The Secret Book of Flora Lea is a captivating new work of historical fiction by Patti Callahan Henry that explores sisterhood, resilience, and the power of storytelling. The novel follows two sisters—fourteen-year-old Hazel Linden and five-year-old Flora Linden—who are evacuated to the English countryside during World War II. Scared and untethered after being separated from their mother, the girls comfort themselves with stories; Hazel makes up an imaginary land called Whisperwood for just the two of them, and over the many months away from home, the girls escape into fantastical adventures. Then, one day, Flora mysteriously disappears. Although the police search far and wide, no one can find the child, and it’s assumed she has drowned in the River Thames. Twenty years later, Hazel is working at a rare books shop in Bloomsbury when she comes across a first edition fairy tale that startles her to her core—the book is titled Whisperwood and the River of Stars, and tells the story of her and Flora’s secret adventures. How, when no one else knew about Whisperwood, did their story come to be told by an American author? The discovery ignites long-buried hope in Hazel that her sister might still be out there somewhere, and sends her on a real-life adventure to finally find some answers.
With lyrical storytelling, rich and colorful settings, and meticulously built suspense, Patti Callahan Henry creates a winning mixture of historical fiction and mystery. Flora Lea alternates between 1940, when the sisters are children, and 1960, when Hazel is an adult, and I loved getting a glimpse into two fascinating eras in one novel. Reading about WWII through the eyes of a child evacuee was a perspective I hadn’t explored before, and Henry does a thorough job of imagining the children’s emotions and relationships. In the ‘60s chapters, Henry takes us from London to Cornwall to Boston and back again, and it was a joy picturing the sheath dresses, art galleries, and a bookshop reminiscent of 84 Charing Cross Road. As for the mystery aspect, I was hooked from the beginning and found the conclusion highly satisfying. Although the book felt a bit longer than necessary (Henry’s phrasing can get very descriptive), I appreciated the work Henry does to fully imagine every element of her story. I loved getting lost in The Secret Book of Flora Lea.
I’d recommend this book to…
- Anyone interested in WWII fiction that explores the experience of those left at home… it’s similar in theme to Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
- Anyone who loves an imaginative, hard-to-crack mystery… it’s similar in style to The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
- Anyone who appreciates earnest and vibrant writing… it’s similar in tone to Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah
