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The Booklover's Library

by Madeline Martin

Books, work, and family in wartime Nottingham

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Awards & Recognition

  • Author recognition

    Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author

    The description identifies Madeline Martin as the New York Times bestselling author of A Time of Witches; this i...

AlbakiReads Editorial

Books, work, and family in wartime Nottingham

Set in Nottingham as World War II reaches England, the novel brings together the pressures of widowhood, motherhood, and finding work. Emma Taylor takes a job at a lending library while her daughter Olivia is evacuated to the countryside. The library’s everyday life—recommendations for its regulars, shifting shelves, and books that go missing—runs alongside Emma’s efforts to rebuild her sense of purpose and reconnect with memories of her late father and their former bookstore. As the Blitz intensifies, the story also places community and the exchange of books within the strain of separation and wartime uncertainty.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in historical fiction set in England during World War II.
  • Those drawn to stories about mothers and daughters separated by wartime evacuation.
  • Readers who enjoy fiction featuring libraries, bookselling, and community ties.

Themes

Motherhood and separationWomen’s employment and widowhoodLibraries and booksellingCommunity in wartime

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"A must-read for booklovers." --Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana

A heartwarming story about a mother and daughter in wartime England and the power of books that bring them together, by the New York Times bestselling author of A Time of Witches.


In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job. She and her beloved daughter Olivia have always managed just fine on their own, but with the legal restrictions prohibiting widows with children from most employment opportunities, she's left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots' Booklover's Library to take a chance on her with a job.

When the threat of war in England becomes a reality, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In the wake of being separated from her daughter, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbors and coworkers, and a renewed sense of purpose through the recommendations she provides to the library's quirky regulars. But the job doesn't come without its difficulties. Books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing and the work at the lending library forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.

As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.

Discover more from Madeline Martin:
  • A Time of Witches
  • The Secret Book Society
  • The Keeper of Hidden Books
  • The Librarian Spy
  • The Last Bookshop in London


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