The Foundling-A Novel, Ann Leary, author; Laura Benanti, narrator
Mary Engle was a foundling. She was raised in a Catholic orphanage where she felt she belonged, if not loved. She was considered a half-orphan because she had a father who paid for her upkeep. At age 12, he came to get her and brought her to live with an aunt. He was a stranger, though, and he soon returned to work at a logging camp. She continued to live there, but was treated like hired help. When she graduated high school, she secretly interviewed for a job working at a home for females who were either suffering from diminished cognition or were wayward girls kept there until they were past child-bearing age. It allowed her to escape from what had become an uncomfortable life. She would discover that many others were in need of escape from far worse conditions.
The doctor in charge of the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age, was Dr. Agnes Vogel. Mary soon begins to idolize this successful woman at a time when many woman had few options. The doctor soon began to trust Mary, and Mary is given promotions and opportunities, even to attend college.
The fly in the ointment, however, is that Mary recognizes one of the inmates from her days at the orphanage. If she admitted that she knew her, she would be fired, so she kept their former friendship a secret. When she knew her, she was quite bright and had a beautiful singing voice. She didn’t think that Lillian Faust was feebleminded; she had been quite intelligent. She wondered if Lil had had an accident which caused some brain damage, but she discovered that her crime was her relationship with a black man, a musician, a relationship that occurred outside her “marriage”, that in the 1920’s was a crime that might cause Graham Carr, her beloved, to be imprisoned or worse. It was a relationship that infuriated the man she lived with, and he had her sent to Nettleton after the birth of the interracial child which was not his.
As Mary grows more aware, she also discovers that Lillian wants to find her child when she gets out. She wants Mary’s help. Lillian and Graham can live in England without fear. Mary soon begins to question the activities at the Village and the reason some of the women are there. There is a work program, and one of the girls becomes pregnant. The home she was working in continues to have girls work there, although the man is a predator. She wonders why that is allowed.
When Mary becomes friendly with a nurse at the community, Bertie Nolan, she introduces her to a journalist, Jake Enright, and they fall in love. Mary confides in him. There is a major problem, besides his profession which endangers her employment when he publishes information she is accused of passing on, the major problem is that Dr. Vogel, the head of the Nettleton Village, also objects to his religion. He is Jewish.
Mary grows more and more mature and aware of what she must do. Will she be a coward or rise to the occasion? She discovers that Dr. Vogel is very manipulative and turns a blind eye to the abuses some of the girls suffer. She is also a very heavy drinker. She protects herself and the Community above all else, and even goes so far as to accuse Mary of murder, when an inmate escapes, and she also accuses her of crimes Dr. Vogel has actually committed, like smuggling in alcohol that is not for medicinal use.
The story introduces the problems of the times; there is racism, anti-Semitism, and misogyny. Women, Blacks and Jews have few legal rights and few defenders. When Mary took the job, she was totally naïve about the workings of the world. As the months passed, she witnessed behavior that shocked her. Finally, she became more aware of what was going on in her surroundings and took a stand against the abuse. Will she be successful? Will she be able to help some of the inmates who do not seem to belong there? Will she be able to protect anyone or will she endanger many because of her impetuous actions. Will Sister Rosemary’s words prove true, that foundlings are always lucky?
The story sometimes seems to lack credibility and sometimes even seems like a fairy tale, but there are parts of it that will capture the reader’s attention, so I encourage the reader to stick with it, even if just to understand the degradation some were forced to endure in America. The conditions, practices and behavior that were in vogue then, have largely, long since been abolished, but some remnant of the disrespect for others still remains.
I recommend a print version of the book, because although the narrator does the varied voices well, some of the voices give some of the characters personalities that seem unpleasant or too immature and gruff, at times