Instant New York Times BestsellerFrom the internationally bestselling author of What She Left Behind comes a gripping and powerful tale of upheaval—a heartbreaking saga of resilience and hope perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kristin Hannah—set in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak—the deadly pandemic that went on to infect one-third of the world’s population… the world’s population…
“Readers will not be able to help making comparisons to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how little has changed since 1918. Wiseman has written a touching tale of loss, survival, and perseverance with some light fantastical elements. Highly recommended.”
—Booklist
“An immersive historical tale with chilling twists and turns. Beautifully told and richly imagined.”
—Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author of America’s First Daughter
In the fall of 1918, thirteen-year-old German immigrant Pia Lange longs to be far from Philadelphia’s overcrowded slums and the anti-immigrant sentiment that compelled her father to enlist in the U.S. Army. But as her city celebrates the end of war, an even more urgent threat arrives: the Spanish flu. Funeral crepe and quarantine signs appear on doors as victims drop dead in the streets and desperate survivors wear white masks to ward off illness. When food runs out in the cramped tenement she calls home, Pia must venture alone into the quarantined city in search of supplies, leaving her baby brothers behind.
Bernice Groves has become lost in grief and bitterness since her baby died from the Spanish flu. Watching Pia leave her brothers alone, Bernice makes a shocking, life-altering decision. It becomes her sinister mission to tear families apart when they’re at their most vulnerable, planning to transform the city’s orphans and immigrant children into what she feels are “true Americans.”
Waking in a makeshift hospital days after collapsing in the street, Pia is frantic to return home. Instead, she is taken to St. Vincent’s Orphan Asylum – the first step in a long and arduous journey. As Bernice plots to keep the truth hidden at any cost in the months and years that follow, Pia must confront her own shame and fear, risking everything to see justice – and love – triumph at last. Powerful, harrowing, and ultimately exultant, The Orphan Collector is a story of love, resilience, and the lengths we will go to protect those who need us most.
“Wiseman’s writing is superb, and her descriptions of life during the Spanish Flu epidemic are chilling. Well-researched and impossible to put down, this is an emotional tug-of-war played out brilliantly on the pages and in readers’ hearts.”
—The Historical Novels Review, EDITOR’S CHOICE
“Wiseman’s depiction of the horrifying spread of the Spanish flu is eerily reminiscent of the present day and resonates with realistic depictions of suffering, particularly among the poorer immigrant population.”
—Publishers Weekly (Boxed Review)
“Reading the novel in the time of COVID-19 adds an even greater resonance, and horror, to the description of the fatal spread of that 1918 flu.”
—Kirkus Review
“An emotional roller coaster…I felt Pia’s strength, courage, guilt, and grief come through the pages clear as day.”
—The Seattle Book Review
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THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR by Ellen Marie Wiseman is a beautifully-written and heart-wrenching book that I know will remain on my mind for a long time to come. Set in 1918 in Philadelphia while a World War rages and the deadly Spanish flu pandemic is spreading throughout the city, it is the story of two very different women whose lives intersect in profound and unexpected ways. Pia Lange is a thirteen-year-old German immigrant living in the city slums with her parents and infant twin brothers. Her father is fighting with the U.S. Army overseas when her mother dies suddenly from the flu leaving young Pia to care for her baby brothers alone. Needing to find them food to survive, Pia makes a difficult and life-changing choice that will haunt her forever. Across the street from Pia lives Bernice Groves. Bernice has recently lost her husband to the war and her baby boy to the flu. Wracked with grief, Bernice makes a shocking decision that sets her on path of unconscionable behavior that profoundly influences many lives around her. My heart was in my throat as I followed their emotional and dramatic story. The characters were wonderfully-portrayed. Despite the tragic circumstances she faced again and again, Pia’s courage and resiliency never faltered. I was completely immersed in this powerful and timely novel and couldn’t put it down. I have read and loved previous books by Ellen Marie Wiseman, but THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR is my new favorite. I most highly recommend this compelling and thought-provoking book. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.
