In her first historical novel, The Foundling, Ann Leary opens a window into the little-known embrace of eugenics by social “reformers” who, by today’s standards, held contradictory beliefs in women’s rights and locking away women deemed “unfit” to bear children. Inspired by the story of her grandmother, Leary takes us inside the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age, where a drama unfolds between two young women in a tender tale of friendship and loyalty with a nail-biting climax.
Ann Leary is the New York Times bestselling author of four novels and a memoir. Her novel, The Good House, was adapted as a motion picture starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline.
Women on the Move: A Virtual Series
Friendships. Family. Ethical dilemmas. The tangled intricacies of power. Leading female authors – New York Times bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize winners, Whiting Award winners, National Jewish Book Award finalists - who have tackled those questions in novels and memoirs will join Woman on the Move discuss the inspirations for their characters, what they love about writing and where they expect their imaginations will take them next.
This series is moderated by Zibby Owens, an author and editor whose multimedia empire of a publishing house, magazine, and podcast led New York Magazine to dub her “New York’s Most Powerful Book-fluencer,” Jordana Horn, a journalist at Kveller and Marjorie Shuster, Coordinator of Literary Events at Temple Emanu-El.
- Tuesday, January 31: Anna Quindlen on Write for Your Life
- Tuesday, February 7: Pam Jenoff on Code Name Sapphire: A World War 2 Novel
- Tuesday, February 14: Allegra Goodman on Sam
- Tuesday, February 21: Ann Leary on The Foundling
- Tuesday, February 28: Amy Bloom on In Love
- Tuesday, March 7: Geraldine Brooks, Horse
- Tuesday, March 14: Jennifer Rosner on Once We Were Home
Women on the Move is sponsored by The Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation Author’ Series, honoring Theodore and Caroline Newhouse and Susan Newhouse.