March 19, 2025 Francene Katzen The Three Tomatoes
The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry, is inspired by the life of Barbara Newhall Follett, who wrote her novel, The House Without Windows at the age of twelve and disappeared without a trace. I did not know anything about Newhall Follett or her book. I was happy to learn about Newhall Follet and her story, as I am sure others will be too.
The story begins in 1927 when eight-year-old, Clara Harrington is devasted when she learns her mother has disappeared off the coast of South Carolina. Her mother is a well-known author by the name of Browyn Newcastle Fordham. Fordham had written a book in an invented languages the became a national sensation when she was twelve years old. Clara and her father are heartbroken over the disappearance of her mother. The hope of ever translating the sequel of her important piece of work feels impossible now.
Clara has become an illustrator by 1952 and is raising her daughter, Wynnie. She is contacted by a stranger, Charlie Jameson from London telling her he has found a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical about this claim by Jameson. She does decide to travel to London, taking along her daughter with her. They arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters – the Great Smog. With asthmatic, Wynnie in danger, they leave the city with Charlie Jameson. They set out for his family’s home in the Lake District. It is at Charlie’s family home that Clara must sum of the courage to find out the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.
Henry’s story is a captivating novel of mystery and family. This book has it all-love, loss, legacy, family abandonment, found family and forgiveness. This is a beautifully written book. The descriptions of the people and places will make you feel as if you were right there with them. I loved this book, and it is a five-star read. I can’t recommend this book enough. GET THE BOOK.