My Review of
THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR
By Ellen Marie Wiseman
Published by Kensington Books
This book was an emotionally powerful read with constant intrigue that keeps you wanting to read more. The feelings are so realistic due to living in times quite like the time period of 1918 when there was the Spanish Flu Pandemic. It is ironic how this historical fiction feels like today’s world with the current times we are living in. Usually when reading about the past; it’s so long ago, it’s hard to get a sense of how the characters may feel. But with Ms. Wiseman’s novel you feel every moment and relate to it and feel almost a sense of peace knowing that we have conquered this pandemic in the past and we can again.
The story shows the beauty of the strength and courage of a young girl during these hard times and no matter what she just keeps moving forward.
As the Spanish Flu pandemic hits the poor and overcrowded slums of Philadelphia, Pia and her family try to take caution to protect themselves from from the flu that is killing so many. Pia’s Dad is away at war and so she is left with her Mother and twin baby brothers. She was born with a gift of feeling whether or not someone was well just by their touch. She is frightened by this and tries to avoid contact with anyone. This makes her the target of bullies and leaves her a loner. So when her Mother is killed by the flu, it’s nothing new for Pia to be a loner and do what she must do to try to continue taking care of her brothers.
The neighbor across the street, Bernice Groves does not like the immigrants in her city and isn’t shy to say so. She doesn’t like Pia’s family because they are German immigrants and she looks down upon them. She’s willing to take the Pandemic as an opportunity to send away all orphaned children of immigrants during these times by posing as a nurse.
Whilst in search of food for her brothers, Pia has little memory of losing consciousness from contracting the flu herself and waking up in the hospital and then being sent straight to an orphanage. She’s desperate for answers of where her brothers are whom she left just for awhile to get food but she is told nothing or that they are probably deceased. Pia’s guilt for leaving is killing her inside.
But when a nurse keeps showing up taking orphaned children from the orphanage and she takes quite a disdain to Pia…questions emerge who can Pia trust and will she have have anyone that has her best interests at heart? Will she get a chance to find her brothers? And if she does, will they be alive or dead?
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “The Orphan Collector” by Ellen Marie Wiseman, Kensington Publishing, July 2020
WOW!!! Ellen Marie Wiseman, author of “The Orphan Collector” has written an enthralling, memorable, riveting, captivating, intense, intriguing, heart-breaking, and thought-provoking novel. The genres for this novel are Historical Fiction, Fiction, with Suspense. The timeline for this novel is around 1918 and goes to the past when it pertains to the events or characters. The story takes place mostly in Philadelphia during the deadly Spanish Flu Pandemic and around the time of World War One. The author describes her characters as complex and complicated. There are contrasts between good and evil, wealth and poverty, and helpful people vs. those who use the circumstances for their own benefits or believes. This was also a time of fear, and bigotry against immigrants.
The author describes her dramatic characters as trying to survive terrible obstacles. Between the epidemic of the flu, poverty, loss of family, and war these were tragic times. Some people were brave, courageous, and kind, and other people were mean-spirited, selfish, and bigoted. Many were frightened.
Ellen Marie Wiseman vividly describes the tragic pandemic and effects on families and society. Unfortunately, this hits so close to home today. I have fears of seeing how people behaved at the Philadelphia Parade and pray that this doesn’t happen again in modern times.
Pia Lange is a German immigrant who lives in a poor area in Philadelphia. Her German father is fighting for the U.S. Army in the war. Pia is left with her two twin baby brothers and is forced to look for food. Bernice Groves is a widowed neighbor who has lost her baby to the Spanish Influenza. Bernice blames all the immigrants for her problems. Bernice sees Pia leave her apartment. Bernice comes up with an unscrupulous, immoral, and sinful plan, that affects so many lives.
I highly recommend this thought-provoking and intriguing novel, especially for readers who enjoy Historical Fiction.
This author is a favorite since I read “What She Left Behind.” So I was very happy to be chosen by Netgalley and the publisher to read this book in exchange for a review. This book did not disappoint and turned out to be a very timely book with the COVID outbreak and quarantine. The book begins with the liberty loan parade in Philadelphia during WWI in 1918. Pia the eldest daughter and child in her family wanted to stay home but her mother made her go as they want to be seen by their neighbors as very patriotic. They are German from Germany. Pia and her mother attend the parade with her baby twin brothers. Unfortunately, the Spanish flu attended also. Within a couple of days, large numbers of people are dying in the city and there is no help to be had. Whole families die or parents die and children are left to starve. Pia’s mother dies but she and her brothers remain healthy. Pia makes do but eventually, she must leave her brothers alone to find food. When she returns they are gone. Pia never gives up searching for them meanwhile ends up in an orphanage, a nanny, deals with a baby seller, and has other adventures. I had to stop and start this book because I was torn about one of the characters. Was she evil or suffering from postpartum depression or driven mad by circumstances and hunger? I finally decided but I don’t want to say a lot about the book to give everything away. This book has an author’s note at the end, a reading list of books if you wish to read more about the Spanish flu and a list of book club questions if you wish to use this as one of your book club selections.
