The Last Bookshop in
London by Madeline Martin 320 pages
Two young women, both
eighteen years old, come to the big city of London from the English country
side. Grace and Viv have aspirations of being shop assistant’s at Harrod’s.
However, they need letters of recommendation, but only Viv has one. Grace had
been living with her uncle’s family and running his store since the death of
her mother. He was a mean man and refused to help his niece.
Upon their arrival in
London, the girls had a place to stay---with Mrs. Weatherford and her son,
Colin. Mrs. Weatherford had been her mother’s closest friend. The girls felt
comfortable staying with her.
It’s August 1939. Hints
of the impending war are being seen around London. Viv gets her position,
leaving Grace to feel left behind. Mrs. Weatherford steps in and arranges for
Grace to work at the Primrose Hill Bookshop. Browbeating the owner, Mr. Evans
is more like it though. At first, Grace is extremely apprehensive about taking
the position. She has never been a reader and knows nothing about books and
literature.
When she arrives for her
first day, she is dismayed by the clutter, the dust, and the lack of any kind
of structural organization for the books. Grace knows how to organize and clean,
so she gets to work. It’s a daunting
task, but she has no choice if she wants that recommendation letter.
Soon, Grace has made
inroads to the mess. She even begins to offer help to the store’s customers.
She meets one of the store’s regulars, George, an RAF pilot who loves the
written word. George sees her distress and encourages her to read. She starts
with “The Count of Monte Cristo.” As Grace falls into the story, she and George
strike a small romance, sharing books and plotlines.
The Germans begin their
attack on England with the London Blitz. Viv leaves Harrod’s to join the war
effort with the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service – a branch of
the British Army). Again Grace is left behind; With Colin recently drafted, she
feels she cannot leave Mrs. Weatherford or Mr. Evans.
Grace, though does part and becomes an ARP (Air
Raid Patrol) warden. With her partner, Mr. Stokes, she walks the blacked out
streets, helping those who have been impacted by the nightly bombings.
As the bombs fall, Grace, on her nights off, and
Mrs. Weatherford are forced to join the rest on London’s citizens taking cover in
the underground tube station. There she sees her neighbors and some of the
bookshop’s customers. To make the nights less scary, Grace begins to read
aloud. Soon, many of her tube-mates join the ever-growing circle around Grace’s
voice. It is here, safe as possible from falling German bombs, that Grace
begins to learn the power of books.
Author Martin does a wonderful job in pulling me in from the very
first page. I also like how the Blitz is a character, doing what it needs to do
so that Grace can stay connected. I
really enjoyed this novel, and The Last Bookshop in London receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
