I love the Secret Life of Flora Lea and was excited to read Patti’s new book the Story she Left Behind. I loved the Story she Left behind as well. If you like historical fiction with mystery and a little romance this is for you!

THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND is the latest sweeping and beautifully-told story by Patti Callahan Henry. Told in dual timelines spanning nearly three decades, this is an entrancing and emotional story of three generations of women tied together by a famous lost book, a secret language and a missing mother. In 1927, in Bluffton, South Carolina, famous American author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, vanishes suddenly, leaving behind her devastated husband and eight-year-old daughter. Bronwyn was a child prodigy that penned her bestselling book in a secret language at the age of only 12. She left behind a sequel to her famous book, but without a dictionary of her secret language, it could never be translated. In 1952, Bronwyn’s secret language and a letter to her daughter, are discovered in a private library in England after the death of the library’s owner. The owner’s son, Charlie Jameson, contacts Bronwyn’s daughter, Clara, who immediately travels to England with her own eight-year-old daughter, Winnie, to retrieve the papers that will hopefully shed light on why she was abandoned so many years ago. As the magical story unfolds, Clara, Winnie and Charlie try to unravel the mystery of Bronwyn’s disappearance and how it connects them. The characters captured my heart and the lush descriptions of the settings made me feel like I was there. I adored this unforgettable story of family, mothers and daughters, and the power of words and I most highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

I’ve been a fan of Henry’s books since I read Once Upon a Wardrobe a few years ago. It’s one of my all-time favorites. The Story She Left Behind is based on the true story of an author who disappeared. Sadly, I have some mixed feelings about this book. Some things that really worked for me were the beautiful descriptions of the English countryside. I love the author’s gift of writing these scenes. 

I also really enjoy it when a book incorporates real events into a story. And learning more about The Great Smog of London in 1952 was very interesting. The series of events that brought that about was like a perfect storm. 

There are themes of loss, loneliness, abandonment and forgiveness. Where I struggled was with the pace of the book, and being fully on board with the secret language and conclusion of the book. I felt like I had to push through to finish and wasn’t invested in the romance part of the story. 

If you are drawn to the make-believe, then I think perhaps you will find this book enchanting. It does have an interesting premise, at heart. 

3.5/5 stars

I loved this book! I enjoyed the gardens, nature and poetic settings. Clara is a divorced single mom who illustrates books. It is 1952 so divorce isn't a common thing. She has moved back to her childhood home in South Carolina. Her mother was a child prodigy who wrote a book when she was twelve. Her mother was always a bit different and left the family when she was 8 years old. The story focuses on solving the mystery of a group of papers discovered in London that relate to her mother.

Clara and her daughter cross the ocean to look at these papers. When they get to London the air is filled with coal smoke which affects her daughter negatively. They end up in the English countryside where more of the answers to the mystery of her mother's disappearance surface. As the reader I wish I could visit that part of the UK!

Secrets and family connections reveal themselves and gives way to a satisfying ending. I loved the characters and settings in this book. The setting was almost a character itself. I loved Henry's previous book and I cannot wait to see what she gives us next. Some of this story is based on a real person. I was intrigued enough that I ordered the book. Thank you Netgalley for a lovely read and a chance to review this book.

Oh my word, this book was not for me. I read it all. It took me 2 months to finally finish it. This book is more for someone who likes flowery descriptions and the make believe world. It was a bit sappy at points, seemed to drag on and just so not for me. That's not to say that it's a bad book. The story is about a woman named Clara whose mother Brownyn disappeared when she was 8. Bronwyn had been a child prodigy author and had written a make believe book about a girl named Emjie. She had developed her own secret language in the writing of the book. She had been pressured to write another one, but mental illness had affected teenage Bronwyn and then the tragedy of being locked up in a psychiatric ward had quelled all desire to write. Eventually she did write a sequel, but it was not released. She disappeared when her daughter Clara almost perished in a fire because Bronwyn was so distracted with her writing.

