The Foundling's Instrument

London restorer Nora Flynn can read a violin through varnish, tool marks, and the pressure of a hand long gone. The instrument on her bench appears ordinary until she opens it and finds a bundle of letters hidden inside, written between 1761 and 1765.

The construction points to a woman absent from every surviving catalogue.

The owner plans to sell in a matter of weeks. Dealers want a clean attribution. Scholars want proof. Nora wants to know whether recovering a hidden maker's name would correct the record or turn a private life into a discovery owned by others.

Following the instrument from workshop accounts to foundling records, she uncovers a craft tradition preserved in objects rather than institutions. With the sale closing in, Nora must decide how far she can pursue a maker whose surviving work has outlived every reliable account of her.

A resonant historical mystery about women at work, the ethics of attribution, and the music an object keeps for itself.