In 1918, Pia Lange is a thirteen year old German immigrant, trying to find her place in Philadelphia. Her father left for the war, and she is helping her mother with her baby brother twins when she is not in school. Pia still does not understand why they moved to the city. She loved the wild outdoors, but the coal mines were unsafe for father, so they came here for a better opportunity.
They are headed to the Liberty Loan parade and Pia doesn’t have a good feeling about this, at all. She begs her mother to stay home, but she won’t allow it. There are thousands of people packed along the sides of the street and with every person Pia bumps into, she feels more and more sickness and fear. Why did they have to come out to this anyways, there’s rumors of a deadly sickness.
Days later, Philadelphia is ravaged with the Spanish flu, it is spreading faster than anyone thought. Hospitals are full, there are not enough doctors and nurses and there are tons of make shift places being setup for those who are sick. They are asking anyone willing to help, to help in any way possible. Everything is shut down. Schools, churches, public places and it seems no one is safe. Pia wishes her father would come home.
They run out of food, and finally Pia makes a decision that she has to go out in search of something or they will all starve. They have used everything possible in their apartment and there’s no other option at this point. She wakes up days later in a make shift hospital. This can’t be! What happened? Where are her brothers, how come she didn’t just go back when she started to feel ill? Pia is besides herself, and just when she thinks it can’t get any worse, she finds herself being put in an orphanage.
Bernice Groves has lost her son to the flu, and husband to the War. She has nothing to live for anymore and wishes the flu would claim her as well. She can’t bear to go on. Then she makes a hasty decision and it changes her life forever. She does what she feels is helping clean up the streets. She thinks she has found her calling. She helps immigrant children find their way to orphanages, or onto trains heading west to help work farms. In her mind, they are the ones who brought this flu. They took her father’s job from him, and they should have been the ones killed in War, not her husband. Bernice is seen as an angel at these orphanages, helping to clean up the streets and place babies. Little does anyone know her true intentions behind it all.
Pia is stuck at the orphanage for years, until she is finally released as a maid to a doctor and his wife who need help with the four children. Pia is scared and unsure what is going to happen to her now. She still is haunted years later by what happened to her brother’s and is determined to find them somehow. She soon settles in with the Hudson’s and finds that she is being given a good life. She never has to want for food, warmth, or clothing again. They treat her as if she is one of their own.
A tragedy strikes the Hudson’s and some of the truth of Pia comes out. She is fearful she will be turned out to the street, but instead they embrace her even more. When the truth of everything comes tumbling out, they feel terrible Pia has been burdening this on her small shoulder for so long and agree to help find her brothers if they can. Dr. Hudson has some contacts he can reach out to, to see what he can find.
Someone from Pia’s past shows up somewhat unexpectedly. Pia not remembering her at first, but with the help of an old friend finds out that this person may be the one who holds the key to her bothers, and what happened to them. Thank you to the author and Bookish First for the arc! I was very excited to read this, considering we are dealing with a virus again and living some of the same as they did.
Ten stars!
A truly poignant novel that centers in Philadelphia during the Spanish Flu pandemic.
This book took hold of me and would not let go!
It haunted me in my dreams!
I could not stop thinking of the main character Pia Lange, who at thirteen loses her beloved mother from this flu. A strong resilient young girl,she is now the sole provider and carer of her twin infant brothers.
When she does the only thing she can do to try to find food for her family, the virus grips Pia.
Although she amazingly survives this horrid pandemic, upon returning to her apartment, her brothers are gone and Pia finds herself in an orphanage. Her search for her brother will never end. She questions everyone she meets and checks out every orphan who has been collected and brought to this orphanage.
