The Foundling: A Novel

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good House, the "harrowing, gripping, and beautiful" (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author) story of two friends, raised in the same orphanage, whose loyalty is put to the ultimate test when they meet years later at an institution--based on a shocking and little-known piece of American history.

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 is compelling, unsettling, and "a stunning reminder that not much time has passed since everyone claimed to know what was best for a woman--everyone except the woman herself" (Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author).

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352 pages

Average rating: 7.65

43 RATINGS

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1 REVIEW

Community Reviews

Tia Maria
Aug 03, 2022
6/10 stars
This was recommended in a news magazine as a Summer Beach Read. I expect 'beach reads' to be light, easy to get through. Perhaps it takes place in summer or by the water or feels exotic and whimsical in some way. This book has none of that. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more around Halloween. Or January (since the climax takes place in a snow storm, for crying out loud). Terrible institutions that dehumanized the "patients" are nothing new. Instead, the perspective is of a naive employee, trusting to a fault. If you have a history of being betrayed by someone you trusted, this will be triggering. Passable writing. If you are interested in eugenics, read a history book, not this.

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