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The Secret Society of Librarians
Not yet published
Expected 27 Aug 26Two women, torn apart by war. One shared belief in the power of books...
London, 1939. When war breaks out on librarian Joyce Kindred's doorstep and a call for help rings out across the libraries of London, she's determined to act. Joyce knows only the world of books can offer safety and comfort to her neighbourhood - and she will make sure no one is left behind.
Joyce sets up a mobile library scheme, but soon her acts of resistance go beyond sharing books. She shelters a young Jewish refugee, Adela - and it's not long before she discovers Adela has a secret that could turn their world upside down again...
Occupied Poland, 1942. Dorotha knows any chance of her escaping the barbed wire fences and cruelty of the Łódź ghetto dwindles by the day. Reading isn't just an act of it's the only thing left in her life over which she has any control. And so she shares books under the cover of darkness, creating a secret library away from her captors - that is, until even that last ray of hope is taken from her...
Joyce and Dorotha were once librarians, ordinary women, and best friends. The war has forced them into acts of unimaginable bravery - but will they ever find each other again?
Based on astonishing real events, this absolutely heart-breaking page-turner brings to life the remarkable untold story of two women during WW2. Fans of Anna Stuart, Kristin Hannah and Heather Morris won't be able to stop racing through the pages.
London, 1939. When war breaks out on librarian Joyce Kindred's doorstep and a call for help rings out across the libraries of London, she's determined to act. Joyce knows only the world of books can offer safety and comfort to her neighbourhood - and she will make sure no one is left behind.
Joyce sets up a mobile library scheme, but soon her acts of resistance go beyond sharing books. She shelters a young Jewish refugee, Adela - and it's not long before she discovers Adela has a secret that could turn their world upside down again...
Occupied Poland, 1942. Dorotha knows any chance of her escaping the barbed wire fences and cruelty of the Łódź ghetto dwindles by the day. Reading isn't just an act of it's the only thing left in her life over which she has any control. And so she shares books under the cover of darkness, creating a secret library away from her captors - that is, until even that last ray of hope is taken from her...
Joyce and Dorotha were once librarians, ordinary women, and best friends. The war has forced them into acts of unimaginable bravery - but will they ever find each other again?
Based on astonishing real events, this absolutely heart-breaking page-turner brings to life the remarkable untold story of two women during WW2. Fans of Anna Stuart, Kristin Hannah and Heather Morris won't be able to stop racing through the pages.
464 pages, Paperback
Expected publication August 27, 2026
33 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Kate Thompson
11 books550 followersKate Thompson was born in London and worked as a journalist for twenty years on women's magazines and national newspapers. She now lives in Sunbury with her husband, two sons and two rescue dogs. After ghost writing five memoirs, Kate moved into fiction.
Kate's first non-fiction social history documenting the forgotten histories of East End matriarchy, The Stepney Doorstep Society, was published in 2018 by Penguin. She is passionate about capturing lost voices and untold social histories.
Today Kate works as a journalist, author and library campaigner. Her most recent books, The Little Wartime Library (2022) and The Wartime Book Club (2023) by Hodder & Stoughton focus on two remarkable libraries in wartime. Her 100 libraries project, celebrates the richness and complexity of librarians work and the vital role of libraries in our communities.
Kate is also proud to have worked in collaboration with one of Britain's oldest Holocaust survivors, Renee Salt, to research and write, A mother's Promise (UK) Do Not Cry When I Die (US and Canada) to be published on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Podcast host - From the Library With Love. Interviews with librarians, best-sellling authors and our remarkable wartime generation. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
Kate's first non-fiction social history documenting the forgotten histories of East End matriarchy, The Stepney Doorstep Society, was published in 2018 by Penguin. She is passionate about capturing lost voices and untold social histories.
Today Kate works as a journalist, author and library campaigner. Her most recent books, The Little Wartime Library (2022) and The Wartime Book Club (2023) by Hodder & Stoughton focus on two remarkable libraries in wartime. Her 100 libraries project, celebrates the richness and complexity of librarians work and the vital role of libraries in our communities.
Kate is also proud to have worked in collaboration with one of Britain's oldest Holocaust survivors, Renee Salt, to research and write, A mother's Promise (UK) Do Not Cry When I Die (US and Canada) to be published on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Podcast host - From the Library With Love. Interviews with librarians, best-sellling authors and our remarkable wartime generation. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 2, 2026
⭐️5 Stars⭐️
The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson is an incredibly beautifully written historical fiction story and it opened my eyes to events in London during the blitz, it also shed light on what happened before the holocaust in occupied Poland. The story is moving and extremely atmospheric creating the unimaginable trauma war brings.
We follow two incredibly courageous women, librarians living in different countries, both friends and facing the breakout of World War II. Both women prior to the war were part of a group of fellow librarians that studied together and created The Secret Society of Librarians, meeting up together once a year.
London 1939 - The war breaks out and London is being bombed yet Joyce is determined as an act of resistance to set up a mobile library scheme to bring books into peoples hands so they can read as a form of escapism when libraries were no longer an option or accessible for some.
Poland 1942 - Doretha a Jewish woman is imprisoned in the overcrowded and inhumane Lodz ghetto and creates a secret library, hidden from the Nazis.
I loved the way these women stood up to their beliefs and their love of books and reading, the characters and their stories are incredible. The new world created underground in the London tube stations blew my mind!
The author devotes a section at the end of the book detailing the extensive research which was also very interesting and includes photos, historical notes and stories coming from women of the Blitz in their own words. A truly beautiful and inspirational read every librarian and book lover should read.
