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INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Indie Next April 2025 Pick • LibraryReads March 2025 Pick

“Brilliant, riveting, gorgeously written and impossible to put down.” —Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Inspired by a real-life literary mystery, bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry, acclaimed for her captivating novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, returns with a spellbinding tale about a legendary book, a mother’s mysterious disappearance, and a daughter’s relentless quest for answers.

In 1927, Clara Harrington’s idyllic childhood is forever changed when her gifted mother, legendary author Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn famously captivated the public as a child prodigy who at twelve authored a groundbreaking book written entirely in a secret, invented language. Her sudden disappearance leaves behind not just national intrigue, but also her devoted husband and an emotionally wounded daughter who longs for a deeper connection and understanding of the mother she lost.

By 1952, Clara is a talented illustrator and a mother herself, raising a daughter named Wynnie. When an enigmatic stranger named Charlie Jameson reaches out from London, claiming that he holds the key—a handwritten dictionary—to finally translating the mysterious language Bronwyn invented, Clara is initially skeptical. Yet, driven by lingering grief and unanswered questions surrounding her mother’s disappearance, Clara voyages across the Atlantic with her young, asthmatic daughter Wynnie to investigate Charlie’s claim. Their arrival coincides with a catastrophic event—the deadly Great Smog engulfing London. Forced to flee the hazardous city, they find safety in the Jameson family’s quiet sanctuary deep in England’s scenic Lake District. It is in this remote refuge that Clara must confront the secrets surrounding her mother’s legacy and finally unravel the truth behind Bronwyn’s life and disappearance.

With poetic, mesmerizing prose, The Story She Left Behind is a captivating narrative of family legacy and mystery that beautifully evokes the timeless longing for connection, the strength of a daughter’s love, and the irresistible pull of the stories and secrets left behind.