The Foundling

by Francis Cardinal Spellman

A compassionate and inspiring novel by Francis Cardinal Spellman, one of the most beloved leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in America.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

190 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Cardinal Francis Joseph Spellman, Archbishop of New York

Reviews

[Sonia Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such a long time ago but the Story of this book stays fresh in my mind.

Even as a young adult I remember reading this heart wrenching book and wondering, why could the soldier not adopt a baby just because he was a Protestant and the baby a Catholic?

Even as a young person I just knew that religions no matter how good their intentions, succeed in dividing people.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story begins with a soldier who returns from war injured. He has only one arm now. The soldier finds a baby in a manger on Christmas at the Cathedral in New York. He takes the baby boy to the nuns at an orphanage. The rest of the book is the biography of the baby boy’s life. The book ends with the now grown boy also becoming a soldier.

My criticism of this book is the uneven story development throughout the book. At first the story was about the wounded soldier and how finding this baby changed his outlook on life. As soon as I was invested in this storyline…. The narrative switched to the baby itself. A good half of the book was then dedicated to describing the boy’s youth. As soon as I had re-adjusted and was invested in the new storyline… the author fast forwarded to the boy as a young adult and his desire to find a nice young lady to marry. The book hardly mentioned many of the characters from the boy’s childhood from then on… which left me feeling like a part of the story was incomplete. Then, just as soon as I was interested in the young man finding a wife and starting this part of his life— the author ships him off to war. At nearly every major event in this book I was left feeling like the story was unfinished because the author was switching gears. I feel like it was missing a straightforward climax and a resolution. So many storylines left unfinished. I expected Taggart to convert, Chubby to improve his sister’s life, Barbara to marry Peter, and for that symphony to end up completed???

If the author had stuck to one storyline this book would have been more satisfying. Or if he had made it into a duology he could have devoted one book to his youth and the following book to his adulthood, which would have left time and space to finish one arc before starting another. Overall, the book was “pleasant.”

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

We just finished this book as a family read aloud. It was recommended by Andrew Pudewa at the homeschooling conference last year.

We enjoyed it, though it was sort of aimless at times. Perhaps it's just the way things were written back then? Good morals though. I liked how the author, a cardinal, incorporated Catholic life occasionally. It was nice to see someone's faith and priests incorporated into a book without making the book agenda driven. It seems that books written currently which try to incorporate Catholic living do so my trying to hard. It comes across as unrealistic or fakey.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a sale rack thinking I would use it for Found Poetry. Something about it made me decide to read it. This is a first edition, 1951, and it is a book of the times. I found myself touched over and over and I am convinced all citizens of the US should read this book.

The novel addresses religion, prejudice, war, peace, love, human relationships, and so much more. It is taking a special place on my shelf. To my friends especially; read this book.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spend a lot of time looking for lists of essential Catholic writers, especially of fiction, and I am absolutely floored that I have never once heard anyone mention this book. I can see how the innocence and sentiment can make a reader go, "Oh, come on!" - but I don't think that is a fault of the book. Not only is the storytelling riveting - the first 50 pages have a number of twists and turns - but the book is FUNNY. Laugh out loud funny. When is the last time you read a work of fiction by a Catholic, about Catholics, that was funny? The description of St. Pat's sacristan, William Snoggins Mulrooney, will not only make you laugh, but will make you realize that your parish has its own Snoggins. There is a section where a character compares his love life woes to the impending war, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath from laughing.

There is simply so much that is good in this book. It is bookended by the two world wars, so characters die, suffer, lose limbs, experience crises of faith - and it is not made into a cutesy moral. Characters are never reduced to one trait. Horrible, gut-wrenching things happen to some people - even children - and the story simply lets it happen. It lets the characters wallow, absorb, and struggle toward a response to the suffering.

The book portrays all the stupid things you do for your first great unrequited love, the intimacy and innocence of best friends, bishops missing the simplicity of their days as a parish priest, parents forced to keep secrets from their children, and nuns wrestling with their vocations and orchestral movements. (One of the most interesting parts is right at the end, when the bishop listens to Peter's concerns and thinks about how to respond. I can't say more without spoiling, but it is a surprisingly chilling section.)

Each character is, fundamentally, a whole person and can never be less than that. They don't always succeed, but they are always in pursuit of the good, and they are INTERESTING people.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It starts out with a severely injured soldier returning home from World War One. (The book description above incorrectly says that he is a returning World War Two soldier). He finds himself in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, although he is not a Catholic. A wonderful train of events is set in motion then.

