The Story She Left Behind
A Novel
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The Story She Left Behind
Narrated by:
Julia Whelan, Theo Solomon
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Julia Whelan
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Theo Solomon
About this listen
“Brilliant, riveting, so beautifully written, impossible to put down.” —Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Inspired by a true literary mystery, the New York Times bestselling 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.
“Graceful in its telling and so very wise in its insights, The Story She Left Behind is a book that will capture your heart, lift your spirits, and delight your soul” (William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author).
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Critic reviews
"This mystery explores the emotions felt by the family of a young American novelist who vanished 25 years earlier. Daughter Clara, skillfully portrayed by Julia Whelan, receives a cryptic phone call informing her that she must personally claim her mother’s writing satchel. She steels herself and travels to London with her daughter. Once there, the two meet young executor Charlie, voiced with grace and charm by Theo Solomon, who whisks them to his family’s country home, away from the Great Smog. There, Clara’s stunning discovery upends her world. Delivering alternating points of view, both narrators give well-matched, compelling performances, including a range of American and UK accents. A clarifying author’s note narrated by Henry closes the production."
Brilliant characters, a literary mystery and an unexpected but satisfying ending.
The more I think about it - the better it gets!
I highly recommend 'The Story She Left Behind'.
A literary mystery
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