THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA, Coming May 2, 2023!
August 2022 | Newsletter
Coming May 2, 2023
Dear Friends and Readers,
I am so happy to be sending you the very first look at the cover for The Secret Book of Flora Lea, out on May 2nd, 2023 with Atria Simon & Schuster. The past years have been such a blur for so many of us, and this novel is one of the joys that has emerged through these hard years. When I first began writing The Secret Book of Flora Lea she was titled, The River Child. As stories do, the tale and title shifted, changed and like a river, they found a new way through the earth of my imagination. I had imagined many covers but not one this beautiful! This is it; this cover is the story in visual form. As the epigraph for the novel, by Mary Oliver says, “Said the river, imagine everything you can imagine, then keep on going.” I have been visiting the lands of this novel from Oxford, to Binsey, to London, and a small antiquarian book shop. I have pictures to share and stories to tell, and I’m so looking forward to telling you more about Hazel and Flora, about Binsey, and about the secret book, but for now, I wanted you to see the glorious cover. Of course, as always, you can straight away pre-order! With Love,
Patti
by Patti Callahan Henry
Book Summary
"Not very long ago and not very far away, there once was and still is an invisible place right here with us. And if you are born knowing, you will find your way through the woodlands to the shimmering doors that lead to the land made just and exactly for you." —HAZEL MERSEY LINDEN, 1939.
A missing sister, a mysterious fairy tale, The River Thames, and a lost love.
1939: Fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora evacuate their London home for a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the Aberdeen family in a charming stone cottage, Hazel distracts her young sister with a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own: Whisperwood.
But the unthinkable happens when Flora suddenly vanishes after playing near the banks of the River Thames. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, carrying the guilt into adulthood. Twenty years later, Hazel is back in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore for a career at Sotheby’s. With a cherished boyfriend and an upcoming Paris getaway, Hazel’s future seems set. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing a picture book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the storybook world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years? Or is something sinister at play? For fans of Kate Morton, Janet Skeslien Charles, and Kristin Hannah, this is a “fantastical” (Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author) celebration of sisterhood and the magic of storytelling wrapped up in a “heartrending, captivating tale of family, first love, and fate” (Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author). Publisher: Atria Books (May 2, 2023)
Author: Patti Callahan Henry Hardcover: 368 pages ISBN-10: 1668011832 | ISBN-13: 978-1668011836
Available in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook formats.
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Praise
"Two sisters, dual time periods, a magical secret place, an abiding mystery--The Secret Book of Flora Lea is an enchanting story of survival against all odds. With her trademark warmth and a feather-light touch, Patti Callahan Henry weaves together events both real and imagined. Transporting, heartfelt, and atmospheric."
—Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train and The Exiles
The Secret Book of Flora Lea is a beguiling blend of hope, mystery, and true familial love. It exposes the deep wounds of a family tragically separated because of war. Told in an utterly fresh way with dual timelines and a host of unforgettable characters, this is a story that is both necessary and satisfying through the last page. Powerful and spellbinding!"
—Sadequa Johnson, Internationally bestselling author of The House of Eve and The Yellow Wife
“Patti Callahan Henry has pulled off the near-impossible, she’s created a fantastical tale of myth, wartime history, and true heartache. I absolutely loved this book!” —Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
"In this gorgeous ode to books and storytellers, Patti Callahan Henry shows that literature lives inside us, and can unite us despite the odds. Through war, young love, a sister’s remorse, and a mysterious land called Whisperwood, I was torn between savoring each word and tearing through the pages to learn what happened next. Pure magic!"
—Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library
"At the heart of this novel is a shattering loss that irrevocably changes the lives of a cast of complex, delightful characters. Henry is a born storyteller, keeping the reader on tenterhooks as she expertly unveils the truths and lies that drive this gripping, magical tale."
—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace
"Patti Callahan Henry is a master of the elusive fairy tale, and nowhere is her talent on better display than in the pages of The Secret Book of Flora Lea, a bittersweet tale of loss, destiny, and the strings of deep love that bind us together across the years. The terror and heartbreak of the World War II children's evacuation of London collide with the dangling threads of an unsolved mystery that picks up nearly two decades later, at the dawn of the swinging Sixties. This heartrending, captivating tale of family, first love, and fate will sweep you away."
—Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars and The Book of Lost Names
"Deft, lyrical, and supremely satisfying, The Secret Book of Flora Lea isn’t so much a departure for Patti Callahan Henry as it is a culmination of her gifts as a novelist. This is a book about difficult history and unsinkable hope, ordinary magic in the form of love, and about how our stories can save and sustain us in the most trying moments of our lives. Callahan’s plot will keep you guessing even as her characters steal your heart. I loved it.
—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go Dark
"Check back here for a photo journal of
Patti’s trip to the places and lands of the novel.”
About the Author
New York Times Bestselling Author and Podcast Host Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, EPCA, and Globe and Mail bestselling author of sixteen novels and podcast host. 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. Patti is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast.
A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband, Pat Henry. Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey, and will be released on May 2nd, 2023 with Simon & Schuster Atria. Read More
Photo Credit: Bud Johnson Photography Savannah, GA
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