Monday Morning Book Klatch

We will discuss The Foundling by Ann Leary.  Stop by the second-floor reference desk to pick up a copy from the library, or download a copy of the ebook or the audiobook from Libby.  

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).

I look forward to discussing this title with you in the new Orlady Community room on the second floor! 

A complete list of MMBK titles discussed throughout the years can be found here.

Contact Mehta at hess@neenahlibrary.org if you have any questions.  

This program was made possible by the Friends of the Neenah Library and the Neenah Public Library Trust Fund.  Donations to the Friends and the Trust Fund are always accepted and appreciated.  

Everyone is welcome. If accommodations are needed to attend, please contact the library administrative office at 920-886-6315 or by email at library@neenahlibrary.org at least 24 hours in advance of the program.