Ellen Found

De: Carla Kelly

Narrado por: Nancy Peterson

Set in location of Old Faithful Inn, 1903-1904.

Working in a discouraging café, Ellen escapes an awful situation in rough and tumble Butte, Montana, and goes to work as second in command to a wary cook in the shell that will become Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone Park. She meets Charles Penrose, head carpenter on the massive project of Old Faithful Inn, which is being finished in a harsh Wyoming winter.

Will it really open June 1, 1904? Can Ellen start to trust the other workers? What will she learn about the other employees like Charles? He's a widower with a young daughter there, too. Like Ellen, he wants more.

©2023, 2025 Mirror Press (P)2025 Mirror Press

Beautiful Historical Love Story

A great novella about a history I knew very little about. Having visited Yellowstone often in my youth, this enticed me to want to go again. The description of the scenery, the people, and the time period were so genuine.

A wonderful historical story

I originally read this as part of A Wyoming Summer and was excited to get to listen to the audiobook. Set in 1903 against the rugged backdrop of Yellowstone National Park during the construction of the now-iconic Old Faithful Inn. The story starts when Ellen leaves a tough situation in Butte, Montana, and takes a job as assistant to a cook at the half-built lodge in the middle of a snowy Wyoming winter. It’s a rough start, but she’s determined to make a new life for herself.

She soon meets Charles Penrose, the head carpenter on the project, and a widower raising his young daughter at the worksite. He’s kind and steady. Their relationship builds slowly, set against the backdrop of the inn’s construction and the close-knit group of workers trying to make the impossible happen: finishing the massive hotel in time to open by June 1, 1904.

The setting is one of the highlights of the book. You can picture the beauty of Yellowstone and the challenge of building something so big in such wild conditions. The details about the inn and the people working on it made the whole story feel real.

Even though it’s a short read, Ellen Found has plenty of emotion, growth, and heart. It’s about starting over, learning to trust again, and finding hope in the most unexpected places. If you enjoy historical romance with a cozy, uplifting vibe and a strong sense of place, this one’s worth picking up.

I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator--Nancy Peterson is one of my favorite narrators. She does a wonderful job with all of the voices and their emotions.