Publication Date 10 March 2026
Publisher Hodder Paperbacks
Thank you so much Hachette Australia for a copy of the book.
The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson is an incredibly beautifully written historical fiction story and it opened my eyes to events in London during the blitz, it also shed light on what happened before the holocaust in occupied Poland. The story is moving and extremely atmospheric creating the unimaginable trauma war brings.
We follow two incredibly courageous women, librarians living in different countries, both friends and facing the breakout of World War II. Both women prior to the war were part of a group of fellow librarians that studied together and created The Secret Society of Librarians, meeting up together once a year.
London 1939 - The war breaks out and London is being bombed yet Joyce is determined as an act of resistance to set up a mobile library scheme to bring books into peoples hands so they can read as a form of escapism when libraries were no longer an option or accessible for some.
Poland 1942 - Doretha a Jewish woman is imprisoned in the overcrowded and inhumane Lodz ghetto and creates a secret library, hidden from the Nazis.
I loved the way these women stood up to their beliefs and their love of books and reading, the characters and their stories are incredible. The new world created underground in the London tube stations blew my mind!
The author devotes a section at the end of the book detailing the extensive research which was also very interesting and includes photos, historical notes and stories coming from women of the Blitz in their own words. A truly beautiful and inspirational read every librarian and book lover should read.
Publication Date 10 March 2026
Publisher Hodder Paperbacks
Thank you so much Hachette Australia for a copy of the book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Kate Thompson’s novel centres on a group of librarians separated by the Second World War who form a secret society, united by a shared commitment to getting books into the hands of civilians. At its heart, the novel is about the power of books, but also about friendship, courage, and quiet determination in the face of overwhelming circumstances.
Thompson mentions how she used her interviews of many people, and thorough research to give the novel added weight and authenticity, and this really makes some of the most emotionally heavy sections particularly effective.
The narrative moves between London and a ghetto in Poland, gradually revealing the experiences of the main characters as the war unfolds and echoes the very different, yet interconnected realities faced by people at that time.
I wasn’t always fully engaged while reading, though this may say more about my own reading history than the novel itself. Having read many books set during the Second World War, I found parts of it more familiar than surprising, and I suspect readers newer to the subject may connect with it more strongly. That said, there are moments of real emotional impact, and the author handles these really well.
Overall, I appreciated the concept of books as a form of resistance and hope and the emphasis on collective action rather than individual heroics. I received an advance review copy from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.
Thompson mentions how she used her interviews of many people, and thorough research to give the novel added weight and authenticity, and this really makes some of the most emotionally heavy sections particularly effective.
The narrative moves between London and a ghetto in Poland, gradually revealing the experiences of the main characters as the war unfolds and echoes the very different, yet interconnected realities faced by people at that time.
I wasn’t always fully engaged while reading, though this may say more about my own reading history than the novel itself. Having read many books set during the Second World War, I found parts of it more familiar than surprising, and I suspect readers newer to the subject may connect with it more strongly. That said, there are moments of real emotional impact, and the author handles these really well.
Overall, I appreciated the concept of books as a form of resistance and hope and the emphasis on collective action rather than individual heroics. I received an advance review copy from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.
March 28, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.75/5
𝙾𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔!
𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝟸 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚜 𝚋𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝙿𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝙻𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗; 𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖.
𝙼𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝙿𝙾𝚅’𝚜, 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜.
𝚄𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘.
𝙰 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍!
𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: 𝐈 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 ’𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞’ 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭)
𝙾𝚑 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔!
𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚒𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝟸 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚜 𝚋𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖 𝚊 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝙿𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝙻𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗; 𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖.
𝙼𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝙿𝙾𝚅’𝚜, 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜.
𝚄𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚊 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘.
𝙰 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍!
𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: 𝐈 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 ’𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞’ 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Joyce is a librarian in London and is helping to bring books to many people who cannot visit the proper libraries. With the air raids happening relentlessly, and everyone rushing to get to safety she knows that there is one thing people need and that's escapism and she can provide that in the form of a good book, whether it's a murder mystery romance or historical.
Dorotha is in occupied Poland in August 1942 and she still has a sort of freedom through her reading but she is living in a shanty town in the ghetto of Lodz, where the buildings are made from old pieces of wood. Disease is spreading throughout the area and many people have died. Many people have also been rounded up especially the young and the elderly, there is no food to be had and the situation is really bad.
In December 1940 Joyce and her friend Ruby opened the first underground shelter library, after being bombed this was just the thing that was needed, giving books to read to people who have lost everything. Joyce herself lived underground on a triple bunk bed on the Bakerloo line, this was a new way of life for all, sleeping in your clothes and using the toilet facilities for a quick wash, there was even a showers van that came round every few days offering free showers and soap. Meals were often bought from local schools and the station cafe and their clothes were washed at the local launderette. It was certainly a new way of life but one thing there certainly wasn't was any privacy.
But over in the camps in Poland, especially the Lodz ghetto in Poland and Auschwitz things are really dire, the people not knowing if they will survive to see another day but even there is a secret library, where books are read till the pages almost disintegrate, and they still give hope and comfort to men, women and children.
Two different wartime experiences, but in both places the women have a love of books and are determined to keep the supply of reading material available as long as they possibly can. They both have the same aim, that is to bring books to the people and they will do their utmost to achieve it.
This book really tugs at the heartstrings, it's heartbreaking at times, it's certainly thought provoking yet at the same time an extremely good read, as always Kate Thompson knows how to write an extremely good book. I found the historical account's given by survivors of the blitz at the end of the book, to be both informative and interesting. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time, a well deserved five-star read.
