Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, June 14th, 2022

Format: ebook

Pages: 432

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

The internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society returns with a compelling and heartwarming story of post-war London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world.

Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager’s unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances – most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she’s been working to support the family following her husband’s breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she’s working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

As they interact with various literary figures of the time – Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others – these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.

My Review:

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press for the copy of the book.
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Read if you like: books about books, The Jane Austen Society
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I absolutely loved the Jane Austen Society and this book was just as delightful. While not necessarily a sequel, it takes place after the book and it would be helpful to read The Jane Austen Society before if you want to understand some things better.
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The book follows three female employees of Bloomsbury Books-Evie, Vivien, and Grace. I loved all three characters and their love for books, as well as their kindness towards each other. I also loved reading about the real people connected to the literary world, especially Daphne du Maurier.
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The book looks at women in publishing, the literary world, and the post-war workforce and how hard women had to work to be taken seriously.
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CW: sexism, misogyny, racism, homophobia, sexual content, domestic abuse, xenophobia.