The Lost Bookshop

Henry’s advisor tells him that because he hasn’t produced any evidence for a lost Emily Brontë manuscript, the department is pulling his funding. Henry chastises himself for being distracted by his feelings for Martha and not working hard enough on his research. He finds information about Opaline’s friend Lady Jane, including a letter to the editor that Jane wrote, published in an Irish newspaper in 1930. In the letter, Jane begs for help regarding the “deplorable state of the country’s asylums” (300) and mentions that her friend has been unjustly held in an asylum against her will, despite many efforts to have her released. This information provides Henry with a new lead.

Back in the 1920s storyline, during the early days of Opaline’s incarceration, she demands to speak with the doctor and insists that she’s sane and being maliciously controlled by Lyndon. Eventually, she realizes that the doctors don’t care. She makes friends with a young woman, Mary, who was placed in the institution by her father after she claimed that the priest had raped her. He beat her and then said she was possessed and had injured herself, finally having her “committed” to keep her out of sight.

Two weeks after arriving at the institution, Opaline gives birth. She hopes that they’ll take her to a hospital for the birth and she’ll have a chance to escape, but instead they leave her in her cell. The nurses tell Opaline that the baby was born with the cord wrapped around its neck and died. Opaline says, “I don’t remember very much after that. I suspect I started to go mad” (313).

In the contemporary storyline, Martha attends a literature course. The course tutor recommends that she apply for the full degree program, and her new friend, Logan, teases her about not letting it go to her head. They walk on campus together, and Martha sees Henry nearby on the phone. They only wave to each other, and Martha is reminded of the quote from Jane Austen’s Persuasion: “Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement” (318).

Madame Bowden invites Henry to the house for Martha’s birthday party. Henry debates going and then remembers something Lucinda told him, that “it didn’t matter whether the decision you made was right or wrong, as long as you made it. That’s what moved you along in life” (320).

At the party, Henry sees Martha in a beautiful gown, talking with friends, including Logan, the man he’d seen her with around campus. Martha is happy to see him and insists that he dance with her. However, he loses his nerve and tries to leave again. Briefly, the front door won’t open for him, which reminds him to give Martha her gift. She opens it to reveal the expensive Mont Blanc Le Petit Prince pen. Martha thanks him, and Madame Bowden opens the door for him as if it had never been stuck.

Back in the 1920s storyline, Opaline falls into despair over the loss of her baby. Mary says she understands how Opaline feels. When her father beat her for claiming the priest raped her, it killed the baby. Mary says she’ll help Opaline survive this, and then they’ll help each other survive because hope is all they have. Opaline writes a letter to Jane asking for help, but a year passes without relief. Mary grows ill, and to distract her at night, Opaline recites the story from the Brontë manuscript for her.

In the contemporary storyline, Martha is nearing the end of A Place Called Lost. She now has no doubt that Opaline wrote it and decides to tell Henry. Martha goes to Henry’s B&B and explains that she believes she has the book that Opaline wrote, the one she mentioned in her letter to Sylvia. Martha waits for Henry to respond, and he suddenly panics that he’s going to miss his bus.

Henry decides to bring her along on his bus trip to visit Connacht District Lunatic Asylum, where he believes Opaline was held. On the way, he explains to Martha that women were often put in institutions against their will and without just cause by men in their lives who wanted to control or silence them.

As they discuss the manuscript, Martha asks, “[W]hat if it doesn’t want to be found?” (339). Henry insists that it’s not merely about the glory but about expanding their knowledge and recovering their cultural heritage. However, Martha demands, “[B]ut why should you get to decide what gets found and what remains lost?” (339). He can’t answer.

When they arrive, Martha lies that they’re safety inspectors to get them access to the records. As they dig through the files, they’re caught and must make a quick escape, but not before Martha pulls the correct file and takes it with her.

Back in Opaline’s storyline, years have passed, and she remains trapped in Connacht District Lunatic Asylum. Their treatment has worsened, food has become scarce, and Mary has died. To keep herself busy, Opaline embroiders her skirt with the words from Brontë’s manuscript. Eventually, she receives news that her mother has died.

Believing that this is her opportunity to escape, Opaline speaks with the doctor, demanding to attend the funeral. However, the doctor tells her that the funeral was a week ago. In that moment, Opaline snaps. She grabs a knife from the doctor’s table and holds it to her own throat, threatening to kill herself. She realizes that Lyndon must be paying the doctor to keep her locked away, and if she dies, he’ll no longer receive those payments. She offers a deal: The doctor will allow her to leave and keep it a secret so that he can keep receiving Lyndon’s payments, and she can escape her brother’s notice. The doctor agrees, and Opaline runs.

In the contemporary storyline, Martha’s mother visits her at Madame Bowden’s house. Her mother has fully regained her voice and wants to explain why she lost it to begin with: What Martha never knew was that her grandmother was adopted as a baby by a childless couple who were hard and unkind. When she married and had a daughter of her own, she left to find her birth parents in Dublin. Unfortunately, she was killed in a train accident. Martha’s mother was then raised by the adoptive parents, the Clohessys, who treated her poorly, and that was when she lost her voice.

Martha’s mother apologizes for keeping it a secret and for not doing more to show Martha that she was “always enough.” When Martha’s mother leaves to return home, she says she hopes she’ll get to meet Madame Bowden next time. Martha thinks this is odd, as she introduced them already, but puts it out of her mind.