Dorotha is in occupied Poland in August 1942 and she still has a sort of freedom through her reading but she is living in a shanty town in the ghetto of Lodz, where the buildings are made from old pieces of wood. Disease is spreading throughout the area and many people have died. Many people have also been rounded up especially the young and the elderly, there is no food to be had and the situation is really bad.
In December 1940 Joyce and her friend Ruby opened the first underground shelter library, after being bombed this was just the thing that was needed, giving books to read to people who have lost everything. Joyce herself lived underground on a triple bunk bed on the Bakerloo line, this was a new way of life for all, sleeping in your clothes and using the toilet facilities for a quick wash, there was even a showers van that came round every few days offering free showers and soap. Meals were often bought from local schools and the station cafe and their clothes were washed at the local launderette. It was certainly a new way of life but one thing there certainly wasn't was any privacy.
But over in the camps in Poland, especially the Lodz ghetto in Poland and Auschwitz things are really dire, the people not knowing if they will survive to see another day but even there is a secret library, where books are read till the pages almost disintegrate, and they still give hope and comfort to men, women and children.
Two different wartime experiences, but in both places the women have a love of books and are determined to keep the supply of reading material available as long as they possibly can. They both have the same aim, that is to bring books to the people and they will do their utmost to achieve it.
This book really tugs at the heartstrings, it's heartbreaking at times, it's certainly thought provoking yet at the same time an extremely good read, as always Kate Thompson knows how to write an extremely good book. I found the historical account's given by survivors of the blitz at the end of the book, to be both informative and interesting. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time, a well deserved five-star read.
April 2, 2026
My kids are always asking me what my favourite genre is and I usually say, I’ll read anything. However, I think it might be historical fiction! It combines my love with facts and history and a good story.
I discovered this at my local bookstore. I was looking for something to read while my daughter recovered from her tonsil surgery and this was perfect. I don’t think I have written down so many quotes before. Maybe I need to be one of those who annotates her books?
With this story, you have two librarian friend separated by time and distance in World War II. Joyce runs a library in London and Dorotha was sadly one of the Jews rounded up and put in the Łódź ghetto.
Both women have to come up with a more creative way to get books to the people because of the war. Joyce’s library was bombed during the Blitz so she set up a mobile library van to take around her borough. What a cool fact of history this was! There’s even photos in the back of the book as to what the van looked like.
Now Dorotha had a real struggle. She and everyone around her in the ghetto were starving and losing their will to live when her boss, Oscar, suggests she collects all the books left behind by the Jews sent to the extermination camps by the Nazis. With the help of her friend, she manages to do this and set up a library.
Of course there’s a tremendous amount of tragedy on both sides of the story. I won’t spoil anything.
However, there’s some history that I didn’t know of such as the guard protecting St Paul’s cathedral throughout the entirety of the Blitz. I love these unsung heroes of the war who protected and hid art, books, jewels, and protected landmarks often sacrificing themselves in the process.
Another part of history I didn’t know was the school bombing tragedy in Canning Town. Mothers and children waited there for 3 days even though it was only a rest stop and the people meant to move them out of there went to Camden Town instead of Canning Town. The school was bombed and so many adults and children were killed.
When the ghetto was evacuated, some Jews were left behind as a clean up crew for the Nazis and one of their last tasks was digging their own graves. Those graves at the Łódź ghetto are still empty to this day as a symbol of defiance.
And my last cool thing I learned was that there was a newspaper printed in the London Underground during the Blitz shelter called The Swiss Cottager. Look it up.
Fun fact…Wartime readers: fiction readers typically devoured their books in just four days, while non-fiction readers took three times as long. Women generally went for romance or historical fiction while men went for mysteries such as Agatha Christie novels.
Quotes:
Liberatatem per Lectio. Freedom through reading.
You have a book you have a friend.
Reading wasn’t just an act of defiance. It was the only thing left in their lives over which they had any control.
Reading reminded them that there was more to the world than Nazis: and one day, they would be gone, and books would remain.
Libraries are the very last things humans can do without
You’ll often find lampposts near Carnegie libraries. It’s a subtle reminder that libraries offer enlightenment.
Reading calms a troubled mind and whiles away the centuries. Why would you not want to be able to grand the gift of peace and time travel?
She knew, more certain than ever before, that books were portals to other worlds, capable brewing magic in even the darkest realm. And that sharing stories was a fundamental part of who she was.
You can’t hear the bombs if you’re lost in a good book.
If they could bomb innocent civilians with the eyes of the world in them, what were they doing in secret?
Hitler hates women wearing lipstick.
Books, libraries, education, knowledge, culture and learning are all the enemy of dictatorship and the foundations of freedom and democracy.
A library’s worth is measured by the people who use it. It doesn’t become a place of value until a hand slips a book from the stacks and opens it. Without readers, books are meaningless.
Introducing books to readers is a form of magic, is it not?
People without books are like houses without windows.
Reading is not only an escape, but also a discipline of the mind, wouldn’t you say?
Reading is in itself an act of resistance.
One of the perks of old age is not giving a shit who one offends.
Old things are better than new things because they contain stories.
Side books to read: A Room of One's Own by Virginia Wolfe, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I discovered this at my local bookstore. I was looking for something to read while my daughter recovered from her tonsil surgery and this was perfect. I don’t think I have written down so many quotes before. Maybe I need to be one of those who annotates her books?
