Main Point Books and Tredyffrin Public Library are thrilled to welcome novelist Ann Leary and her new novel “The Foundling,” a story of childhood friends 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. We’ll be joined by guest Kelly Simmons, author of “Not My Boy.”

This event is live and in person at the Tredyffrin Public Library. We are requesting advance registration to help with planning – tickets are free, so please do sign up to save your seats. The book comes out on May 31st, and is available for pre-order through Eventbrite or the Main Point Books website. Books purchased in advance will be brought to the event for signing. Autographed books will also be available for shipping to the U.S.

About the Author

Ann Leary is the New York Times bestselling author of a memoir and four novels including The Good House. Her work has been translated into eighteen languages, and she has written for The New York Times, Ploughshares, NPR, Redbook, and Real Simple, among other publications. Her essay, “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive,” was adapted for Prime Video’s television series, Modern Love. She lives with her husband in New York. Visit her online at AnnLeary.com.

About the Book

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?”