The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II
This novel set in London covers the full period of the Second World War. Young Grace Bennett has escaped a miserable home life in a small village with her friend Viv. Together they expect London to be their ideal of an exciting and glamorous new home.
Outgoing Viv soon finds a job at Harrod’s, but quieter Grace only finds a temporary job in a musty overstocked bookshop whose crusty owner does not appreciate her help. Grace proves herself useful despite the owner’s crotchetiness and remains in the job throughout the struggles of a city under siege from frequent bombings.
Sustaining her throughout is the memory of a young man she met briefly at the bookshop, but who left to join the RAF. The well-maintained tension in the story comes from the constant fear of loss – of many foodstuffs, landmarks, jobs and homes, light on a dark night and, worst of all, the loss of loved ones.
Grace struggles to keep the bookshop going despite the danger of bombing and, despite her fears for the young man in the RAF, becomes the strength of her neighborhood with her storytelling and her readings from the classics of literature. The author offers the benefit of extremely thorough research, beautifully disguised in a well-paced story. This novel has the feel-good warmth of virtue overcoming evil, with well-intentioned people doing their best to survive and help others throughout the horrors of war.
