Cover Image: The Foundling

The Foundling

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Member Reviews

This books left me feeling both sad and happy. I was happy how things evolve to the ending but sad to think that these kinds of places actually existed in time. Women are put in a home because they are weak-minded morons, or so they say. In reality, they are women who behave in ways that society deems unladylike and women whose husbands have different ideas. Mary goes in to work under a doctor she admires but soon learns that things are not always what they seem. Her righteousness is understandable because of the way she is raised but also can be quite annoying. It is more a naivete than anything else.

I have always enjoyed Ann Leary's books, this one is no exception. It is a slow moving story that sucks you in and keeps you hoping that there will be a big change. The women are all such rich characters in their own rights.

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for an advance copy of this book.

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ARC REVIEW 📖
The Foundling by Ann Leary
This book is a work of historical fiction which spoke about institutions which practiced eugenics in the 1920’s where women were placed in an institute by their families or prisons after committing some slight to society.
We follow Mary a young woman who finds a job as a secretary at “Nettleton State Village for feebleminded women of child-bearing age”.
Throughout the story she is dreadfully and annoyingly unaware of the true situation of the women in the village until she recognizes an old friend from her orphanage and the story goes on from there.
This book includes a great deal of language against the women which is offensive and this made me very uncomfortable.
I liked how the story was written and wanted to know what would happen to Lilian,Mary’s friend.
Thank you to #netgalley and #scribnerbooks for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

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I really appreciated this story. It is heartbreaking to know how women were mistreated and basically used as slave labor, not to mention the way people with actual developmental differences were treated. This shines an important light on one of our country’s many past sins—eugenics and the abuse and exploitation of women.

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I thought this was a fast & easy read. I didn’t find the basic plot line terribly surprising (you knew the women shouldn’t be in the home for ‘feeble minded’) but it was compulsively readable.

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The Foundling by Ann Leary is the first novel of the author’s that I have read, but it will not be my last. For starters, I absolutely love and appreciate that the author found the premise for this story while researching her genealogy, which, of course, is close to my heart.

The Foundling is the story of two friends who were raised in the same orphanage and who are put through a rigorous test of morals when they meet years later in a precarious and very controversial institution–one as an employee and the other as an inmate.

In 1927, Mary Engle, our main character, is hired to work as a secretary at a remote institution for “mentally disabled” women, which is called the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing age. Immediately, Engle is in awe of her impressive employer–the intelligent, brilliant woman Dr. Vogel. Like most people on the outside looking in, Mary is under the impression that all of the women there are, in fact, mentally impaired, and that their attendance at this institution is the best option for them.

However, soon after Mary is hired, she learns that a girl from the orphanage she grew up in is one of the “feebleminded” women inmates at the institution. While Mary remembers Lillian Faust as beautiful and free spirited, she has to question: could her old friend, with whom she shares a dark, traumatic experience with, be mentally disabled? Mary’s impressions of Nettleton and the reasons behind the, let’s put it blatantly, captivity of these women are question. From that point on, Mary begins to see things are not completely right with the institution and, perhaps, the doctor that she admires so much has ulterior motives for running Nettleton.

Through this story, Leary offers a look at a shocking and yet often overlooked chapter in American history–when women were sent away to asylums and institutions for often being just human. This, along with the examination of the eugenics movement, coupled with Prohibition, gives a very interesting glimpse into the moral questions that may have been raised during this time period in history.

I am in awe of Leary’s writing. As a genealogist, I find the fact that she took her inspiration from genealogical research into her family as fascinating. She did a wonderful job bringing this story to life. While I do not know how much was actually based on her grandmother’s life, it was a great piece of historical fiction nonetheless.

The story itself is really well plot out and has many surprising twists–especially at the end! I honestly had goosebumps once I reached the end of this book. I highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ann Leary, and Scribner/Marysue Rucci Books for providing me a copy of this advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review. Of course, all opinions are my own!

