Book Review: The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry

Pages: 352

Genre: Adult Historical Fiction

Pub. Date: March 18, 2025

Publisher: Atria

Source: Publisher for review

Other Books By Author: The Secret Book of Flora Lea,

and Surviving Savannah

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

Goodreads says, "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 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.

 

 

Bronwyn Newcastle Fordman was a precocious child and wrote a bestselling novel at twelve years old.  She even invented her own language. Years later at thirty years old, she writes the sequel to her novel, but disappears from her South Carolina home before it could be published. This leaves her family questioning what happened as it appears she disappeared without a trace. Many years later in 1952, Clara, her daughter is an illustrator and working at a school. She is a single mother to Wynnie and living a very normal life. She gets a call from London from a man named Charles who, while going through his father's library, finds a stack of letters that appears to belong to Bronywn and there is even a letter addressed to Clara. Clara then takes a trip to London with her daughter to get some answers, but while there the Great Smog invades London, making it difficult for her asthmatic daughter. Charles invites them to escape the smog and stay in his Lake District home. While there, Clara starts to find a connection to the landscape and her mother's story. She figures out the Lake District holds more answers regarding their mother's disappearance than she thought. Patti Callahan Henry's The Story She Left Behind is a historical mystery that's perfect for fans of stories with a literary twist.

The literary mystery in The Story She Left Behind starts off pretty compelling in that readers are curious as to what happened to Bronwyn. Slowly Henry gives us details surrounding Bronwyn's life and what led up to her disappearance. The story then jumps to 1952 and Clara's life as a teacher and acclaimed illustrator. Once she travels to England and tries to unravel the mystery, the story picks up further. Clara comes across a dictionary that she hopes will help translate her mother's sequel which is written in her mother's invented language. She also hopes that while spending time at the Lake District she will come to further understand her mother and maybe get some clues as to what happened. While there, sparks fly between her and Charles, so there is a small romantic subplot as well.

My favorite aspect of The Story She Left Behind was undoubtedly the literary mystery, but I also loved the setting of the Lake District. Henry did an excellent job of bringing this landscape to life, and his descriptions made me long to visit. While I am a fan of Henry's novels, I felt that The Story She Left Behind had some shortcomings. The plot seemed to meander off course, taking a long time to reach its destination, which at times made the pacing feel a bit slow. Despite this, I enjoyed the literary mystery, which was filled with linguistic puzzles and historical details, such as the Great Smog of London.

Are you a fan of Patti Callahan Henry? Is The Story She Left Behind on your TBR list? Let them know your thoughts in the comments below.