A Modern Chronicle — Volume 01

Honora Leffingwell, born in the glitter of Nice and raised amid the modest streets of St. Louis, straddles two worlds at the turn of the twentieth century. The daughter of a charismatic U.S. consul, she inherits a blend of Southern gentility and European polish, yet her childhood is tinged with the loss of her father and the quiet expectations of a respectable family.

Caught between the vivid fantasies of grand villas along the Riviera and the disciplined propriety of her Midwestern upbringing, Honora immerses herself in the literature of Ouida and the Duchess, shaping a cosmopolitan outlook that seems at odds with her surroundings. A chance encounter on an Italian excursion—when the horses bolting from her carriage spark a sudden crisis—offers a glimpse of the adventurous path that may yet carry her beyond the familiar banks of the Mississippi toward a life of intrigue, society, and self‑discovery.