With this story, you have two librarian friend separated by time and distance in World War II. Joyce runs a library in London and Dorotha was sadly one of the Jews rounded up and put in the Łódź ghetto.
Both women have to come up with a more creative way to get books to the people because of the war. Joyce’s library was bombed during the Blitz so she set up a mobile library van to take around her borough. What a cool fact of history this was! There’s even photos in the back of the book as to what the van looked like.
Now Dorotha had a real struggle. She and everyone around her in the ghetto were starving and losing their will to live when her boss, Oscar, suggests she collects all the books left behind by the Jews sent to the extermination camps by the Nazis. With the help of her friend, she manages to do this and set up a library.
Of course there’s a tremendous amount of tragedy on both sides of the story. I won’t spoil anything.
However, there’s some history that I didn’t know of such as the guard protecting St Paul’s cathedral throughout the entirety of the Blitz. I love these unsung heroes of the war who protected and hid art, books, jewels, and protected landmarks often sacrificing themselves in the process.
Another part of history I didn’t know was the school bombing tragedy in Canning Town. Mothers and children waited there for 3 days even though it was only a rest stop and the people meant to move them out of there went to Camden Town instead of Canning Town. The school was bombed and so many adults and children were killed.
When the ghetto was evacuated, some Jews were left behind as a clean up crew for the Nazis and one of their last tasks was digging their own graves. Those graves at the Łódź ghetto are still empty to this day as a symbol of defiance.
And my last cool thing I learned was that there was a newspaper printed in the London Underground during the Blitz shelter called The Swiss Cottager. Look it up.
Fun fact…Wartime readers: fiction readers typically devoured their books in just four days, while non-fiction readers took three times as long. Women generally went for romance or historical fiction while men went for mysteries such as Agatha Christie novels.
Quotes:
Liberatatem per Lectio. Freedom through reading.
You have a book you have a friend.
Reading wasn’t just an act of defiance. It was the only thing left in their lives over which they had any control.
Reading reminded them that there was more to the world than Nazis: and one day, they would be gone, and books would remain.
Libraries are the very last things humans can do without
You’ll often find lampposts near Carnegie libraries. It’s a subtle reminder that libraries offer enlightenment.
Reading calms a troubled mind and whiles away the centuries. Why would you not want to be able to grand the gift of peace and time travel?
She knew, more certain than ever before, that books were portals to other worlds, capable brewing magic in even the darkest realm. And that sharing stories was a fundamental part of who she was.
You can’t hear the bombs if you’re lost in a good book.
If they could bomb innocent civilians with the eyes of the world in them, what were they doing in secret?
Hitler hates women wearing lipstick.
Books, libraries, education, knowledge, culture and learning are all the enemy of dictatorship and the foundations of freedom and democracy.
A library’s worth is measured by the people who use it. It doesn’t become a place of value until a hand slips a book from the stacks and opens it. Without readers, books are meaningless.
Introducing books to readers is a form of magic, is it not?
People without books are like houses without windows.
Reading is not only an escape, but also a discipline of the mind, wouldn’t you say?
Reading is in itself an act of resistance.
One of the perks of old age is not giving a shit who one offends.
Old things are better than new things because they contain stories.
Side books to read: A Room of One's Own by Virginia Wolfe, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
April 1, 2026
I am no stranger to Kate Thompson's wartime librarian books, so when I discovered that this new book connected all the others, I was very eager to read it.
The Secret Society of Librarians is a captivating novel about a group of librarians whose bond spans their troubled time during WWII. The story is focused on two librarians, Joyce and Dorotha.
1939: Joyce is a librarian in Camden, England who has risen in the ranks to take the helm of the library service that is providing a momentary escape for all the men and women working during the Blitz.
1942: Dorotha, the founder of the Secret Society of Librarians is facing imprisonment in Poland in a ghetto where she clandestinely puts together a secret library as a beacon of hope for those alongside her in captivity. Her work is dangerous and if found out, could end in her death.
Through their travails, both women find hope, connection, and share their love of books to those around them.
Although the story was wonderful, I would be remiss if I did not mention the graphic scenes that accompany the atrocities of war. You will come across the macabre in the Nazis dealings with the Jewish people in the ghetto and also with those whose lives were lost in the Blitz. Kate Thompson does not shy away from these subjects because the story needs to be told, but with each book she writes, I fall hopelessly enamored with her stories of wartime resilience. I did not realize that the secret library in Poland was a true story, so I am glad to have found this book. I loved every bit of it.
If you are a fan of WWII historical fiction, you will love this book
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This review is voluntary. All thoughts are my own.
The Secret Society of Librarians is a captivating novel about a group of librarians whose bond spans their troubled time during WWII. The story is focused on two librarians, Joyce and Dorotha.
1939: Joyce is a librarian in Camden, England who has risen in the ranks to take the helm of the library service that is providing a momentary escape for all the men and women working during the Blitz.
1942: Dorotha, the founder of the Secret Society of Librarians is facing imprisonment in Poland in a ghetto where she clandestinely puts together a secret library as a beacon of hope for those alongside her in captivity. Her work is dangerous and if found out, could end in her death.
Through their travails, both women find hope, connection, and share their love of books to those around them.
Although the story was wonderful, I would be remiss if I did not mention the graphic scenes that accompany the atrocities of war. You will come across the macabre in the Nazis dealings with the Jewish people in the ghetto and also with those whose lives were lost in the Blitz. Kate Thompson does not shy away from these subjects because the story needs to be told, but with each book she writes, I fall hopelessly enamored with her stories of wartime resilience. I did not realize that the secret library in Poland was a true story, so I am glad to have found this book. I loved every bit of it.
