Published 29th February 2024 by William Morrow.
From the cover of the book:
Two courageous women. One astonishing secret. A world on the brink of war.London, 1962: The world is teetering on the brink of nuclear war but life must go on. Celia Duchesne longs for a career, but with no means or qualifications, passes her time working at a dusty bookshop. The day a handsome American enters the shop, she thinks she might have found her way out of the monotony. Just as the excitement of a budding relationship engulfs her, a devastating secret draws her into the murky world of espionage.
France, 1942: Nineteen-year-old Anya Moreau was dropped behind enemy lines to aid the resistance, sending messages back home to London via wireless transmitter. When she was cruelly betrayed, evidence of her legacy and the truth of her actions were buried by wartime injustices.
As Celia learns more about Anya—and her unexpected connection to the undercover agent—she becomes increasingly aware of furious efforts, both past and present, to protect state secrets. With her newly formed romance taking a surprising turn and the world on the verge of nuclear annihilation, Celia must risk everything she holds dear, in the name of justice.
Propulsive and illuminating, The London Bookshop Affair is a gripping story of secrets and love, inspired by true events and figures of the Cold War.
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London, 1962. Nineteen-year-old Celia Duchesne longs to be an independent woman like the ones she reads about in the glossy magazines, but living with her ageing parents and working as an assistant in a dusty, antiquarian bookshop is very far from glamorous. Despite momentous events playing out on the world stage, between super-powers vying for nuclear dominance, that could lead to a war to end all wars, Celia sees little chance of any excitement in her own life. Determined to change her fortunes, she embarks on a Pitman's secretarial course that she hopes might see her on her way to a career at the BBC, but fate has other ideas for her future...
The bookshop is suddenly given a new lease of life under the ownership of vivacious American, Mrs Denton, who attracts a whole different crowd of visitors to the store, and her upstairs flat, some of whom make Celia very uneasy. However, there is no denying that the young and extremely handsome Septimus Nelson, who works at the American embassy, is very charming indeed. Celia finds herself swept off her feet by Septimus, but when she discovers a shocking family secret, she is torn between thoughts of romance and the need to pursue answers to a mystery that has been kept from her.
France, 1942. Nineteen-year-old Anya Moreau is dropped behind enemy lines as an SOE wireless operator. Her tenure as an agent is cut short when she is cruelly betrayed. An attempt to bring justice for Anya, and the fellow female agents that were double-crossed, is subverted in an attempt to protect those higher up the chain, and the legacy of injustice echoes through time to impact Celia. As she begins to dig into the short life of Anya, Celia uncovers a trail of deceit that leads to shady goings on connected to the nuclear arms race that has the world holding its breath in the here and now... and she unexpectedly has a role to play in the dangerous game of espionage.
In The London Bookshop Affair, Louise Fein uses the inspiration of real historical events and characters to spin an engrossing fictional tale of spies and betrayal. The story unfurls in a dual timeline through the voices of Celia and Septimus in 1962, and Anya in 1942, gradually revealing the family secrets that connect both female characters, as a tentative romance plays out between Celia and Septimus. The name of the game is espionage, and Fein does a stellar job of making this a spy thriller that builds in more than enough pace and tension to keep you on the edge of your seat. She heightens the gritty authenticity of her cleverly interconnected plotlines by referencing a number of real world events in both timelines too, from Nazi atrocities to the Cuban Missile Crisis, which evoke the perfect feelings of time and place - whether it be wartime Europe, or the fate of a Britain caught between the Cold War moves and counter moves of Kennedy and Khrushchev. And I love how she plays with the notion of deep cover agents hiding in plain sight in both timelines, especially when it comes to the brilliantly wrought surprises that hit me for six. Well played, Louise Fein!
I am always delighted by how Fein combines fact and fiction to bring history alive, especially when it comes to the relatable personal stories of her characters. This is very much a novel about the unsung voices of brave, intelligent women making sacrifices to fight for what they believe in, and this gives it serious emotional heft. Fein does an incredible job of echoing similar themes through Celia and Anya's stories, and those of the more sympathetic female characters around them, and the way she captures the atmosphere of the hopes and dreams of lives lived in the shadow of cataclysmic world events is intensely poignant.
This is another winner from Louise Fein, perfect for anyone who enjoys well written, and researched, historical fiction, with just the right amount of emotional content to tie you to the triumphs and tragedies of the characters. Interestingly, there is scope for an intriguing sequel here too, which I would definitely be up for. In any case, whatever comes next from Louise Fein is firmly on my radar. Roll on book four!
The London Bookshop Affair is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to William Morrow for sending me a proof of this book in return for and honest review.
About the author:
Louise writes historical fiction, focusing on unheard voices or from unusual perspectives. Her debut novel, Daughter of the Reich (entitled People Like Us in the UK edition) was published in 2020 into 13 territories and is set in 1930’s Leipzig. The book was shortlisted for the RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2021 and the RNA Historical Novel of the Year Award, 2021. Louise's second novel, The Hidden Child, was published in 2021 and is centred around the eugenics movement in 1920’s England and America. It was a Globe & Mail bestseller in Canada. Her third novel, The London Bookshop Affair, about one woman’s journey to uncover secrets of her past, set against a backdrop of espionage and looming nuclear war in 1962 London, will be published in February 2024.
Louise, previously a lawyer and banker, holds an MA in Creative Writing from St Mary’s University and now writes full time. Equally passionate about historical research and writing, she loves to look for themes which have resonance with today’s world.
Louise lives in the Surrey countryside, UK, with her family, and is a slave to the daily demands of her pets.
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