Bernice Groves who lives close to Pia and her family decides to step in on the day she sees Pia leave the twins.
These infants cannot be alone and how dare Pia leave them!
Bernice will save the boys and become their mother.
Bernice also decides to start working as a “visiting nurse” and renamed Nurse Wallis. It is during this time that she realizes that she can easily get rid of the immigrant children by sending them away, place other children whose parents need help in the shelter and make a living for her new family.
Nobody will know how these children have been placed with the Sisters. Nurse Wallis will be a saint!
This story is told brilliantly by Ellen Wiseman and the details are amazing!
It is perfect timing for this story to come as we are currently in our own pandemic and many things that happened during the Spanish Flu are also happening with the covid19 crisis.
Make for an eerie tale! One that I will not forget!
Omg!! This book! How can I even describe it? It’s devastating, sad, heartbreaking, so emotional, a tear jerker of a book! At times it made me just sick for the characters. Other times so mad I wanted to scream. It was very hard to read in some ways, but absolutely brilliant as well! The author has a way of writing that makes you feel you are inside the story. So many heartbreaking moments! A book about loss, love and family. I could not imagine living during the time that it takes place but the similarities to life today freaked me out a bit! If you’re at all squeamish, be cautious, it has some sensitive content! You will love it if you like realistic historical fiction. Keep tissues handy!
A first by me by this amazing author will not be my last. This book based on The Spanish Flu in 1918 in Philadelphia. I absolutely love historical books based on true events. This book is based also in my hometown and includes many places that were right down the street from me. Pia’s story of such sadness and amazing courage during such a tragic moment in life brought me to tears. Once her mother died suddenly she had to care for her 2 infant twin brothers with no means to do so as they were poor immigrants. On her search for food she becomes sick and her brothers seem lost forever. Pia is put into a unkind orphanage and lives every day looking for the brothers she lost. She comes across a strange nurse whose own story is similar as she lost her husband and infant to this terrible sickness. Years go by and Pia is finally placed in a home with a family that loves her. Pia and the nurse Bernice have more things in common and find that they will forever be intwined together. This story is of a true historical event with fictional characters and a story that will pull your soul. I read this book just weeks after the epidemic of COVID 19 facing my beautiful city and the entire world. I did not feel triggered by reading this book during this time of crisis in the world as the knowledge and historical events of the past showed me to have faith and how far our world has come in medical advancement by the day. I won’t let what is going on stop my love of reading historical books or events and recommend others don’t let it stop them from reading this book either. I loved it and highly recommend this book to all lovers of historical and mystery novels! I found a new favorite author and can’t wait to read all the books she wrote!! Thank you so much Kensington Publishing for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are mine and mine alone.
Five Million Stars and beyond! Every book that Ellen Marie Wiseman writes, I say it’s her best! But this book is her Masterpiece! Beautifully written! Pia Lange captured my heart from the beginning! Her story shattered my heart and her strength and courage is inspiring! A book that can make me cry and have all the stormy emotions is a good book!
But not only is this a good book, it is a great book in that it makes a time in history come alive and relevant to today! This is a book not to be missed. A Five Star Gold!
Ellen Marie Wiseman has written a sensational, emotionally intense novel, combining the best of humanity with the worst, amidst a world war and a pandemic of staggering proportions Pia is 13 when influenza strikes Philadelphia, loving and bright, and with an uncanny ability to detect sickness by sheer touch. She is lonely and poor, but she is lit from within by sheer determination, bravery, and a resourcefulness beyond her years. Bernice is a grieving mother, driven to do the unspeakable, poisoned by prejudice and loss. I experienced a roller coaster of emotions—heartache, relief, dismay, hope, hate and love. Pia is an extraordinary character, grief-stricken and desperate, but finding an inner strength to get her through the most horrible of times—Pia is going to live in my heart for a very long time.
This book is ideal for fans of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, As Bright As Heaven by Sue Meissner, and The Orphan Train by Christina Baker-Kline.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It was gripping in the way it depicted the effects of the Spanish flu on the people (especially the poor) of Philadelphia. For a large portion of the book, Pia suffered at the hands of adults. I don’t find it easy to read about children suffering, so I didn’t really enjoy those parts. I don’t think that affects my rating though.
