Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the ALC and @BookClubFavorites & Scriber/Marysue Rucci Books #partner, for the finished copy of The Foundling in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Scriber/Marysue Rucci Books / Simon & Schuster Audio
Published: May 31, 2022
Summary:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good House, the story of two friends, raised in the same orphanage, whose loyalty is put to the ultimate test when they meet years later at a controversial institution—one as an employee; the other, an inmate.
It’s 1927 and eighteen-year-old Mary Engle is hired to work as a secretary at a remote but scenic institution for mentally disabled women called the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. She’s immediately in awe of her employer—brilliant, genteel Dr. Agnes Vogel.
Dr. Vogel had been the only woman in her class in medical school. As a young psychiatrist she was an outspoken crusader for women’s suffrage. Now, at age forty, Dr. Vogel runs one of the largest and most self-sufficient public asylums for women in the country. Mary deeply admires how dedicated the doctor is to the poor and vulnerable women under her care.
Soon after she’s hired, Mary learns that a girl from her childhood orphanage is one of the inmates. Mary remembers Lillian as a beautiful free spirit with a sometimes-tempestuous side. Could she be mentally disabled? When Lillian begs Mary to help her escape, alleging the asylum is not what it seems, Mary is faced with a terrible choice. Should she trust her troubled friend with whom she shares a dark childhood secret? Mary’s decision triggers a hair-raising sequence of events with life-altering consequences for all.
Inspired by a true story about the author’s grandmother, The Foundling offers a rare look at a shocking chapter of American history. This gripping page-turner will have readers on the edge of their seats right up to the stunning last page…asking themselves, “Did this really happen here?”
My thoughts:
I have a fascination with books set in and around institutions. When you add in that a book is also inspired by a true story, I am completely sold…it just seems to add another layer of authenticity and intrigue to the story and this one definitely has that and then some.
This book is loosely based on the author’s grandmother who worked at an asylum in the 1920s where young feeble-minded young women were sent. I loved that the author’s note is at the beginning of the book rather than at the end where we typically find it. In this instance, it really was necessary to set the scene and explain a few things so if you do pick up this book, and typically skip the author’s notes (though I cannot for the life of me imagine why you would???) please do not do so here.
This book grabbed me from the get-go with just how powerful the story was. While it is certainly not an easy read by any means, it is based on something that happened in our history and for that I knew I had to read it. How did we allow things like this to happen? And not for nothing, but I can’t help but think that this really is quite a timely book as I think about all that is going on today about everyone else knowing what is right for a woman’s body except the woman herself. But back to the book – it is so gripping and horrifying and the way the story is told kept me glued to the book from start to finish.
The author really does such a great job bringing to life this hidden part of history that many of us know nothing about…how the practice of eugenics was used and why. It is a despicable practice that had a goal of trying to eliminate undesirable traits in the human race through selective breeding. The way the author works this into the story makes for a very uncomfortable read and you have an unsettling feeling throughout the entire book.
When a young girl is given the chance of a lifetime to work for someone she admires, she is ecstatic. But she quickly comes to realize all is not what it seems. And that escalates even faster when she sees a girl from her past who she knows is not feeble-minded. Now she starts seeing more discrepancies but is she willing to risk her dream job to help the girl? Are there others who also don’t really belong there?
This book might start off a little slow but that’s just to set the scene because once everything is in place it finally takes off and it becomes the type of read that you just don’t want to put down. As I already mentioned, it’s an uncomfortable read once certain discoveries are made and it’s also the type of book that stays with you long after you finish. This is definitely a book made for bookclub as there is just so much here to unpack. This is the first book I’ve read by this author but it certainly will not be the last.
Audio thoughts:
I ended up listening to this one and I thought Laura Benanti did a fabulous job bringing the story to life. Her pacing and intonation were spot on and she infused just the right of emotion and tension into her voice as needed. I’m glad I had the print on hand to refer back to the author’s note but I really did enjoy this audio.
