The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson

Books were the floor under her feet, the roof over her head and the freedom in her heart.

I have read a number of Kate Thompson’s novels, and every one of them has been enthralling; this one is no exception. Apologies for the long review, but there is so much to say about this absorbing novel.

A group of women librarians who first met at library training in 1936 are having the third annual meeting of the Secret Society of Librarians when the British Prime Minister declares war on Nazi Germany. They vow to always ensure that their communities can access books, their only wartime rule: ‘if people can’t get to the books, we take books to the people’. They are scattered all over the UK from Exeter to Jersey; from Coventry to Plymouth to London, with one member living in Poland. They decide to stay in touch via a monthly circular. Each chapter begins with one of these bulletins.

Some of these librarians we have met before in Kate’s previous books, but you don’t need to have read them to enjoy this one. As in her previous novels, Kate celebrates the importance of books and reading: ‘Reading wasn’t just an act of defiance. It was the only thing left in their lives over which they had any control.’ And this, after she reads Pepys’s diary entry about the Fire of London to an enthralled crowd in Swiss Cottage underground shelter as the bombs dropped:

‘Pepys’s writing was unleashing a storm of emotions in the Blitz shelterers that had remained buried until now. But perhaps that was the power of a good book? The author had spoken to their experiences, his prose chiming so perfectly with their own feelings, it was as if he had found a time machine from 1666 to 1940, and it occurred to Joyce then, that books weren’t simply paper, ink and glue. They were portals to other worlds.’

She also celebrates the women whose tenacity, bravery and chutzpah ensured that books were put into the hands of those who needed them.

So much of the detail in this book has come from first-hand experience. Kate has interviewed as many survivors as possible and uses their experiences to make this book sing with authenticity. We grow to love these women who risk their lives to provide much-needed respite and distraction from the horror around them.

The main two narrators are Joyce from Camden Library in London and Dorotha in Poland. Joyce’s experiences during the Blitz are harrowing, and many of us are aware of the horrors of London during the blitz. However, it’s Dorotha’s story that is the most shocking. Together with a quarter of a million Jews, Dorotha was condemned to Lodz ghetto, often described as ‘hell on earth’. Only 5 per cent survived the war. How she not only survives, but creates a hidden library, providing books for her fellow prisoners, is nothing short of extraordinary. The deprivations experienced in the ghetto are horrific. Books provide solace; they remind the reader of their humanity and they provide a short respite from the hell in which they find themselves.

There are so many details that Kate’s meticulous research reveals that I found fascinating. Here are a few that piqued my interest:

• Most Carnegie libraries have a lamppost nearby as a subtle reminder that libraries offer enlightenment.
• London’s first mobile library began in response to libraries being destroyed by the Blitz.
• There was a dedicated team of volunteers called The Watch who lived at St Paul’s Cathedral during the Blitz, ensuring any incendiaries were extinguished before they could do any damage.
• Jewish orphans who had survived the ghettos, camps and death marches in Europe were brought to Lake Windermere to help them recover. (The Windermere Library has an excellent permanent display about this wonderful scheme which I was fortunate enough to see recently.)

As always, Kate provides copious Historical Notes, notes from interviews with women of the blitz and an extensive list of further reading and sources.

Another outstanding historic novel from Kate Thompson that I highly recommend.

Reviewed by Gaby Meares
Murder on a Monday Reading Group