Ellen Marie Wisemanis theNew York Timesbestselling author of highly acclaimed historical fiction novelsThe Orphan Collector, What She Left Behind, The Plum Tree,Coal RiverandThe Life She Was Given,which was a Great Group Reads selection of the Women's National Book Association and National Reading Group Month. 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 translated into eighteen languages and published worldwide. A mother of two, Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and dogs.She can be found online at-EllenMarieWiseman.com
“Ellen Marie Wiseman takes readers deep into the politics and hidden atrocities of a 20th-century Pennsylvania mining town.” —BookPage “Heartrending and strongly drawn historical details.” —Booklist “Wiseman offers heartbreaking and historically accurate depictions… The richly developed coal town acts as a separate, complex character; readers will want to look away even as they're drawn into a powerful quest for purpose and redemption…[a] powerful story” —Publishers Weekly “Paints a picture of the struggles mining families faced in the early 1900s. Emma is a strong, likable character that is willing to fight for what she believes is right…the plot of Coal River sweeps the reader along as Emma faces each obstacle. This book will attract readers of historical fiction and those looking for strong female character.” —VOYA “Intense and heartbreaking at times, but full of hope. The author’s impeccable research into this era makes for a spot-on portrayal of a dark time in American history. Coal River [is] one of the most “unputdownable” books of 2015.” —The Historical Novels Review, Editor’s Choice “Things get really, really fast and furious. This book opened my eyes to the coal mines. I loved it. Would be a great book club selection.” —Jackie Blem, Tattered Cover Book Store (Denver, CO)