Author was struck by story of mixed-race orphans behind 'Keeper of Lost Children'
Episode 8 min 13s

Author was struck by story of mixed-race orphans behind 'Keeper of Lost Children'

Keeper of Lost Children is the latest work of historical fiction by Sadeqa Johnson. The novel is told from three vantage points and follows the story of mixed-race children orphaned in Germany after WWII. At the heart of the novel is Ethel Gathers, a character based on a real-life woman named Mabel Grammer. In today’s episode, Johnson tells NPR’s Emily Kwong about the Google search that inspired her novel and how she views the responsibility of writing historical fiction.


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