THE BOOKLOVER'S LIBRARY - Madeline Martin
A Perfect 10
Hanover Square Press
ISBN: 9781335000392
ISBN10: 1335000399
September 2024

Historical Fiction

Nottingham, England - During World War II

Emma Taylor is a widow with a young daughter and not a lot of prospects to bring in money to supplement the pittance of widow and child pensions from the government. She's barely keeping food on the table. But, due to strict rules by most companies, a widow with a child, or a married woman for that matter, cannot work outside the home. Emma grew up without a mother, her father raising her as he ran his bookstore downstairs from their flat. So, Emma is very comfortable in the company of books. She applies to the Booklover's Library at the Nottingham Boots chemist (pharmacy) store and is surreptitiously hired by the manageress. Unfortunately, it means leaving her daughter, Olivia, alone for most of the day until school starts. 

With war looming, Emma and her fellow employees, her landlady, and the city begin preparing for rationing, as well as the loss of many of the men in the city. Once the Germans start bombing London, it cannot be long before other cities are targeted. This sets into motion a nationwide decision to send the children in these cities into a safer countryside environment. Agonizing over this, Emma at first hesitates to send Olivia, but eventually makes the decision for her daughter's safety. It isn't easy for either of them.

Emma forms close friendships with her landlady, and a fellow worker at the library. She is disheartened by Olivia's yearning to return home, but once Emma volunteers to help in the war effort, she realizes how important it is to keep her daughter safe. The library hums along despite the war, although Emma keeps getting blamed for misfiling books. She's at a loss as to how that is happening. 

THE BOOKLOVER'S LIBRARY is based on the real Boots lending libraries of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. People paid a subscription price to borrow books. Regular libraries mostly carried the classics, but the lending ones carried the latest books. Emma must learn how to appease her manageress, the customers, and to hide the fact that she has a child. She must come to terms with it all, and the story shows her growing maturity, bravery, and love that happens in times of upheaval. 

I loved this story and learned so much about what Britain and her population had to deal with during the war. Emma's kindness, her love of books, and her strength are powerfully portrayed in THE BOOKLOVER'S LIBRARY.

Jani Brooks