What does affect my rating is having so much of the book told from Bernice’s point of view. Generally I don’t enjoy reading chapters from the point of view of a villain anyway, and Bernice was an exceptionally horrible person. Though she was far from the only person at the time to experience loss, she thought her loss justified lying, stealing, and worse. Plus she was full of hate. Every chapter she seemed to be up to something even more evil than the previous chapter. I did not enjoy her chapters at all.
I did find the very end to be satisfying.
It’s difficult time to read this book because of the pandemic. It’s so sad what a crazy woman could get away with. I totally recommend this book.
Really interesting. Learned a lot about the flu pandemic.
This was a pretty depressing story, especially to read during a pandemic in modern times. Bernice was such a horrible person, it was hard for me to believe her part in the story. It was a bit slow to start, but picked up and had some interesting characters that you either loved or hated. I couldn’t imagine being Pia and being in the position to care for your twin baby brothers after the death of your mother, going out to find food do they wouldn’t starve only to get sick and not be able to return to them. Not knowing what happened to them was heartbreaking and kept me invested in the story until the end.
Such a timely book right now as we live through the end of the first wave of a global pandemic. This historical novel takes us through not one, but three waves of the 1918-1919 Spanish flu, so similar to what we are experiencing now, and follows 13-year-old Pia Lange as she goes through quite harrowing experiences during that time and beyond. As the flu makes its way through her family and friends, it will have a profound impact on her life and her future choices. I love a book I can learn from, and this book taught me the story about overfilled orphanages and orphan trains that were so prevalent at the time. It taught me about the lengths people were willing to go through just to survive, and not just physically. Pia’s story is dramatic, filled with pitfalls and triumphs, hopes and dashed dreams, regrets and self-forgiveness. There were some hanging threads that left me to imagine conclusions. But overall, this is a well-researched, well-told story of the impact those years had for many generations to come. The audiobook is narrated quite capably by Rachel Botchan who brings life to the pages and emotion to the characters’ voices. This is one not to be missed, especially now, when we could all learn about how to deal with what we’re going through in the midst of our own pandemic.
Content Rating: 18+
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: July 28, 2020, by Kensington Books
Yes, we are in the grips of a present-day pandemic. That is why I think more than ever; we need a book like this to help remember our past. Knowledge of our history reminds us, our present and future are not immune to the past happening again. The Orphan Collector is the perfect title for this book, and believe it or not; it’s what drew me in to find out more about this book. When I found out The Orphan Collector was about the 1918 Spanish flu, I knew I had to read it.
This time period holds an extraordinary place in my heart. In 1918 my grandfather was ten years old. His parents came over from Italy and settled in South Philadelphia. My grandfather survived the 1918 pandemic, or else I would not be writing this review. I must give high praise to Ms. Wiseman for her diligence and thorough research on this time period. I know firsthand from my grandfather’s stories that many of the things she describes in her book are correct. My grandfather told me that the doctor told his parents to give all the children one whiskey shot three times a day. He laughed and confessed that he was drunk for almost two weeks. On the sadder side, his younger sister did not survive. My grandfather described how his parents had to take her body out when the death cart came around. Till the day he died, at eighty-seven, he never knew where his sister was buried.
Ms. Wiseman tells the story of the 1918 pandemic with great care and empathy. She helps the reader learn about this forgotten period and helps the reader connect with what it must have been like to live through it. Most importantly, she helps us understand what it was like to be a poor immigrant in 1918, Philadelphia.
“The deadly virus stole unnoticed through the crowded cobblestone streets of Philadelphia on a sunny September day, unseen and unheard amidst the jubilant chaos of the Liberty Loan parade and the patriotic marches of John Phillips Sousa.”
The Orphan Collector follows the life of a thirteen-year-old German immigrant, Pia Lang, during the pandemic. In 1918 when the flu strikes, Pia’s father is still overseas even as the war is coming to an end. Pia, her mother, and her twin baby brothers are now trying to survive. There is something special about Pia, but you will have to read the book to find out. Pia’s story is about love, the resilient human spirit, and the courage it takes to survive in the face of seemingly insurmountable hardship.
