Publication Date: March 2025
Synopsis:
In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears 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 departure 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 her beautiful 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 vanishing, 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 To Expect:
Readers can expect a heartfelt, dual-timeline historical fiction.
Content Warnings:
Language: Mild
Sexual Content: Closed Door – Kissing, implied intimacy
Violence: None
Substance Use: Mild – Light alcohol use
Prejudices: Mental health prejudices that were common for the time period
Religious Themes: God and faith are mentioned but are not part of the plot
Other Topics: Parental neglect/abuse, gambling, divorce, loss of parent
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