The Lottery Rose

Irene Hunt was born in 1907 and was raised in Illinois. Her background in literature and psychology and her experience as a teacher and psychologist significantly impacted her writing style and the weighty issues she tackled in her novels. The Lottery Rose, published in 1976, is recognized for its moving examination of abuse, resilience, and the power of human connection. As a teacher and psychologist, Hunt was aware of the effects of abuse on children and the complexity of the human brain. This is mirrored in the novel’s compassionate and complex portrayal of Georgie Burgess, a victim of abuse who is removed from his mother, his fate at the mercy of the state to find him a new home. In the book, Georgie’s teachers miss the signs of his neglect and abuse, and it’s not until Steve nearly kills him that his case gets the attention of authorities. The court places Georgie in a temporary foster home before moving him to a group home. Without Mrs. Harper’s private donation, however, Georgie would have been displaced with nowhere to call home. Hunt’s novel exposes the difficulties in identifying vulnerable children in need of help and finding appropriate, permanent housing for them when their home is deemed unsafe (“