In this lyrical coming-of-age novel, a lonely college freshman finds her footing via a literary mystery marked by rebellion, self-discovery, and the secret society that's spent years piecing it together.
Coded messages. Hidden tunnels. Fiery secrets. For generations, a women-led secret society has guarded them all.
When Birdie de Witt arrives at Whilton College to study poetry, she's still reeling from her parents' divorce. Alone and adrift in the mysterious old Victorian they've rented for her, she seeks refuge with her scholarly godparents, both professors at Whilton. They are a balm to her poet's soul. So are unexpected sparks with the captivating Irish musician who becomes her new roommate.
Yet nothing soothes Birdie's loneliness like her initiation into the secret Pemberley Society for Accomplished Women. Devoted to sisterhood and all things Jane Austen, the Pems whisper of a lost manuscript hidden at Whilton. Birdie and her new sisters follow the clues and embark upon a literary scavenger hunt for the ages.
But when false accusations threaten her newfound place among the Pems, Birdie must find her voice--and discover what it takes to become the Austenite heroine of her own story.