Praise for The Orphanmaster:
"Jean Zimmerman's first novel, The Orphanmaster, is the ideal historical mystery for readers who value the history as much as the mystery. Set in New Amsterdam in the mid-17th century, Zimmerman's nicely flowing narrative is animated by robust characters who thrive on the edges of civilization." The New York Times Book Review
"As Jean Zimmerman proves in her immersive first novel The Orphanmaster, careful and imaginative research can be exhilarating. The book's subject is colonial Manhattan in the tense period of the 1660s before the English annexed the port from the Dutch, and on nearly every page there is some unobtrusively offered word or description, of food, of architecture, of dress, that brings the period and its people into clearer focus." USA Today
"A rip-roaring read, packed with action and dark suspense...features a strong and unusual female protagonist...I was captivated by Zimmerman's unforgettable evocation of New Amsterdam." Mary Sharratt, National Public Radio, The Year's Best Historical Fiction
"Jean Zimmerman's 17th century New Amsterdam teems with enough intrigue, lust, and madness to give our 21st century Big Apple a run for its money. And money is what drives this book liberating, corrupting, forming the only bulwark against a terrifying, chaotic New World. Zimmerman's wit and humanity shine light in a dark woods, creating an uncommonly rich debut." Sheri Holman, author of The Dress Lodger
"The Orphanmaster is a sweeping novel of great and precise imaginative intelligence; it's also the most entertaining and believable historical novel I've read in years. Jean Zimmerman is a debut novelist who already writes like an old master." Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life and Chang and Eng
"Here's American history turned inside out, animated by Jean Zimmerman's prodigious imagination. Monsters lurk in the shadows, chaos presses in, legends come alive, and one adventure leads with irresistible force to the next. The Orphanmaster is a breathtaking achievement." Joanna Scott
