The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry

Robin’s Reviews 2025

THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND by Patti Callahan Henry is a beautifully written novel about an impossible choice made by a mother, the emotional scars left in her daughter’s heart, and a book that might heal her pain decades later.

Summary

As a child prodigy, Bronwyn writes a book that becomes famous. As an adult, she writes the long-awaited sequel. The book is written in a coded language Bronwyn created and is yet unpublished. Under mysterious circumstances in 1927, she leaves her husband and her 8-year-old daughter Clara, and takes the dictionary needed to translate the cipher. The family believes Bronwyn is dead, and the pages are gone forever.

Twenty-five years later, Clara receives a phone call from Charlie, a stranger living in London. He claims her mother’s papers have been discovered. Her mother’s abandonment has haunted Clara and driven her need for answers and resolution. Suspicious but hopeful that the papers are real, Clara travels with her daughter Wynnie from South Carolina to London to retrieve them.

They arrive during The Great Smog of 1952. To escape the toxic air in London, they travel with Charlie to his family’s retreat in the Lake district, near where Beatrix Potter lived. While staying at the country estate, Clara must find the courage to uncover her mother’s secrets and the story she left behind.

My Thoughts

It’s fascinating that the real life and disappearance of author Barbara Newhall Follett inspired Patti’s novel. I had never heard of Barbara Newhall Follett, so of course I looked her up. You should, too! I appreciate that books have the power to bring someone unknown or nearly forgotten back into the spotlight.

Photo of author Patti Callahan Henry — Author Patti Callahan Henry

So many times while reading this novel, I marveled at Patti Callahan Henry’s descriptions. Take time while you’re reading to savor the language she uses.

Clara goes through many trials in the story to get answers, but the ending is satisfying. The Story She Left Behind is filled with discovery, connection, understanding, forgiveness, lost family, and unexpected love.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. The opinion are my own.

THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND’s pub date is March 18, 2025, but preordering is VERY helpful to authors. I suggest ordering through Bookshop.org since they help support small, independent bookstores across the county: order hardback or ebook here.

If You Like…

If you like THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND, check out these past recommendations by Patti Callahan Henry: The Secret Life of Flora Lea and Once Upon a Wardrobe.

Drop me a comment below! What are you reading that you’d recommend? Who are your favorite authors? Ask me a question about books and/or writing. I’d love to hear from you!

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March 11, 2022

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Robin’s Rave Reviews – 2022

THE LOST APOTHECARY by Sarah Penner was sitting on my TBR (To Be Read) pile for awhile. I’m so glad I finally got to it! Although it’s classified as women’s historical fiction (which I do enjoy reading), this isn’t a typical women’s fiction novel. The dark premise is what caught my attention: A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them – setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Nella is an apothecary in 1790’s London. Although she learned the art of healing from her mother, Nella has personal reasons for making poisons. Her women clients want to kill off their husbands, lovers, and other men who have hurt or betrayed them. The potions are never to be used to harm other women. Nella keeps a record of each transaction with the client’s (and intended victim’s) name(s). Her world begins to change when a 12-year-old servant girl picks up a potion for her mistress and, to Nella’s annoyance, she continues to hang around. Then, an aristocratic client’s attempt to poison someone goes very wrong. A police investigation threatens to uncover the record of her clients and what Nella has been doing from her back alley store. This timeline in the story kept me turning the pages.

The other timeline follows a modern American woman, Caroline, who is visiting London. She discovers an old blue vial in the Thames while mudlarking (searching the mud near a river for interesting or value items). Due to her love of history, she uncovers information about the vial that connects it directly to Nella’s apothecary. This timeline was the weaker part of the story; however, due to my love of history, I was interested to see how she tracked down the connections. I wasn’t as connected to her personal life and her cheating husband.

Some of the themes in the book weren’t what readers might think from reading the blurb. Revenge was expected. I wasn’t expecting Nell’s reason for recording the women clients’ names. She felt the attitude that women were inferior in that time period most likely meant their names would be lost to history unless she recorded it. I also didn’t expect some of the themes: sacrifice for another, the importance of friendship, women supporting women, and getting your dreams back on track.

I would have liked a darker, mysterious ending for the apothecary’s story. It felt a bit forced – tied up too neatly. Still, overall, I enjoyed the read. I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars. (Keep in mind, I only write reviews of books I enjoy and would recommend.) So if THE LOST APOTHECARY sounds like your type of story, try it out. I would not have guessed this to be Sarah Penner’s debut novel. I look forward to seeing what she has for us next!