If you are a fan of WWII historical fiction, you will love this book
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This review is voluntary. All thoughts are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Oh my word what a heartwarming and at the same time heartbreaking in equal measure book.
I have read the previous two books about libraries and librarians in WW2 written by Kate Thompson - this one was exceptional and brought together Clara and Grace from Bethnal Green and Jersey respectively together with Joyce and other librarians scattered round the country.
This was itself a clever way of bringing those stories to a close and introducing Joyce Kindred in Camden Town and Dorotha Berkowicz in Lodz in Nazi occupied Poland.
Joyce had to undergo the nightly barrage from The Blitz, the loss of lives and homes including her own and Dorotha’s life in a Jewish Ghetto and the absolute and complete inhumanity of man towards man.
I often read in bed before I go to sleep - this is a book that often got put down as I struggled to contemplate the lives that either woman encountered
Joyce had been a guarantor for Adela - Dorotha’s sister who was able to flee Poland only to be treated in the worst way by her employer.
So this is a tale of strong women. War and the resilience of people who lose everything. The tale of the people that were sheltering in a school and what happened is well documented but equally harrowing. Along the way Joyce and Dorotha meet Harry and Oscar who have pivotal roles in their lives and have their own demons to conquer.
There is a long section at the end of the book detailing the authors notes, her research trips and was really interesting and showed the depth of commitment that Kate Thompson puts into her work.
A throughly awe inspiring book that will stay with me for a long time I am sure
Thank you
I have read the previous two books about libraries and librarians in WW2 written by Kate Thompson - this one was exceptional and brought together Clara and Grace from Bethnal Green and Jersey respectively together with Joyce and other librarians scattered round the country.
This was itself a clever way of bringing those stories to a close and introducing Joyce Kindred in Camden Town and Dorotha Berkowicz in Lodz in Nazi occupied Poland.
Joyce had to undergo the nightly barrage from The Blitz, the loss of lives and homes including her own and Dorotha’s life in a Jewish Ghetto and the absolute and complete inhumanity of man towards man.
I often read in bed before I go to sleep - this is a book that often got put down as I struggled to contemplate the lives that either woman encountered
Joyce had been a guarantor for Adela - Dorotha’s sister who was able to flee Poland only to be treated in the worst way by her employer.
So this is a tale of strong women. War and the resilience of people who lose everything. The tale of the people that were sheltering in a school and what happened is well documented but equally harrowing. Along the way Joyce and Dorotha meet Harry and Oscar who have pivotal roles in their lives and have their own demons to conquer.
There is a long section at the end of the book detailing the authors notes, her research trips and was really interesting and showed the depth of commitment that Kate Thompson puts into her work.
A throughly awe inspiring book that will stay with me for a long time I am sure
Thank you
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Secret Society of Librarians is a moving work of historical fiction set during WWII and is inspired by the real stories of courageous librarians who risked everything to serve their communities.
The book is about women lifting one another up. The Secret Society is a quiet but determined network of librarians spread across the UK, with one brave member in Poland. Through letters, loyalty, occasional catch ups and their belief in the power of books, they stand together.
The story follows two women bound by friendship and purpose.
Joyce Kindred, a London librarian and Dorotha, a Polish librarian.
Joyce launches a mobile library to bring comfort and hope to those displaced by bombings. She has sponsored Adela, Dorotha’s younger sister while worrying for her best friend who is trapped in the Lodz ghetto in Poland.
Dorotha clings to books as both resistance and remembrance. As the book alternates between London and Poland, we witness two women fighting in different ways to preserve humanity, connection, and courage through books.
A truly wonderful well researched emotional story about the power of books and libraries. The Secret Society of Librarians is a tribute to the quiet heroes who believed stories could be stronger than tyranny.
“People without books are like houses without windows. Books will strengthen us to beat Hitler!”
The book is about women lifting one another up. The Secret Society is a quiet but determined network of librarians spread across the UK, with one brave member in Poland. Through letters, loyalty, occasional catch ups and their belief in the power of books, they stand together.
The story follows two women bound by friendship and purpose.
Joyce Kindred, a London librarian and Dorotha, a Polish librarian.
Joyce launches a mobile library to bring comfort and hope to those displaced by bombings. She has sponsored Adela, Dorotha’s younger sister while worrying for her best friend who is trapped in the Lodz ghetto in Poland.
Dorotha clings to books as both resistance and remembrance. As the book alternates between London and Poland, we witness two women fighting in different ways to preserve humanity, connection, and courage through books.
A truly wonderful well researched emotional story about the power of books and libraries. The Secret Society of Librarians is a tribute to the quiet heroes who believed stories could be stronger than tyranny.
“People without books are like houses without windows. Books will strengthen us to beat Hitler!”
March 29, 2026
This dual‑timeline story follows two women—Joyce in wartime London and Dorotha in the Łódź ghetto—whose lives were once intertwined by friendship and a shared belief in the power of books. Their stories unfold separately but with the same thread of courage, loss and the small acts of resistance that literature can inspire.
Joyce’s determination to keep her community connected through a mobile library, and her decision to shelter young Adela, give her chapters a strong emotional pull. Dorotha’s sections are even more harrowing, capturing the brutality of the ghetto and the fragile hope she clings to through her secret library. These parts are incredibly powerful and highlight the horrors of war in a way that feels both respectful and deeply affecting.
