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Coal River
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.
About Coal River
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. As the lines blur between what is legal and what is just, Emma must risk everything to follow her conscience.
Where to listen & where it's available
Coal River is available as an audiobook on Spotify and Apple Books. You can also check Audible and Amazon for other editions.
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More by Ellen Marie Wiseman
The Plum Tree
The Life She Was Given
Les orphelins de Philadelphie
La vie qu'on m'a choisie
Là où sont tes racines
La coleccionista de huérfanos : Una historia de sobrevivencia durante la pandemia de 1918 (A Heroic Novel of Survival During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic)
The Lies They Told
The Orphan Collector
Coal River — frequently asked
- Is Coal River on Spotify?
- Yes — we've confirmed Coal River as an audiobook on Spotify. Open it from the links on this page.
- Is Coal River on Apple Books?
- Yes — Coal River is available as an audiobook on Apple Books.
- Who wrote Coal River?
- Coal River is by Ellen Marie Wiseman.
- Where can I buy the Coal River audiobook?
- Audible and Amazon both carry audiobooks; use the retailer links on this page to go straight to Coal River. For print copies, compare Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.
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