“Absolutely compelling . . . . A monument to love, to friendship, and to the certainty that wisdom and goodness can still exist in a deeply troubled world.” —Eugenia Thornton, Cleveland Plain Dealer

The “magnificent spinster” is Jane Reid, a teacher who became not only a revered role model but a dear friend to Cam, the narrator of this novel within a novel. After Jane’s death, the accidental discovery of poems written by Cam in her youth to Jane prompts a flood of recollections—and frees Cam to imagine in fiction Jane’s passionately vibrant life.