Coal River: A Powerful and Unforgettable Story of 20th Century Injustice
Nov 2015 · Kensington Books
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About this ebook
This eye-opening novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Collector delivers “a spot-on portrayal of a dark time in American history” (Historical Novel Society, Editor’s Choice).
Ellen Marie Wiseman draws readers into the Pennsylvania mining operations of the early 20th century—where children had no choice but to work in deadly conditions . . . or face starvation.
As a child, Emma Malloy left isolated Coal River, Pennsylvania, vowing never to return. Now, orphaned and penniless at nineteen, she accepts a train ticket from her aunt and uncle and travels back to the rough-hewn community. Treated like a servant by her relatives, Emma works for free in the company store. There, miners and their impoverished families must pay inflated prices for food, clothing, and tools, while those who owe money are turned away to starve.
Most heartrending of all are the breaker boys Emma sees around the village—young children who toil all day sorting coal amid treacherous machinery. Their soot-stained faces remind Emma of the little brother she lost long ago, and she begins leaving stolen food on families’ doorsteps, and marking the miners’ bills as paid.
Though Emma’s actions draw ire from the mine owner and police captain, they lead to an alliance with a charismatic miner who offers to help her expose the truth. And as the lines blur between what is legal and what is just, Emma must risk everything to follow her conscience.
“Wiseman offers heartbreaking and historically accurate depictions of the dangerous mines, the hopeless workers, and their improbable fight for justice.” —Publishers Weekly
Ellen Marie Wiseman draws readers into the Pennsylvania mining operations of the early 20th century—where children had no choice but to work in deadly conditions . . . or face starvation.
As a child, Emma Malloy left isolated Coal River, Pennsylvania, vowing never to return. Now, orphaned and penniless at nineteen, she accepts a train ticket from her aunt and uncle and travels back to the rough-hewn community. Treated like a servant by her relatives, Emma works for free in the company store. There, miners and their impoverished families must pay inflated prices for food, clothing, and tools, while those who owe money are turned away to starve.
Most heartrending of all are the breaker boys Emma sees around the village—young children who toil all day sorting coal amid treacherous machinery. Their soot-stained faces remind Emma of the little brother she lost long ago, and she begins leaving stolen food on families’ doorsteps, and marking the miners’ bills as paid.
Though Emma’s actions draw ire from the mine owner and police captain, they lead to an alliance with a charismatic miner who offers to help her expose the truth. And as the lines blur between what is legal and what is just, Emma must risk everything to follow her conscience.
“Wiseman offers heartbreaking and historically accurate depictions of the dangerous mines, the hopeless workers, and their improbable fight for justice.” —Publishers Weekly
Ratings and reviews
4.0
7 reviews
Toby A. Smith
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August 23, 2022
I have long been a fan of author Ellen Marie Wiseman and COAL RIVER was the only book of hers that I had not read. Once again, she didn't disappoint. This is historical fiction centered around the deplorable working conditions in the mining industry before widespread unionization. Wiseman creates a fictitious mining town in Pennsylvania to tell a disturbing but true story of unsafe equipment, child laborers, frequent accidents, sub-standard housing, overpriced company stores, and greedy owners.
Is This Real Life
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May 25, 2016
You won't want to stop reading until you finish. Fantastic writing !!
2 people found this review helpful
Mick Baker
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September 20, 2016
I enjoyed the soltory and loved the characters.
2 people found this review helpful
About the author
Ellen Marie Wiseman is the New York Times bestselling author of the highly acclaimed historical fiction novels The Orphan Collector, What She Left Behind, The Plum Tree, Coal River and The Life She Was Given. Born and raised in Three Mile Bay, a tiny hamlet in northern New York, she’s a first-generation German American who discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in New York State. Since then, her novels have been published worldwide, translated into twenty languages, and named to “Best Of” lists by Reading Group Choices, Good Housekeeping, Goodreads, The Historical Novel Society, Great Group Reads, and more. A mother of two, Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and dog. Visit her online at EllenMarieWiseman.com.
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