The Story She Left Behind: A Novel

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INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Brilliant, riveting, so beautifully written, impossible to put down. Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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 daughters search for them both.

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harringtons magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, vanishes 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 disappearance 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 beloved 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 mothers lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mothers disappearance, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of Londons most deadly natural disastersthe Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jamesons 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.

Graceful in its telling and so very wise in its insights, The Story She Left Behind is a book that will capture your heart, lift your spirits, and delight your soul (William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author).

Author Bio

Patti Callahan Henry is theNew York Times and USA TODAYbestselling author of several novels, including Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She is the recipient of the Christy Award, the Harper Lee Award for Alabamas Distinguished Writer of the Year Award, and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year. She is the cohost and cocreator of the popular weekly online live web show and podcast Friends and Fiction. She lives in Alabama and South Carolina with her family.Find out more at PattiCallahanHenry.com.