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I adore Ann Leary. This is the fifth book I have read by her. I admire her for taking on a historical fiction on a topic not widely covered before. For me the first half of the book felt shallow, the characters were flat. The second half of the book is where the tempo picks up, the drama intensifies and the reader becomes engaged on what will happen with multiple storylines.

I do think that this book will be very popular and fans of Kristin Hannah’s Four Winds will want to add this to their TBRs.

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A naive, young woman has recently graduated from secretarial school and goes to work at the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. She is in awe of its director, Dr. Agnes Voble, with her education and experience. Mary is surprised to realize she knows one of the inmates, Lillian, a childhood friend from their joint time in an orphanage. Lillian begs Mary for help escaping. Mary slowly has her eyes opened about the practices at the Village and must decide whether to help her childhood friend or continue on the "easy" path of working for Dr. Vogle with the opportunities this will offer her.

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Really enjoyed this. I loved seeing the growth of the main character, Mary. Lillian's story was so heartbreaking.
Overall, the research that went into this story was immense and nicely done. I've always had a fascination for this time period and the tragedy of women instituted against their will for simply living their lives - I just can't imagine the what these women went through.

Highly recommend.

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I am very intrigued by this concept, but I had the hardest time reading this one. It hurt my heart to hear them speak about women this way, and I know from the author's note at the beginning of the book, that she was just following the language of the time. Ultimately, I just could not connect with this story.

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This will probably be a best-seller and book club pick, but it was just meh to me. The villainous doctor is over the top, as a re a number of other characters. The sudden onset of a social conscious and easily flung-away bigotry arising from ignorance on the part of the protagonist was a little too much, but readers who are unaware of institutions such as the one at the center of this novel will probably be too horrified by that aspect of the book to notice. Readers should be aware that eugenics is still very much a thing in our world today, determining who gets medical care and who doesn't, and how society treats disabled people.

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In 1927, Mary Engle is hired to work as a secretary at a remote institution called, the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. Mary is working for the famous psychiatrist, Dr. Agnes Vogel, who is known as advocate for women in need of help. Mary quickly learns that, Lillian, one of the residents at the institution is familiar to her from her time at an orphanage as a child. They have a bond from their childhood and Lillian soon begs Mary to help plot her escape from the institution. Lillian claims that there are dark secrets here and she must escape soon!

When I found out that this book was inspired by Ann Leary’s genealogy research into her grandmother’s history, my curiosity was piqued. I generally find this sort of historical story to be really interesting, and I was not disappointed. Ann Leary did a great job to bring her grandmother’s history to life! Her intense research into the subject matter shows and her writing is top notch. The was my first Ann Leary book, but will not be my last!

Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

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Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

This was my first Ann Leary book. The idea of a corrupt asylum and figuring out the mystery intrigued me from the very beginning. The main story was a good concept and I was excited to find out more about the characters and the asylum. As I got farther into the book it wasn't flowing or as detailed as I would have liked. I wish we she would have gone more into the eugenics side of it. I think that would have been very interesting since the real place did that as well.
All in all the story did capture my attention enough to want to finish it quickly to find out what would happen. The author kept me guessing at how everything would play out with Mary and Lillian.

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This was my first time reading anything by this author and I'm glad I did. The story line was engaging, and although a lot of what the main character, Mary, said and did were maddening, given her background, it was easy to see why she'd have done and thought the things as she did.

My only criticism was the ending felt a little bit " too good to be true," which may have not been the case if more details had been given.

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Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book to review !


The Foundling
Ann Leary

This was a historical fiction about an early twentieth century “asylum for the feeble-minded”. Per the preface, the story is based loosely upon the author's grandmother's experience working in this type of hospital.

Although an interesting read, I had a difficult time not disliking the main character. If that's what the author was going for she succeeded however, being that the character was meant to reflect her grandmother, I am not so sure. I don't want to say anymore and give anything away.

