Overview

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Katie Couric Media, the CBC, the Globe and Mail, BookBub, POPSUGAR, SheReads, Women.com and more!*

Natalie Jenner, 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 in Bloomsbury Girls.

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.

Review

Bloomsbury Books is a wonderful old book store in London. It has been under male management forever. With strict rules and designed places for every employee, Bloomsbury Books is a store stuck in a rut. These three women start out working a job but end up changing their whole lives and the future of Bloomsbury Books.

When I first started listening to this book…I had my doubts. It was a bit slow to start. But, I very soon was captivated with these young ladies! My favorite, of course, is Evie! She is smart, intelligent and a complete introvert!

I enjoyed so much about this book…the time period, the book references, the famous people and of course the work place politics and rules.

The narrator, Juliet Stevenson, is superb. She is soft spoken and nailed all the voices. Highly recommend listening to this book.

Need a good book with some major complexities…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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