Clara grew up with her loving father, got married to a gambling addict named Nat and had a daughter who she named after her mother with the nickname of Wynnie. Clara eventually gets divorced and is an art teacher and celebrated children's book illustrator. Clara receives a notification that her mother's dictionary has been found and she takes a boat with Winnie to England to recover it. From there, she ends up in a small town when the London air is too harsh for Wynnie's asthma.

And then the flowery descriptions and interesting plot begin. I won't spoil it. This book would probably be 4 stars if it were 20% shorter and less sappy. I guess I'm not into quotes from TS Eliot. Although I did really like these sentences "Forgiveness is a whisper of possibility, of openness. It is an act of restoration, an act of healing, an act of empathy. Forgiveness, I understood, was only the beginning of what might come next, not the end of what had already happened."

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I give it 2 stars, but others may really enjoy it.

For context, this reviewer is not a huge fan of historical fiction marketed for women. I did adore Henry's last book, The Secret Life of Flora Lea, and was excited to receive an early review of this novel. The Story She Left Behind was stunning. It is part literary mystery, part historical fiction, with a smidge of mystical realism to boot.

It's 1952 and Clara Harrington is divorced and raising her precocious eight year old daughter in her family's home in coastal South Carolina. Her mother, a literary phenom and publishing prodigy, disappeared after a house fire twenty five years ago. Her first and only book, a fantasy, was an enormous hit and her fame exceeded all sensibilities. When Clara gets a call from a strange man in London, Charlie Jameson, she finds that her mother left a letter for her and translation of a fantasy language needed to translate a hidden sequel, she books a second class Atlantic liner with her daughter for London.

A confluence of events leads Clara to central London during The Great Smog of 1952. Clara's daughter Wynnie is perilously asthmatic and needs to flee the toxic air immediately. Charlie assists with their exit to their family country home in the Lake District. Their worlds seem to be inextricably linked in mysteries that they have only begun to unfold.

I adored this book. Truly. I adored the various elements and emotions that Patti Callahan Henry brought to the various itteration of Clara's existence. This was such a fun and fulfulling historical fiction. The fun bits of magical realism and romance make this text lively and relevant.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy! The Story She Left Behind debuts March 18, 2025.

Beautiful, wonderful historical novel about a literary mystery and families lost and found. I love the way Patti Callahan Henry writes, and I admire how much both her writing and subject matter has evolved through the years. I can’t wait to see what she writes about next!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a fantastic book! The first one I have read by this author but definitely can't wait to read more! The characters stay with you long after you finish the book. Highly recommend!

In a Nutshell: A historical mystery about a daughter searching for clues about her lost mother’s manuscript. Everything in the blurb made this book sound perfect for me. Alas! Insta-romance, convenient plotting, overly slow pacing in the second half, lacklustre historical feels, unsatisfactory finish. The lyrical prose helps, but prose alone doesn’t make a book for me. I’m so disappointed! Outlier review yet again.

Plot Preview: (I have gone much beyond the initial 10-15% of the book in this preview because there’s hardly anything happening at the start. No major spoilers though.)
1952. Clara is an award-winning illustrator. A single mother, she lives with her father and her eight-year-old daughter Wynnie in South Carolina. Over the last twenty-five years, Clara has lived under the emotional shadow of her missing mother Bronwyn, a renowned author who disappeared off the coast with no clue and leaving behind a sequel to her bestseller. This sequel is written in an invented language no one can decipher. Now a stranger named Charlie calls up Clara from London, claiming that he has found a handwritten dictionary of the lost language. Though Clara is sceptical and can barely afford a trip across the ocean, she travels with Wynnie to London, only to arrive at the same time as a deadly smog engulfs the place. Charlie has a solution: escaping to his family country house in the beautiful Lake District. Is Charlie’s claim about the dictionary true? Will Clara finally find closure?
The story comes to us in the third-person perspectives of Clara and Charlie.