However, The Orphan Collector gives us the evil side of what a pandemic like this can do to some people. Bernice Groves has lost her husband to the war and her infant son to the flu. Bernice blames immigrants for what has happened to her family, and she feels that they are not true Americans. Bernice is a woman filled with hate and makes it her mission to separate children from their parents. By doing so, she thinks she can help these children become true Americans.
Ms. Wiseman shows the contrast between good vs. evil with each of these women’s stories. Both characters are well developed, and Wiseman’s exceptional writing has you loving one and loathing the other. Both of these characters will not soon be forgotten. Ms. Wiseman’s writing is brilliant and a joy to read. The imagery of the pictures she paints with her words puts you on those gritty streets of 1918, Philadelphia. She craftily weaves Pia’s story, Bernice’s story, and the horrific effect the pandemic has on Philadelphia seamlessly together in a novel that I couldn’t put down.
The Orphan Collector is one of those books that will have you thinking about it long after finishing the last word. You will want to talk about it. So, you will tell all your friends to read it so you can talk about it. There are some similarities to the 2020 pandemic, but 1918 was a very different time and a very different pandemic. Ms. Wiseman has written an exceptional piece of historical fiction that you will not want to miss. I highly recommend this book, and I want to give it more than five stars.
* Please note the quote in my review is subject to change once the book is published. *
** I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Ellen Marie Wiseman. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion. **
Wow. Doesn’t sound like liberal propaganda at all.
Set in the midst of World War I and the Spanish Flu epidemic, this often read like it was happening today in the midst of Covid-19. It is the fall of 1918 in Philadelphia, the city is reeling from the Spanish Flu epidemic. Pia Lange, the 13 year old daughter of a German immigrant family, find herself with her father gone fighting in World War 1, her mother dead of the Spanish flu, and she is in charge of her twin 4 month old brothers and they have no food, no money, and live in the slums? What can she do? Bernice Groves, a neighbor, is lost in despondency after losing her husband and son to the Spanish flu. When she sees Pia leave and later hears the boys crying what choice will she make?
This book was riveting from start to finish as both Pia and Bernice made choices that would change their lives forever. I loved that Pia kept fighting and never giving up to find her brothers, and her final choice displayed what great love she had for them. Bernice made such poor decisions that wrenched many a family apart. She was cruel, malicious, and uncaring, and it only seemed to get worse over time. She thought she what she was doing would make these children more “American,” but that wasn’t her choice to make.
The author’s notes in the afterward are definitely a must read.
*I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review
The Orphan Collector begins with the Liberty Loan Parade in the city of Philadelphia in 1918. Pia, a 13 year-old German immigrant attends the parade with her mother and twin baby brothers, while her father fights in the war overseas. Her mother subsequently succumbs to influenza which has been ravaging the city. Pia attempts to survive with her brothers in their apartment until their food runs out. She leaves to get food, intending to be gone only a short time, while the babies remain in the apartment. Pia falls ill with the flu and is taken to a church. When Pia leaves, her neighbor Bernice Groves, who has recently lost her own baby to the flu, decides to take Pia’s brothers.
The story focuses on Pia’s long journey to find her brothers, through her recovery from the flu, her stay at an orphanage and at a family’s home. The parallel story is that of the bigoted and xenophobic Bernice who commits heinous acts with regard to the city’s immigrant children.
The Orphan Collector is well-written, emotional and suspenseful. The characters are created with depth and complexity. The story is so relevant to today’s pandemic in terms of the loss and devastation caused by the virus, compounded b social injustice and poverty. The themes of prejudice and xenophobia are also echoed in today’s events. The Orphan Collector is a must-read.
The Orphan Collector by Ellen Marie Wiseman is Historical Fiction about the Spanish Flu and World War I that took place over a hundred years ago. Realistic descriptions of sounds, sights and smells of a plague with cries to bring out your dead to be picked up by collectors. All of these deaths at the same time as World War I, another tragedy of death that impacted so many. People take advantage of others in unexpected ways especially the weak and orphans. Evil and greed abound with an ease that seems unimaginable. I did not want this book to end because the history, woven into the character’s stories, seemed very real. I especially enjoyed the historical information, research notes and suggested reading.
What a pleasure to be an early reader of this newest historical fiction by Ellen Marie Wiseman. Don’t miss any of her books if you love historical fiction. I highly recommend every book she has written.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars