Each character is beautifully written and memorable. I savored each and every page of this book and never wanted it to end. By far one of the best and most beautifully written books I have ever read.

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets takes place in England Post World War II. Penelope Wallace works in an antique store and takes classes in literature and art. She lives with her widowed mother, the legendary and unpredictable beauty, Talitha, and her brother, Inigo, in the family's ancestral home Milton Magna. Magna the estate house in the countryside is rundown and crumbling down around them, but since Penelope's father died in the war the family does not have the necessary resources to keep the ancestral home in running order.

One day while at a bus stop Penelope meets Charlotte Ferris and on a whim they share a taxi ride. During this taxi ride Charlotte invites Penelope to tea, and Penelope accepts. At tea Penelope meets Charlotte's Aunt Clare and Charlotte's cousin Harry. It takes only hours for Charlotte, Aunt Clare and Harry to alter Penelope's life. Charlotte soon introduces Penelope into high society thus altering the course of Penelope's otherwise uneventful life.

Harry concocts a plan to make his ex-girlfriend, Marina, jealous after she becomes engaged to another man. Penelope agrees to be the "bait" and accompanies Harry to various high society parties. Penelope soon begins to realize her feelings for Harry have gone beyond the role she was acting and become real.