Bookish Yays:
😍 The story is set in three locations in a linear order: South Caroline, London, and Lake District. Each of these is described beautifully.
😍 The details about the Great Fog of 1952. How funny that until a month ago, I hadn’t even heard of this fog, and within a month, this is the second book using the London fog as a key development, the other being ‘A Dangerous Game’ by Mandy Robotham! Both books use the fog nicely but differently, with this one stressing more on the pollutants and poisonous stench. The foggy feels come out well.
😍 The author’s note at the end revealing several factual elements connected to the plot, including details about real-life author Barbara Newhall Follett, whose early publishing success and mysterious disappearance in 1939 at age twenty-five – considered one of the biggest literary mysteries of the twentieth century – inspired this fictional novel. I found this note more interesting than the book itself.

Bookish Mixed Bags:
🤔 The start is really good. The prologue coming from 1927 in Bronwyn’s perspective, the initial chapters abut Clara’s life in South Carolina, and Charlie’s discovery of the dictionary are all interesting. Things start to dip after the story shifts the Lake District, where it seems like the purpose of the narrative has changed.
🤔 The novel has some really beautiful prose that brings the locations and emotions alive. However, it also feels like too much of a good thing, especially when the prose isn't supported by an equally strong plot.
🤔 Wynnie is a sweet child, I agree. But it’s getting tiresome to see fictional children who don’t speak as per their age and are mature way beyond their years, with this behaviour conveniently being attributed to precocity.
🤔 The novel contains some strong themes such as parental abandonment, grief, mental health issues, marital breakdown, gambling, child’s health issues, death, and divorce. However, most of these are explored only at the surface level. Some aren’t even utilised properly in the core plot.
🤔 Though the story is set in 1952, it hardly ever *felt* historical. Except for the modes of transportation and the fog/Churchill references, the rest could have been from any time period. I’m not sure why it felt so generic.

Bookish Nays:
😒 I didn’t find the characters well-developed. Many of their actions are impulsive and irrational. Clara’s actions were idiotically naïve at times. (Imagine taking your asthmatic child to a museum on foot in a new city engulfed in so much fog that you can’t see more than a couple of metres ahead of you!)
😒 Charlie is a good-hearted bloke. But even this doesn’t justify the establishing of a romantic relationship within just ten days!! And why was the romance needed anyway? Wasn’t this the story of a daughter looking for closure on her missing mother?
😒 Why does the blurb have two detailed notes from two timelines when the actual plot contains only one timeline? Except for the prologue set in 1927, the rest is all from 1952. Not gonna lie, I felt cheated. I truly expected a dual timeline, with the other one coming from Bronwyn’s POV, which would have been so interesting.
😒 The book keeps stressing on the “secret language” created by Bronwyn. Sorry to be a party-pooper, but its implementation wasn't convincing to me. This supposedly mysterious language, compared in the plot to what Tolkien created for his books, was utterly basic. Plus, we get only a few words from this “language” throughout this book, and for most of them, the meaning is quite guessable. (What’s so complicated about deciphering words such as “Miraculum” and “Adorium”?) It felt like the plot was trying to hype this up, but it didn’t succeed.
😒 There are hints of magical realism, but these aren’t fully explored. Why have it then?
😒 The pacing is quite slow, but in the Lake district sequences, it drags like anything. I struggled to keep my concentration in the second half.
😒 Everything in the book, from character actions to events to emotions, feels farfetched. All reactions are melodramatic, and all conversations include secret-keeping. Some of the subplots aren’t even utilised well, but possibly retained only for their dramatic value.
😒 The mystery itself is boring and the resolution also isn't too tough to figure out. The actual revelation, whenever it comes, is even more disappointing.
😒 The ending – so, so disappointing! An extended infodump lasting almost 15% of the book leading to an overly smooth and convenient finish. Some books work better with HFN endings than with HEA endings. This plot needed an HFN.
😒 The infodump contains certain details that are so absurd and unbelievable! All my sympathy for that character vanished after that infodump. It was more annoying than anything else.

All in all, while this book began really well for me, the rest of it, especially the second half, was quite a frustrating journey. I could empathise with neither the characters nor their quandary. Had the romance not been such a priority and the focus had stayed more on the two mother-daughter pairs (Bronwyn-Clara and Clara-Wynnie), I might have liked this a tad better.

