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The Orphan Collector

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Ellen Marie Wiseman, acclaimed author of What She Left Behind and The Life She Was Given, weaves the stories of two very different women into a thrilling novel as suspenseful as it is poignant, set amid one of history's deadliest pandemics.

In the fall of 1918, 13-year-old German immigrant Pia Lange longs to be far from Philadelphia's overcrowded streets and slums, and from the anti-German sentiment that compelled her father to enlist in the US Army, hoping to prove his loyalty. But an even more urgent threat has arrived. Spanish influenza is spreading through the city. Soon, dead and dying are everywhere. With no food at home, Pia must venture out in search of supplies, leaving her infant twin brothers alone....

Since her baby died days ago, Bernice Groves has been lost in grief and bitterness. If doctors hadn't been so busy tending to hordes of immigrants, perhaps they could have saved her son. When Bernice sees Pia leaving her tenement across the way, she is buoyed by a shocking, life-altering decision that leads her on a sinister mission: to transform the city's orphans and immigrant children into what she feels are "true Americans".

As Pia navigates the city's somber neighborhoods, she cannot know that her brothers won't be home when she returns. And it will be a long and arduous journey to learn what happened - even as Bernice plots to keep the truth hidden at any cost. Only with persistence, and the courage to face her own shame and fear, will Pia put the pieces together and find the strength to risk everything to see justice at last.

©2020 Ellen Marie Wiseman (P)2020 Recorded Books Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Mystery Exciting
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loved it.... kept me gripped throughout the book to find out what is about to happen next and whether she will find her brothers.

kept on reading

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I enjoyed reading this book partly because it didn’t expand upon the typically expected horrors that children in care often go through . Instead, the main character ended up being placed in a really kind family which was a contrast to what I expected . That’s not to say that the whole book was sweetness and light ; it wasn’t! The development of the character of the quasi nurse was a good addition to the plot .

An Easy Read

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Couldn’t put it down once I got into it well narrated and characters felt real definitely recommend

Overall brilliant

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​Ellen Marie Wiseman's The Orphan Collector is not a book for the faint of heart; it is a wrenching, deeply researched historical novel that transports the reader to the deadly streets of Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. This story is an unflinching look at human nature under extreme duress—the horrific capacity for selfishness, and the luminous persistence of compassion.
​The novel is told primarily through the eyes of two women: German-American twin, Pia Lange, and Bernice Groves, an antagonist driven by a dark, self-righteous fanaticism. Pia is left alone after the flu sweeps through her family, forced to desperately protect her infant brother. She witnesses firsthand the breakdown of society, the terrifying speed of the sickness, and the devastating loss of community. Her journey through the ravaged city, collecting and caring for orphaned children, is the literal heart of the story and a testament to the instinctual need for human connection.
​Wiseman excels at atmosphere. The descriptions of Philadelphia—the deserted streets, the mountains of coffins, the smell of illness and fear—are visceral and immediate. You feel the cold terror of the time, where a cough is a death sentence and strangers are seen as threats.
​However, the true power of the book lies in its antagonist, Bernice. She is a chilling portrait of how fear and misguided faith can curdle into hate, as she targets Pia and the German immigrant community, blaming them for the plague. This narrative thread, which links the terror of the flu to the deep-seated ethnic prejudice of the era, makes the novel far more than a simple disaster story. It forces the reader to confront how easily paranoia can turn neighbor against neighbor, and how historical prejudice acts as a secondary plague.
​The Orphan Collector is a difficult, but necessary, read. It is a story about the fragility of life, the strength required to survive true isolation, and the profound bravery of finding hope and forming a family even when the world seems to be ending. It’s a haunting reminder of a world that faced a deadly, invisible enemy, and a powerful tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.

The Shadow of Survival: A Review of The Orphan Collector

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A real page turner. I’ll definitely be following this author . I wasn’t able to sleep until I finished the book.

I need more stars

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