Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
I was so lucky that I was able to read the 7th Enola Holmes book early, so when I had the opportunity to read this one I jumped at the chance. This book is great – Nancy Springer really draws in the reader to the 1800s while making the language still accessible. This book follows Enola as she tries to help her best friend, Cecily, escape from the confines of her father, though Cecily suffers from a “split personality.” Let me explain – split personality in the sense that when she is right handed (literally when she is using her right hand) she is the docile girl that she is expected to be in polite society. When she is left handed (meaning she is using her left hand, as she was born left handed and that is frowned upon in society, and forced out of people), she is “wild” and “clever,” being the girl Enola knows her to be and unable to be controlled by her father.
This was a fascinating look at a psychiatric problem that we today (in 2022) would be curious about studying, but in the 1800s would be treated with an asylum. Enola takes it in stride and just tries to help her friend and it is a mystery that really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Is it the docile Cecily who doesn’t know how to do any work? Is it the clever Cecily who knows how to disguise herself? I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and struggled to put it down.
As a bonus, I was reading this as I was in a performance of The Importance of Being Earnest, so I was “living” in the 1800s with a character named Cecily who was “wild” and “untamed” so it felt really appropriate. This is a great book and you should definitely pick it up!