Then again, all my GR friends have rated this novel 5 or 4 stars. So I am very clearly the outlier. I have read only one other book by this author prior to this: ‘Once Upon a Wardrobe’ and I was an outlier for that as well. So perhaps this author and I aren’t meant for each other. ☹ Please read the other reviews and take a more informed call on this book.

Recommended to those who loved extended lyrical prose and romance tracks and don’t mind slowburn pacing and melodrama. None of these is for me.

2 stars.

My thanks to Atria Books for providing the DRC of “The Story She Left Behind” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this didn’t work out better.

This is my first Patti Callahan Henry book and it won't be my last. Set mostly in 1952 with the backdrop of the Great Smog of Long, the novel sweets from South Carolina to the UK, to tell the story of a missing mother and her daughter. Beautifully written from beginning to end, with vividly described settings, and well developed characters who pull you into their world. Lovers of historical fiction will devour this novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

I want to extend my gratitude to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read a digital ARC of "The Story She Left Behind" by Patty Callahan Henry, which has an expected publication date of March 18, 2025.

“The Story She Left Behind” is the second book I’ve read by Ms. Henry. The narrative tells the story of Clara Harrington’s quest to find a dictionary written by her mother, Bronwynn, who disappeared when she was just 8 years old. Clara receives a call from Charlie Jameson in London stating he has a handwritten copy of her mother’s dictionary of lost language. How did the dictionary end up in London? Clara and her daughter, Wynnie, travel to London to find out.

Wynnie, who has asthma, struggles to breathe during the Great Smog, prompting Charlie to take them to his family's countryside retreat. In the countryside, Clara uncovers remnants of her past and her mother's life, leading to self-discovery, personal growth, love, and fulfillment. 

This magical, mysterious, and whimsical tale fills the reader's heart with warmth and joy. The characters are well-developed, and I found myself invested in their lives as they were introduced, and assisted Clara as she pursued her dream of locating the dictionary and unraveling the mystery surrounding her mother.

“Dreams are so much more than that. They are visions of the future, they are whispers of our desires, they are hope. We cannot and we must not live without dreams.”

What an outstanding book. So many things about this book intrigued me. It's inspired by a true story of a woman who published a book when she was 12 years old that involved a language she had created. Then in her twenties, she walked out her front door and was never seen or heard from again.

In this story, the woman walks out on her husband and daughter. The missing papers for her sequel are assumed to be at the bottom of the ocean with her, but suddenly they show up in England. Oh, the mystery and intrigue! Add in a little romance and a little disaster and my book reading fate was sealed. I had to read this and I'm so glad I did! This is in my top five for the year so far.

Patti Callahan Henry is one of the best storytellers of our time!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster/Atria Books and NetGalley for the ebook copy. All thoughts are my own.

Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham wrote her book The Middle Place when she was eight. Filled with a magical setting and secret language, the book was published in 1909 when Bronwyn was twelve. By 1927, the former child prodigy author was married, had an eight-year-old daughter Clara, and vanished. The sequel she left behind was unreadable as it needed the translation of Bronwyn's special language. In 1952, Clara, still haunted by the loss of her mother, illustrates children's books and is raising her eight-year-old daughter, Wynnie, in her hometown of Bluffton, South Carolina. In London, Charlie Jameson is sorting through his late father's library and seems to have discovered Bronwyn's dictionary of her language with a note for Clara. Clara and Wynnie travel to London during what would be known as the Great Fog of 1952 and then go to the Jameson country home in the Lake District. This picturesque setting feels familiar to Clara, who seeks answers to her mother's disappearance.

Patti Callahan Henry's The Story She Left Behind takes you on a beautiful journey. From Clara's pain to the dangerous, fogged-in London and the tranquility of the English countryside, the author's prose is rich and captivating. It is an emotional story with well-developed characters dealing with grief and longing. Wynnie, a child wise beyond her years, touched my heart. It's a tale of family, love, loss, and forgiveness. I strongly recommend it.