Filled with the typical horrors of early hospitals for the mentally ill, this story describes the under belly of a corrupt system and those who are in charge and the patients who live in horrible conditions. This particular asylum is strongly focused on eugenics and early attempts to weed out the “undesirables” .

Very easy read and interesting enough to keep me reading the entire book in one sitting .
4 Stars.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book was a slow burn, throughout. It doesn't happen too often, but every once in awhile I finish a book purely because I have so much hatred or dislike for a character that I almost HAVE to see it through, to see if they get what I think they deserve. That was the case in this book. The doctor!! Oh my goodness. Wanted to rattle her brain. It was enjoyable and heartening to see Mary blossom throughout the book, going from a timid mouse to a brave leader! Leary stuck to the terminology and ideology of the time, as much as it made me cringe at times. Some authors have a tendency to infuse modern scientific thought into the past, but Leary does a fine job in showcasing how people truly acted and thought about people in institutions. This was my first foray into a Leary novel, but I don't think it'll be my last.

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THE FOUNDLING is an entertaining read, but it depends on what your expectations are going in. Based on the marketing description, I wasn't sure what I was getting into. If you are looking for a fast-paced, multi-layered mystery or a suspenseful page turner, this might not be your cup of tea. However, if you are in the mood for an introspective and immersive historical novel, THE FOUNDLING would be a good pick. The subject matter sounds depressing, but the author does a good job at showing us what this world was like. I enjoyed the investigative journalism angle, which helps move the story along.

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Mary spends a lot of her early life in an orphanage after the death of her mother. As she reaches early adulthood, she gets a job as a secretary at the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. She admires her boss, Dr Agnes Vogel, and the work that she does at this institution.

One day, Mary is surprised to recognize one of the inmates as a girl who grew up with her in the orphanage. Mary knows that Lillian wasn't feeble-minded at that time, and starts to wonder ask questions. Lillian eventually begs Mary to help her escape, and Mary struggles with what to do next and how much risk to take on.

This is a good mystery and a very interesting time of our country's history when women were put in these types of institutions for a variety of reasons.

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The title intrigued me and the author's note hooked me immediately. This historical fiction novel has roots discovered in the author's own genealogy as she researched her family. The Foundling is a perfect example that things are not always as they appear, but usually are very multi-layered with quite a story. The narrative delves into a time in history in the 1920s of eugenics and when institutions for "feebleminded" existed when reasons to "commit" someone were questionable. Mary Engle grew up in an orphanage and became friends with another girl in the orphanage named Lillian. As an adult, Mary takes a job working for the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. Mary works for Dr. Vogel who runs this public asylum and she learns that things are not always as they appear, especially when she sees that her friend Lillian from the orphanage is a patient at Nettleton. This captivating novel earns a 4.25/5 stars!

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Quite different from the author’s last work. This is historical fiction with a fast-paced thriller mixed in. Focusing on a painful period a hundred years ago and the practice of eugenics, the story is based on the author’s grandmother.

With great thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC!

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8/10

This is the first book I’ve read of Ann Leary’s. And, boy-oh, is it a good one.

It turns out Ann was doing some family research and came across a place in Pennsylvania that was a home for women on the spectrum. I’m not sure where reality and fiction become separate, but this book takes the idea of the home and creates a story that sucks you in the more you read.

Mary Engle was raised in an orphanage. As she grew older she was offered a job at the this institute. It claimed to be a home for clinical idiots and morons (women of low IQ), with the purpose of keeping them locked up throughout their childbearing years.

As it turns out, one of Marys friends from the orphanage is housed there. Through that connection, Mary realizes that everything is not what it seems.

Throughout her discoveries, Mary emerges from her shell and blossoms from a timid follower to a self-assured leader.

It’s a wonderfully crafted story. I can’t wait to pick up more of Ann’s books.

#netgalley #thefoundlings

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