London, 1944. Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While the world remains at war, in East London Clara has created the country’s only underground library, built over the tracks in the disused Bethnal Green tube station. Down here a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a cafe and a theatre offering shelter, solace and escape from the bombs that fall above.
Along with her glamorous best friend and library assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it seems it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.
From Sunday Times bestselling novelist Kate Thompson, The Little Wartime Library is a captivating work of historical fiction, inspired by one of the greatest resistance stories of WWII.
Though I pride myself on being a big reader of WWII historical fiction, before picking up The Little Wartime Library, I had no idea about the history of Bethnal Green during the war. At seventy feet beneath ground level, Bethnal Green Tube Station became more than just a place of refuge for Londoner’s during the Blitz, it was a thriving subterranean community, and the library sat at the centre of this. Through meticulous research and vivid prose, Thompson brings the library to life, highlighting the pivotal role it played for Londoners during the war. For the residents of Bethnal Green, the library become a sanctuary – a place where they could escape the horrors above through the pages of a book.
The novel shifts between the perspectives of Clara and Ruby. Both women make for extremely captivating protagonists who are each struggling to process the loss of loved ones during the war. Clara, in particular, was fascinating to follow. As the librarian at Bethnal Green, Clara is determined to keep her library open and running, despite the many roadblocks she runs into along the way. Clara is deeply passionate about her work and is a big believer in the power of books and reading to change lives. She’s also a champion of all works of fiction – both high and low brow. Her library is stocked with as many romance and spy thrillers as it is revered classics – just as it should be.
Richly imagined and splendidly told, The Little Wartime Library is an inspiring piece of historical fiction that is a tribute to both Bethnal Green as well as libraries and librarians everywhere. Above all, though, it is a story that celebrates the life-changing power of books, particularly during times of hardship.
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