For me, the middle of the book was brilliant—immersive, moving and full of tension. It’s a tough read at times, but in the best way, shining a light on the resilience of ordinary women. The ending, however, felt a little rushed and less believable. If it’s based on true events, that may simply be the reality of what happened, but as a reader it didn’t land quite as strongly as the rest.
Overall, a compelling and emotional story with a strong heart and an unforgettable middle section. A solid 7/10.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What a wonderful example of ready, libraries and librarians, especially during difficult times.
The story follows a group of librarians, focusing on alternating chapters with Joyce in England during The Blitz and Dorotha in a Jewish ghetto in Poland.
Despite their individual challenges, both women work out a way continue to put stories in peoples hands and give them hope.
The Secret Society of Librarians is an absolutely heartbreaking novel taking readers to the the darkest depths of the WWII, yet showing the beautiful relationships in the most horrific of circumstances.
Kate Thompson has researched thoroughly and the historical notes show inspiration from the real life events as well as interviews from women who experience The Blitz first hand.
Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette for a copy in exchange for a fair and honets review.
The story follows a group of librarians, focusing on alternating chapters with Joyce in England during The Blitz and Dorotha in a Jewish ghetto in Poland.
Despite their individual challenges, both women work out a way continue to put stories in peoples hands and give them hope.
The Secret Society of Librarians is an absolutely heartbreaking novel taking readers to the the darkest depths of the WWII, yet showing the beautiful relationships in the most horrific of circumstances.
Kate Thompson has researched thoroughly and the historical notes show inspiration from the real life events as well as interviews from women who experience The Blitz first hand.
Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette for a copy in exchange for a fair and honets review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Secret Society of Librarians is inspired by actual events and as usual Kate Thompson’s book is well researched with characters that are engaging and endearing. The setting is 1939 London and 1942 Occupied Poland, and the two women Joyce and Dorotha are both librarians, who embark on a mission to bring books to their communities during war. Joyce establishes a mobile library to bring books to the people during the Blitz in London and Dorotha secretly shares books in the ghetto in Łódź. The best friends show strength, determination and love. The women exhibit courage in the face of evil and unimaginable hardship. A must read!
Thank you to Hachette Australia and Hodder and Stoughton for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to Hachette Australia and Hodder and Stoughton for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
March 13, 2026
Kate Thompson has delivered another masterpiece with The Secret Society of Librarians. This is a deeply moving work of historical fiction that shines a much-needed light on the unsung heroes of WWII: the librarians. It is an unforgettable tribute to the power of books and the courage of two women who risked everything to ensure their communities still had access to reading material. Told in dual stories of Joyce (London) and Dorotha (Poland). Whether it was a mobile library under the Blitz or a secret collection under Nazi occupation, their mission was the same: bring books to the people. Thompson’s writing is evocative and deeply researched. A beautiful, haunting, and ultimately uplifting read.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Two women torn apart by war one shared belief in the power of books.
1939 blitz battered London Joyce Kindred.
Occupied Poland Dorotha Berkowcz.
Boty were once librarian and best friends will they ever be united again.
This is such a remarkable untold story as we read of two very different experiences.
With old favourite characters blended into the story.
If people can't get to the book, we take the books to the people.
You have a book you have a friend.
The secret society of librarians 'libertatem per lectio' is a booknto be wrote and told.
Bringing readers harrowing details, that will stay in my heart for a long time.
Exceptional in all ways,
Unique in everyday,
Till the end.
1939 blitz battered London Joyce Kindred.
Occupied Poland Dorotha Berkowcz.
Boty were once librarian and best friends will they ever be united again.
This is such a remarkable untold story as we read of two very different experiences.
With old favourite characters blended into the story.
If people can't get to the book, we take the books to the people.
You have a book you have a friend.
The secret society of librarians 'libertatem per lectio' is a booknto be wrote and told.
Bringing readers harrowing details, that will stay in my heart for a long time.
Exceptional in all ways,
Unique in everyday,
Till the end.
March 17, 2026
I loved this book it was fabulous, my favourite book so far for the year. Part is set in war time England and part in the ghetto of Poland, both trying to survive the war. Books are the key, they keep people connected and their minds off of the current awful situation, they can escape into an alternative place. This book was very sensitively written but it is hard hitting as there are some desperately sad parts to the story. You can feel the stress and anxiety the characters in the book were going through, I felt like I was transported back to WW2. Totally deserves 5 stars, it will take a lot to knock this book out of first place!
April 3, 2026
Oh, my goodness! I might need to take a bit of a walk soon, but I wanted to impress upon readers that this book has moved me emotionally, particularly the ending (which I won't reveal). If you like and admire your local libraries, you'll appreciate the depth of focus these librarians had on keeping their custom during the London Blitz in underground railway stations and even in the horrors of a Jewish ghetto in Poland during WW2. Their perspectives were both eye-openers for those of us born after the war had ended.
I recommend Kate Thompson's writing structure, her research and her prose. An awesome read!
I recommend Kate Thompson's writing structure, her research and her prose. An awesome read!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This book is one that I could read over and over again - the history throughout it is so well researched and described in such a way that I felt I was there, experiencing the same things that the amazing librarians did - good and bad.
