From the publisher:
Inspired by a true literary mystery, New York Times bestselling author of the mesmerizing The Secret Book of Flora Lea returns with the sweeping story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.
In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.
By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.
Told in Patti Callahan Henry’s lyrical, enchanting prose, The Story She Left Behind is a captivating novel of mystery and family legacy that captures the profound longing for a mother and the evergreen allure of secrets.
Indie Next April 2025 Pick • LibraryReads March 2025 Pick
“Inspired by a true story, and enhanced by vivid descriptions of character and setting, this is a somewhat whimsical tale of a woman drawn to her imaginary world who fiercely loved her family, as well as an exploration of the hard choices that tear families apart and the love that sustains them.” —Booklist
“In this captivating outing from Henry (The Secret Book of Flora Lea), a children’s book illustrator searches for her mother, a renowned children’s book author who disappeared decades earlier . . . Henry imbues her story with lush descriptions of the landscape and intriguing linguistic puzzles as Clara attempts to decipher Bronwyn’s dictionary of the invented language that was central to her work. Readers will be riveted.” —Publishers Weekly
Henry has become one of my favorite writers. Her stories are so imaginative and different, and always beautifully written. This book is no exception.
From the very first page, I was hooked on Clara’s journey and the mesmerizing legacy of her enigmatic mother, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham. Fordham published her one and only book when she was twelve years old, using a language that she invented. She had a difficult childhood, the result being that she never published again. Many years later, she falls in love and marries, and has a daughter, Clara. After an accidental fire at home when Clara is eight years old, Bronwyn disappears and is assumed dead. But Clara always had hope that someday she would find her mother.
Clara eventually marries a gambler, and once he goes through all their money, she leaves him, taking her daughter back to her childhood home, where they live with her father. Clara works as a children’s book illustrator and has just won a Caldecott award.
Clara receives information that Charlie, a man in London that she has never met or even heard of, has her mother’s papers, primarily a dictionary of her invented language, along with a letter for Clara. Charlie’s father had just passed away, and Charlie found the papers in his office. Stunned, Clara immediately makes plans to take her daughter to London to retrieve the papers. The 1952 setting, with its eerie fog-shrouded streets of London during the infamous Great Smog, was like stepping into a real-life thriller—where danger and hope blended together in the mist.
Clara’s quest for answers and her fierce love for her daughter, Wynnie, just melted my heart. Wynnie is quite precocious but also a sickly child, lending emotional depth to the story, while Bronwyn’s presence, even in her absence, is like a magnet drawing you in. Charlie was so well drawn that he really came to life on the page. Actually, all these characters did. I couldn’t help but feel like I was right there with them, experiencing their struggles and triumphs.
This novel has everything: mystery, family secrets, love, and a quest for belonging. The mystery surrounding Bronwyn’s book and her invented language is irresistible. The ending is beautiful, wrapping everything up in a way that will leave you reflecting on every moment and eager to relive it. But what makes this book truly magical is Patti Callahan Henry’s writing. Her words transported me to the heart of the story. It’s a captivating tale that also tugs at the heartstrings.
This is a must-read for anyone who loves a good mystery, compelling characters, and a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading. It was completely entrancing; I loved it.
4/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND by Patti Callahan Henry. Atria Books (March 18, 2025). ISBN: 978-1668011874. 352p.
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