Written by Cardinal Spellman - Cardinal of New York City, and published in 1951, who managed to be delightfully reserved in the Catholic aspects of the book...they are most assuredly there, but not in the teachy-preachy way that detracts & distracts from a good story.

Peter, the boy in the story has a best friend in the orphanage who is black. Not much is said - like this was at all unusual - but it wasn't that common then, to be sure. This friend has a complicated family story that adds a lot to the book...Peter's own back story is almost completely unknown, but by telling the story of his friend, one learns of the difficulties that caused boys and girls to be in the orphanage...not always caused by the death of the parents.

I thought the book would be kind of dreary, but it wasn't at all. I also thought it would be an adult-level book, but one reviewer remembers reading it when she was nine years old, and another reviewer read it aloud to her children. Its subject is one my own children would likely not chose - the story of an orphan boy of their grandfather's generation growing to be a man, but it's readability will reward anyone who comes across it.

Additionally, the story takes place in New York City, and particularly on Staten Island, which back then (pre-1950) was a very small-town, rural kind of place. As my parents are from there, that was another reason I liked The Foundling.

[Judgemental Toast · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
Meh. It was okay? I found it kind of funny how the characters keep saying the name of the person they were talking to, over and over. I also found it a little bit all over the place to be honest. I started reading it thinking that this was going to be about Paul Taggart and his conversion to the Faith, but he didn't even end up converting which was disappointing. The weird sort-of-ecumenism elements annoyed me as well. "Ohhh just how unjust and mean is it that Catholic children cannot be adopted by Protestant parents!?" I mean... concerning their soul, its not mean. It's not like children who are not Catholic were thrown into the streets by the nuns. Now THAT would be mean.
A very 50's book I guess haha. Oh well. At least now I can say I read "The Foundling."

[Kami S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rather interesting read. I was spellbound from the first page on, well written! It was full of catholic principles etc, however, no one converted.. it wasn't a preachy type or conversation story. It's basically about an orphan boy's life and his relationship with the man who found him. I believe it's also loosely about keeping faith in troubling circumstances. This could be read by a younger audience as well..

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first "adult" book that I ever read. I first read it when I was 9 and again, when I was 10, for a book report. That got me into more trouble than you could imagine! I liked the book a lot, and really loved that it got Sr. Dunsted in trouble with my mother.

[Tals · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was pretty darn good but I was dissapointed that Paul never converted but I was glad that he was always like a father to Peter.

[Alton Motobu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Potential 5 stars, but too short (190 pages); story is told in vignettes from the discovery of an abandoned infant by a disabled soldier on Dec. 28, 1918 through the growth of the child until young adulthood in 1943. The baby is cared for by nuns in a foundling home; then he is 3 years old; then a teenager; finally a young man. There is no continuity - just certain unrelated incidents in the boy's life, from childhood shenanigans, through teenage love, his obsession with symphony music, and finally his enlistment in the Army in WW II, which ends in tragedy in the battlefields of the Pacific. None of the characters are deeply drawn; I wanted more details about everyone. I had expected the book to be more about the original soldier who discovered the baby and their relationship as they grew, with some religious preachings and references to God, but there is surprisingly little about religion. The soldier has a minimal role as the baby grows up, although he is always around. The nun who first cares for the baby disappears after the first chapter. The main character is the boy. He does return from war, wounded, but supported by all of his friends.

[Natalie Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has long been a favorite of mine! I think I've read it five times. The story really tugs at your heart. There is a bit of romance in there, but I didn't think it was too overly done. Paul Taggart is probably my favorite character. I couldn't help liking him right off. And Peter Lane, of course.

The main character is Catholic, as are some of the other characters, so there is obviously a bit of Catholic stuff in there, but nothing too pushy. There are also a number of non-Catholic characters to balance it out more. Religion is talked about quite a lot, but that's one reason I like this book.

The story does get a little depressing, but I love it just the same. I definitely plan on re-reading it again sometime.

[BornFirst089 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was brilliantly detailed and sweet but incredibly sad. BUT every chapter made me mad in some way. I am so grateful that in this day and age, we’re able to adopt no matter our religion and that families can be together no matter what. The poor baby in here grew up parentless, with no concrete family to call his own because he was declared Catholic and the family that loved him, the father that was wanted him so desperately was not able to adopt him because he was Protestant. Thus, they grew up separate from each other, longing for a family unit and unable to do so due to the religious rules at the time. It shouldn’t be that way.

[Barbara Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartwarming story

[Katie Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming story about an orphan raised at a Catholic foundling home and his need to choose a career and establish his adult life without guidance from parents.

[Margo M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, a full circle story. Short but a book that will stick with you.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes its fun to read an old book.!