Throughout the book, set in the Second World War, we follow Joyce in London and Dorotha in occupied Poland, their previous connections helping them both through such a turbulent and troublesome time. The returning theme is the power of books and reading, something that I feel is as strong today as it was back then - "Reading calms the troubled mind"
Throughout the book, set in the Second World War, we follow Joyce in London and Dorotha in occupied Poland, their previous connections helping them both through such a turbulent and troublesome time. The returning theme is the power of books and reading, something that I feel is as strong today as it was back then - "Reading calms the troubled mind"
January 30, 2026
I really enjoyed that this story focused on librarians and their ability to still bring the power and comfort of reading and books to others during the darkest of times. We follow two main librarians that are a part of a society and what they endure during World War II. It’s a well-written story and I think the author did a beautiful job!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review of the book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I am a huge fan of Kate Thompson having read The Little Wartime Library in 2024. I was so happy to receive her newest book and it does not disappoint. Following Joyce and her friend Dorotha in two different places in World War Two, it shows the ravages of war but also the hope of books and the connections they bring. The look into a ghetto in Poland during the time is quite dark and something to consider when reading this book.
March 17, 2026
6⭐️
Absolutely phenomenal. So well written, and the characters were beautifully rendered. These stories only grow more important with every passing day in this current world, so I thank the author for telling it.
Absolutely phenomenal. So well written, and the characters were beautifully rendered. These stories only grow more important with every passing day in this current world, so I thank the author for telling it.
March 24, 2026
I loved this book though at times it was difficult to read. I had never heard of the ghettos where so many Jews were held prisoner before being sent to the death camps.
This book beautifully combines fiction with true stories to ensure the truth of what happened is never forgotten.
This book beautifully combines fiction with true stories to ensure the truth of what happened is never forgotten.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Secret Society of Librarians is a fascinating, at times harrowing, glimpse into the Lodz ghetto and also the experience of Londoners in the Blitz. It's a powerful, gripping story with engaging characters and I rooted for them throughout the book.
The way the author explores the immeasurable value of books to those who are suffering in a world that's imploding around them is truly inspiring and moving. It's a reminder to fight for books, and for libraries and those who run them. It demonstrates just how precious books are, as a way to keep minds free and hearts warm, to imbibe ideas and culture, and to escape from the harsh realities of life. It's also devastating to recognise, in the author's words, the impact of the Shoah, and "how much richer humanity could be for the hands and minds of these people. The waste was catastrophic." It seems timely to reflect on this, when the world is again riven by powerful individuals seeking domination and dominion, and when women are in danger of losing hard-won rights and freedoms.
My congratulations to the author, and thanks to her, and to the publisher and NetGalley, for the free ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.
The way the author explores the immeasurable value of books to those who are suffering in a world that's imploding around them is truly inspiring and moving. It's a reminder to fight for books, and for libraries and those who run them. It demonstrates just how precious books are, as a way to keep minds free and hearts warm, to imbibe ideas and culture, and to escape from the harsh realities of life. It's also devastating to recognise, in the author's words, the impact of the Shoah, and "how much richer humanity could be for the hands and minds of these people. The waste was catastrophic." It seems timely to reflect on this, when the world is again riven by powerful individuals seeking domination and dominion, and when women are in danger of losing hard-won rights and freedoms.
My congratulations to the author, and thanks to her, and to the publisher and NetGalley, for the free ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.
April 3, 2026
I loved this book. Such a gut wrenching story told with skill and dedication to truth telling
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
London, 1939. Joyce Kindred and her group of fellow librarian who studied together and they created The Society of Secret Library and meet once a year gather to swap stories about their jobs. Doratha couldn’t make it, due to World War Two starting and she’s stranded in Poland. Joyce and Doratha are close, they both admire Virginia Woolf and her book A Room of One’s Own.
Clara is a librarian at Bethnal Green and Joyce at Camden and both understand books need to be brought to people, traditional work hours have changed and reading provided a much needed escape from reality and took their mind of their problems. Libraries are places of comfort, not only offering people books, but open our minds, expand our knowledge of the world and beyond. Clara has a spare van and Joyce and Adela a Jewish refugee use it to create a mobile library, she Dorotha’s little sister and was lucky to leave Poland when she did.
Occupied Poland, 1942. Dorotha and her parents are living in the crowded Łódź ghetto, you must work to get one meagre meal a day and she’s a typist at the Department of Vital Statistics and the Germans like to keep records. Struggle is everywhere, reading is the only thing left in Dorotha's life which she has any control over and she sets about creating a library in the ghetto.
So many books have been smuggled in, she breaks curfew at night to look for them in abandoned buildings and if caught she will be shot, and some people have written diaries.
Women stepped up during the war, they were the backbone, their roles changed and so men could fight.
I received a copy of The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson from NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an unbiased review. Inspired by librarians, wartime occurrences and survivors and true stories and with links to Ms Thompson’s previous books The Little Wartime Library and The Wartime Book Club and it’s characters.
The reader is taken on a journey from London during the blitz and the Łódź ghetto in Poland, while heart-breaking it pays tribute to those who kept going know matter how tough things were, and what they did for others in the same situation, they provided hope and the sacrifices they made.
A new world created underground and in the tube stations, to protecting St Paul’s Cathedral, The Second Fire of London, and saving those who were bombed out. The Łódź ghetto in Poland, a major industrial centre, where Jewish people were manufacturing war supplies for Nazi Germany and especially for the Wehrmacht.
A must read and one that will make you think about just how strong people were, war is a terrible thing, so is the precaution of Jewish people and why is it still happening and five stars from me.