Based on true life events, the story of Browlyn who was a child prodigy author who disappeared one night, leaving her daughter and husband wondering what happened to her. Clara always felt it was her fault her mother left and always felt guilty as a result. When Clara receives a phone call from Charlie, a man from England who just lost his dad, saying he had her mom’s missing papers Clara decides to take her daughter to England to retrieve the papers. Upon arrival to England Clara and her daughter experience horrible smog that forces them to flee London with Charlie to his mother’s country home where Clara soon finds a bunch of clues to her own life.

This was such an interesting book filled with great characters, atmosphere, and storyline. I loved the growth of the relationship between Clara and Charlie and the level of forgiveness that occurs.

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry
(ARC - Publishing Date March 18, 2025)

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s world shatters when her mother, Bronwyn, vanishes without a trace from their South Carolina home. Bronwyn, a child prodigy who published her first novel at just twelve, never wrote a sequel—at least not one anyone could read. Before disappearing, she left Clara a mysterious manuscript written in a language only she could decipher.

Fast forward 25 years: Clara, now a single mother, is living with her father in the same childhood home when she receives an unexpected phone call. A stranger in London, Charlie, claims that his late father left behind documents belonging to Bronwyn—including a dictionary of her invented language. Even more shocking? There are explicit instructions that Clara herself must come to England to retrieve them. Could her mother still be alive?

Clara and her eight-year-old daughter, Wynnie, travel to London to meet Charlie, but their plans are upended when the Great Smog of 1952 descends on the city. Forced to flee to the countryside, Clara, Wynnie, and Charlie uncover a trail of clues that feel too intentional to be coincidence. As the mystery unravels, Clara must face the truth: what really happened to Bronwyn all those years ago?

When I first started this book, it reminded me of The Secret Book of Flora Lea (another gem by Patti Callahan Henry), and I was worried it might feel too similar. But this story took on a life of its own, leading me on an unexpected and deeply moving journey. It’s beautifully written, filled with layered characters and interwoven stories of love, loss, and hope. I adored it—and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days after finishing.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this ARC!

Oh what a magical story! I was enchanted by the characters, especially young Winnie, the setting in England's Lake District, descriptions of life in the early 1950s and the numerous goosebump moments in Clara's journey to solve the mystery of her mother's disappearance 25 years ago. The author was inspired by the true-life story of an American author who created her own special language, published her first book by the age of 12 and disappeared a few years later. Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for an advance copy to read and review.

Another beautiful, emotional, captivating story from this incredibly talented prolific author. Sat down to read and was drawn into the story quickly. Beautiful fully formed characters and an emotional read. Clara is trying her best to move forward with her life after the devastating implosion of her marriage. She’s back with her father and trying to be the best mother she can. She was just 8 when her mother disappeared from her life and was never heard from again. When she is contacted by someone that he has found something of great importance of her mothers she takes off across the ocean with her daughter. Their journey to finding the truth is a great read that kept me riveted. Her writing style is truly a gift.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

Plot: Clara’s mom, a famous author, went missing when she was little. Clara has moved on with a life of her own and has a little girl with her former husband. She gets a call one day from a man in London who claims to have information about her mother, so she takes a trip across the pond with her asthmatic daughter, gets caught up in the London smog, and tries to put together the information she can to locate her mom.

Review: I liked this for the first few chapters, but I quickly got bored. The story was a bit slow-moving for my taste and didn’t quite have enough punch. I think there will be many readers who like this, as the writing isn’t bad, but I don’t think I was the target audience, unfortunately. The ending was also too clean for my taste.

Have you ever gone into a book basically blind? I didn’t read what this book was about but knew Patti Callahan Henry wouldn’t disappoint me. She didn’t! What a beautiful story about a parents love but with a lot of twists and mystery. Maybe my favorite read for March!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.

I was enchanted by this book, from the stunning illustration on the cover all the way to the very end. It successfully weaves together mystery, make-believe, and historical fiction. This author's prose is as beautiful as the vistas that she creates with her words, from the coastal waters of South Carolina to the foggy streets of London. The characters were charming, and the story was delightful and engaging.

Ms. Henry hit it out of the park with this book and it is going to be a big hit with her fans, as well as readers who love a little historical fiction with their mysteries. I have already started to highly recommend this to all of my friends.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.