The Lost History of Dreams

February 25, 2019
Waldherr’s lackluster fiction debut (after a number of nonfiction works, including 2008’s Doomed Queens) concerns historian-turned-daguerreotypist Robert Highstead, who wants to carry out the last wishes of a famous poet and cousin that he never knew. In Victorian England three years after losing his wife, Robert must attempt to persuade a stubborn distant relative, Isabelle Lowell, to open the doors to a long-sealed chapel made of glass in order to bury his cousin, the famous poet Hugh de Bonne, beside his wife, Ada. Isabelle is also Hugh’s heir. Mrs. Dido, one of Ada’s former guardians, claims that Isabelle is not actually Hugh’s heir, while a group of Hugh’s fans, led by his publisher’s wife, Tamsin Douglas, are invasive and pushy, further complicating matters and demanding access to the glass chapel. Meanwhile, Isabelle agrees to allow Robert to complete his task of burying Hugh in the chapel if he writes a book about Ada based on a story Isabelle tells him over the course of five nights. All the back-and-forth in the story comes across as rather flat—Robert is fascinated by Hugh and Ada’s love story, as well as who Isabelle may or may not be, but Waldherr can’t quite land it. Fans of Victorian mysteries should look elsewhere for their fix.