Patti Callahan Henry Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Interview

Patti Callahan Henry discusses her historical fiction novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, and how her owncuriosity - and childhood - led her to write this compelling book.

You speak in the author's note about your discovery of Operation Pied Piper—a piece of history lost to time for many people. Were there other bits of history you discovered in your research for this novel?

Before I started writing this novel, I knew that British children had been sent to the country during World War II for their safety, but I'd been unaware of its operational name. As I dug a little deeper, curious about the impact of exile on the children of war, I discovered that this scheme had been given the title of a German legend about a piper who lures children away from their homes and town. Those children were never seen again. As I read and conducted my research, I wondered this: Why would the British government name a scheme to keep children safe after a legend of lost children? Curiosity often leads me to story, and this time was no different. Children weren't just sent to the country—they were also sent to America, Australia, and Canada by ship (sometimes with fatal results). WWII is full of untold stories, and in The Secret Book of Flora Lea I try to bring some of the Operation Pied Piper tales to light—from the small facts about how children sat in town halls while hearing the ringing voices of "...