Inspired by a true literary mystery, New York Timesbestselling 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, 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 mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s disappearance, 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.

What I liked about this book.  

The story is captivating. I found it very hard to stop reading. The author’s writing pulls you into the story quickly and I felt I just couldn’t come to a good stopping place. I like that it is told in two timelines. For me, it helped to understand both the main characters and the motivations behind their decisions. The writing and descriptions are beautiful. You can feel the longing for a mother in Clara. 

What I didn’t like…. What drew me to this book was that it claims to be inspired by a true literary mystery. And in a way, it was. A young author did disappear in the late 1930’s after publishing 2 successful novels at the age of 12 and 14.  But that’s where the similarities end.  In the small amount of research I did, nothing was said about those novels being written in a secret language. The idea of the secret language was intriguing to me and I was a little disappointed with the way that was handled in the novel.  However, there were many other secrets in this lovely story and i enjoyed the pacing and ending of this beautiful story about the importance of a mother’s love and forgiveness when that love may not be expressed in the traditional way. 

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling novelist of fifteen novels, including the historical fiction (writing as Patti Callahan) BECOMING MRS. LEWIS—The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis. In addition, she is the recipient of The Christy Award—A 2019 Winner “Book of the Year.” ; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year for 2020 and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for 2019, and the RNA UK finalist for Romantic Historical Fiction.

Her newest novel SURVIVING SAVANNAH will be released on March 9, 2021 by Penguin Random House/Berkley Publishing.

She is also the co-founder of the Facebook weekly show Friends and Fiction.

The author is also the host of the popular seven-part original “Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast Series” launched, October 2019. The podcast audiobook collection including bonus material was released January 2020, and available now. The new expanded Becoming Mrs. Lewis paperback edition was released March 2020, and available now.

On March 9, 2021, SURVIVING SAVANNAH—a new historical fiction novel based on the true story of the Steamship Pulaski wreck will be released and available for pre-order now.

THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER (writing as Patti Callahan Henry—Southern Contemporary Fiction) was launched in June 2019, and THE PERFECT LOVE SONG—A Christmas Holiday novella released October 2019.

Patti Callahan is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly Friends and Fiction Facebook Live Show and podcast, featuring the five bestselling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Kristin Harmel, and Mary Alice Monroe with endless stories, special guests, and a way to connect readers and writers.

A full-time author and mother of three children, she now resides in both Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Bluffton, South Carolina with her husband.