Clara is a librarian at Bethnal Green and Joyce at Camden and both understand books need to be brought to people, traditional work hours have changed and reading provided a much needed escape from reality and took their mind of their problems. Libraries are places of comfort, not only offering people books, but open our minds, expand our knowledge of the world and beyond. Clara has a spare van and Joyce and Adela a Jewish refugee use it to create a mobile library, she Dorotha’s little sister and was lucky to leave Poland when she did.
Occupied Poland, 1942. Dorotha and her parents are living in the crowded Łódź ghetto, you must work to get one meagre meal a day and she’s a typist at the Department of Vital Statistics and the Germans like to keep records. Struggle is everywhere, reading is the only thing left in Dorotha's life which she has any control over and she sets about creating a library in the ghetto.
So many books have been smuggled in, she breaks curfew at night to look for them in abandoned buildings and if caught she will be shot, and some people have written diaries.
Women stepped up during the war, they were the backbone, their roles changed and so men could fight.
I received a copy of The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson from NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an unbiased review. Inspired by librarians, wartime occurrences and survivors and true stories and with links to Ms Thompson’s previous books The Little Wartime Library and The Wartime Book Club and it’s characters.
The reader is taken on a journey from London during the blitz and the Łódź ghetto in Poland, while heart-breaking it pays tribute to those who kept going know matter how tough things were, and what they did for others in the same situation, they provided hope and the sacrifices they made.
A new world created underground and in the tube stations, to protecting St Paul’s Cathedral, The Second Fire of London, and saving those who were bombed out. The Łódź ghetto in Poland, a major industrial centre, where Jewish people were manufacturing war supplies for Nazi Germany and especially for the Wehrmacht.
A must read and one that will make you think about just how strong people were, war is a terrible thing, so is the precaution of Jewish people and why is it still happening and five stars from me.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
London, 1939. Joyce Kindred and her group of fellow librarian who studied together and they created The Society of Secret Library and meet once a year gather to swap stories about their jobs. Doratha couldn’t make it, due to World War Two starting and she’s stranded in Poland. Joyce and Doratha are close, they both admire Virginia Woolf and her book A Room of One’s Own.
Clara is a librarian at Bethnal Green and Joyce at Camden and both understand books need to be brought to people, traditional work hours have changed and reading provided a much needed escape from reality and took their mind of their problems. Libraries are places of comfort, not only offering people books, but open our minds, expand our knowledge of the world and beyond. Clara has a spare van and Joyce and Adela a Jewish refugee use it to create a mobile library, she Dorotha’s little sister and was lucky to leave Poland when she did.
Occupied Poland, 1942. Dorotha and her parents are living in the crowded Łódź ghetto, you must work to get one meagre meal a day and she’s a typist at the Department of Vital Statistics and the Germans like to keep records. Struggle is everywhere, reading is the only thing left in Dorotha's life which she has any control over and she sets about creating a library in the ghetto.
So many books have been smuggled in, she breaks curfew at night to look for them in abandoned buildings and if caught she will be shot, and some people have written diaries.
Women stepped up during the war, they were the backbone, their roles changed and so men could fight.
I received a copy of The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson from NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an unbiased review. Inspired by librarians, wartime occurrences and survivors and true stories and with links to Ms Thompson’s previous books The Little Wartime Library and The Wartime Book Club and it’s characters.
The reader is taken on a journey from London during the blitz and the Łódź ghetto in Poland, while heart-breaking it pays tribute to those who kept going know matter how tough things were, and what they did for others in the same situation, they provided hope and the sacrifices they made.
A new world created underground and in the tube stations, to protecting St Paul’s Cathedral, The Second Fire of London, and saving those who were bombed out. The Łódź ghetto in Poland, a major industrial centre, where Jewish people were manufacturing war supplies for Germany and especially for the Wehrmacht.
A must read and one that will make you think about just how strong people were, war is a terrible thing, so is the precaution of Jewish people and five stars from me.
Clara is a librarian at Bethnal Green and Joyce at Camden and both understand books need to be brought to people, traditional work hours have changed and reading provided a much needed escape from reality and took their mind of their problems. Libraries are places of comfort, not only offering people books, but open our minds, expand our knowledge of the world and beyond. Clara has a spare van and Joyce and Adela a Jewish refugee use it to create a mobile library, she Dorotha’s little sister and was lucky to leave Poland when she did.
Occupied Poland, 1942. Dorotha and her parents are living in the crowded Łódź ghetto, you must work to get one meagre meal a day and she’s a typist at the Department of Vital Statistics and the Germans like to keep records. Struggle is everywhere, reading is the only thing left in Dorotha's life which she has any control over and she sets about creating a library in the ghetto.
So many books have been smuggled in, she breaks curfew at night to look for them in abandoned buildings and if caught she will be shot, and some people have written diaries.
Women stepped up during the war, they were the backbone, their roles changed and so men could fight.
I received a copy of The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson from NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an unbiased review. Inspired by librarians, wartime occurrences and survivors and true stories and with links to Ms Thompson’s previous books The Little Wartime Library and The Wartime Book Club and it’s characters.
The reader is taken on a journey from London during the blitz and the Łódź ghetto in Poland, while heart-breaking it pays tribute to those who kept going know matter how tough things were, and what they did for others in the same situation, they provided hope and the sacrifices they made.
A new world created underground and in the tube stations, to protecting St Paul’s Cathedral, The Second Fire of London, and saving those who were bombed out. The Łódź ghetto in Poland, a major industrial centre, where Jewish people were manufacturing war supplies for Germany and especially for the Wehrmacht.
A must read and one that will make you think about just how strong people were, war is a terrible thing, so is the precaution of Jewish people and five stars from me.
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