What Is Visible: A Novel by Kimberly Elkins

can’t wait to hold Doctor’s baby. You don’t have to worry; I will hold her very softly and be careful with her head. Miss Swift showed me how to do it with a doll, and I am practicing every day. Of course, I am too old for dolls! I am ready for babies. Julia Romana will be my sister, and you can also be my sister, and we will all live happily together in Doctor’s apartment. And Jeannette too, if you would like.
    I can’t wait to hug you and kiss you and your baby. It is all I can think about for now. I promise that I will always set an excellent example for your children; I know the difference between right and wrong, as our dear Doctor has shown me. Please write to me, and I will know that you are keeping me also in your devoted heart.
    May 1845, Charles Sumner to Dr. Howe
    P.S. All that I may offer to you and Julia on the birth are the fruitless congratulations of a bachelor’s heart, forever ignorant of the gardens of delight in which the happy parents revel.
    May 1845, Julia to Louisa
    Children are not like poems.
    June 1845, Miss Swift to Dr. Howe
    Congratulations on the birth of your daughter. We are looking forward to making her acquaintance.
    I want you to be prepared: I found certain religious tracts in Laura’s room, hidden beneath her pillow. They were not in raised letters, but if they’re in her possession, it is possible that she found someone to read them to her. I don’t know how this happened, because I have been very careful, as you asked, though my withholding on these matters has come at great spiritual expense to myself.
    It was inevitable, sir, even if you didn’t wish it.
    June 1845, Laura to Julia
    I am crocheting Julia Romana a pink cap, but I need to know the exact measurements of her head. Could you please send to me?
    June 1845, Dr. Howe to Laura
    I am told that you have been given certain tracts by those who do not know you, who do not understand you as I do. Believe me that God has appointed the day when you should know Him, but He will tell only me. Be patient, Laura, for Him, and for my return. Some things must change as we all adjust to my new life, but the important things will remain the same.
    July 1845, Dr. Howe to Charles Sumner
    Baby Julia Romana is the world’s most compelling creature, as you will soon discover; her mother, however, does not seem to find her so. And the verses are gushing forth again—she actually leaves the papers about the apartment in Rome for me to stumble upon. I will not bore you with the effluvia of the Muse except to say that in one she rhymes dead with marriage bed , and in another, enfeebled blind with behind !
    I thought I had chosen one whose spirits were nearly fireproof. I am more than a bit lost except for the child. And I yearn, more than ever, to touch your face. Very soon.
    July 1845, Laura to Dr. Howe
    Please, Doctor, I had a dream that your tiny baby was thrown into the sea and torn apart and eaten by a giant whale. I tried, but I could not save her. I am plagued with dreams, I can’t sleep. It’s always dark, but still I can’t sleep.
    July 1845, Dr. Howe to Jeannette
    The time has come for you to do me a very large favor: Miss Swift is to be removed from her post well before we return in late September. I will send a letter, but it will need to be carefully written, so you must move ahead since it will take it so long to reach Boston. For now, simply tell her that she has disappointed me, and disappointed Laura. Leave it to her to decide if she has also disappointed God.
    Miss Wight is my choice for Laura’s new teacher. She is modest, articulate, and most of all, Unitarian. I was not wise in trying to see the best in human nature, regardless of creed, but I have learned my lesson.
    And here is perhaps the more trepidatious task I set you, sister: please begin moving Laura out of the apartment. My private residence is no longer the right place for her now that I have my own family. I think if you carry out a few things at a