank you Net Galley and William Morrow and Custom House for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheHiddenChild

The Hidden Child is an historical fiction novel about a mother who discovers that her preschool-aged daughter has epilepsy. It takes place in Europe in the late 1920s. The irony is that her husband is a researcher and champion of the field of eugenics; institutionalizing the "feeble-minded" to keep them from committing crimes and reproducing more unfavorable members of society.

At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the book. The mini-chapters written in the voice of epilepsy the disease, were a little melodramatic for my taste. These tapered off as the novel progressed. At some point in the middle of the novel, the pace picked up and it became more suspenseful. I felt invested in the characters and the outcome of the story.

I recommend this novel if you enjoy historical fiction and have read any of Ms. Fein's previous novels. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-reader copy of this book!

Eleanor and Edward Hamilton are on the forefront of England’s eugenics movement in 1929. They live a happy life with their precocious 4-year-old daughter Mabel, while Edward researches and works to pass laws allowing feebleminded, epileptic and low intelligent poor class citizens to be put into colonies and sterilized. Eleanor and Edward are full supporters of this movement, but when Mabel suddenly starts having epileptic seizures their world comes crashing down. If the world finds out about Mabel, Edward's work and reputation are in jeopardy. With Edward's secrets starting to come to light, and Mabel's condition, Eleanor starts to question everything she has believed. Can she find the courage to do what she feels is right?
This book is at once heartbreaking and maddening. I had so many emotions while reading this book. The look into the eugenics movement, that lead to Hitler’s ideals and the holocaust, is infuriating. As I learned more about the thinking of the time regarding the lower classes, less desirable races, and medical conditions and the common idea to sterilize them to basically wipe them out, I was angry. It is not a pretty part of history, and it is very commonly glossed over in history classes. But it was real and to read a story about it was eye opening. And then to see the very real effects it can have on a family breaks your heart. I felt so much for Eleanor and what she was going through. Eleanor is so relatable and your heart breaks with hers. And then she becomes such a heroine. Although it is a historical novel, there are so many themes that are applicable to today: the power of truth, right vs wrong, family, how to treat others, and many more. I really enjoyed this book, and it was one that kept me up at night in the final chapters. The beginning can be a bit slow, but stick with it I promise it is worth it.

A fascinating book about the early treatments for childhood epilepsy and the Eugenics movement, A happily married couple lives are upended when they discover that their daughter has epilepsy. At the same time , the husband is heavily involved in the movement to rid society of the undesirables. I did not know much about either subject and was horrified by some of the thinking at that time. Not to mention the deplorable treatment of children who suffered with epilepsy. Will strongly recommend this especially to my book group.

I was so excited to read another novel by Louise Fein. I absolutely loved her 'Daughter of the Reich'. This was on a topic that I didn't know a whole lot about so I loved learning some new things along the way. Overall, I did enjoy this story. I did find it a bit unbelievable how it ended. It seemed to wrap it all up in a neat tidy bow which I found highly unlikely. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book!

Beautifully shocking, fabulous writing, engaging story, and a wonderful ending. Edward and Eleanor have a four year old daughter, Mabel, who is struggling with epileptic seizures that continue to get worse. Edward is one of the leading men in the Eugenics movement that shaped views on genetic superiority. Mabel's epilepsy is an embarrassment for him to hide, and the contrast of things getting worse for her as things get better and better in Edward's professional life leading up to the surprising conclusion leave me with no hesitation to recommend.