It all started with a literary mystery and a secret language.
For two decades, I have kept my ears and heart attuned to hidden stories. Yet, I wasn’t searching for a literary mystery when I stumbled upon the haunting tale of Barbara Newhall Follett—a prodigy, a trailblazer, and a woman who disappeared at the age of twenty-five without a trace. Sometimes, the best stories find us when we least expect them.
Born in 1914, Barbara’s life seemed destined for brilliance. By the age of eight, she had penned The House Without Windows, a fantastical novel about a girl who escapes to live in nature with fairies and nymphs. Four years later, the book was published by Knopf to widespread acclaim, with The New York Times hailing it as “a truly remarkable little book.” But Barbara wasn’t just a writer; she was an inventor of worlds. She created an entire language, Farksoola, and surrounded herself with imaginary friends like Mozart and Bach, even reserving them seats at the dinner table.
Behind the enchantment of her stories, Barbara’s life was a tempest. Her idyllic childhood unraveled when her beloved father abandoned the family. This betrayal marked the beginning of a restless and turbulent life. By twenty-six, Barbara had married an outdoorsman named Nick and was living in Boston. But her literary career had faltered, and her marriage was crumbling. One December night in 1939, after an argument about Nick’s infidelity, Barbara walked out of their apartment and vanished.