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July 9, 2021

The Clockmaker’s Wife by Daisy Wood

Robin’s Rave Reviews

If you like WWII historical fiction with a strong female protagonist, you should check out The Clockmaker’s Wife by Daisy Wood that was just released on July 8.

Big Ben, an icon known around the world, is a tourist must-see in London. During WWII Big Ben had an important job beyond telling the time. The nine o’clock chimes encouraged people to pray for peace during the Silent Minute that followed. It also rang in the BBC evening news listened to all over Nazi-occupied Europe. The author Daisy Wood stated, “The great bell represented freedom and better times to come; as long as it tolled, at least one country resisted oppression.” The Clockmaker’s Wife imagines what could have happened if Big Ben had been targeted by the enemy, but the fiction is surrounded by facts about London during WWII. Wood said, “…the loss of such a beacon of hope as the clock tower would have been a terrible blow to morale.”

DID YOU KNOW? “Big Ben” isn’t the name of the clock nor the clock tower. It’s the name of the bell inside the clock.

This historical fiction is told through a dual timeline: 1940s in London and current day in both New York City and London.

LONDON: In the war timeline the protagonist Nell is the wife of Arthur, one of a team of three that keeps Big Ben operational. Nell and baby Alice leave London to escape the bombings while Arthur stays behind to work. When Arthur is suddenly and inexplicably imprisoned, Nell returns to London to help get him released. Nell never questions her husband’s loyalty to his country, yet citizens were sometimes held with little proof of “working with the enemy” during the war. When Nell doesn’t make progress in helping him through traditional routes, she decides to investigate on her own. Her suspicions and questions lead her into dangerous territory.

NYC: Baby Alice, now in her eighties, is recovering from hip surgery in a nursing home. During a visit, her daughter Ellie asks about Alice’s parents. Alice tells her that her father comes from a long line of clockmakers and that his job was working on Big Ben. Alice knows very little about her mother Nell since she was killed in the Blitz when Alice was only a baby. Since Alice’s father couldn’t bear talking about her, Nell was always a distant shadow to Alice. Ellie decides to bring the shadow into the light so her mom can know more about her mother before it’s too late. Ellie flies to London to uncover the truth about the kind of person Nell was and how she died. She discovers much more than she ever expected.

I like Nell’s character. A typical 1940s mother, perhaps, but when harsh circumstances hits her family, she steps up. She becomes a courageous woman putting her life at risk for her husband and her country. She develops into a much more interesting person than I was expecting. The story involving Nell is full of wartime intrigue.

I also like Ellie’s character. She recognizes that time passes too quickly and opportunities to learn about the past from those who lived it is limited. Also Ellie is a bridge between Alice and some broken family relationships. Doors had been closed for a long time that Ellie is able to reopen.

Only a few things seemed weak to me. I would have liked to get deeper with Arthur’s character. Also the love story of Ellie and Dan seemed a bit too quick, even though they’ve known each other for many years. Minor things, though.

Although this specific story is a work of fiction, I find myself wondering how many courageous stories from wars have been lost to time. I often think about the stories that get lost after just a few generations. Many of us are blessed enough to know at least some of our grandparents, but how often do we think to ask them about their younger lives? And when they pass, their stories, and the stories of their parents and grandparents, are lost. I know I regret not asking more questions of my parents and grandfather when they were still alive.

I highly recommend this book, but I also recommend that you don’t let your life events get lost. Your grandchildren and their children CAN know a bit about who you are, rather than just a shadow in an old picture. Take time to sit down with your children/grandchildren and tell them the stories. Don’t wait for them to ask. Too often they don’t see the value in those questions until it’s too late. Even if you aren’t an author, write down stories from your childhood and about your parents and grandparents along with your reflections on the significant events you’ve lived through. If you don’t want to write it, record it! Passing down a written document, video or voice recording will keep the stories more accurate rather than relying on the memory of others who didn’t live it. Everyone has experiences of value to share with the next generations. It’s your legacy.

Whether you buy or borrow, I hope you’ll come back and comment here after you’ve read The Clockmaker’s Wife by Daisy Wood. And don’t forget to leave even a short review (like 5 stars) on places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, etc. If you love to read, please tell others about books and authors you love! If you like this book, check out the links to these WWII historical fiction books I’ve previously reviewed by Kristin Harmel: The Winemaker’s Wife, The Book of Lost Names, and The Forest of Vanishing Stars.

Although I loved this book, after this review I’m taking a break from historical fiction to do some lighter reading this summer! Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for an ARC of The Clockmaker’s Wife. I have shared my honest opinion.

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