Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

Summary

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.

 
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Book Setting: London and Cambridge, UK

  1. Jesus College

  2. Girton College

  3. The Castle Inn

  4. Bridge of Sighs 

  5. Bloomsbury Books (40 Lamb’s Conduit St) 

  6. Foyles

  7. British Museum

  8. Camden Town

  9. Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children

  10. Belgrave Square

  11. The Lamb Pub

  12. Richmond

  13. Heywood Hill Bookshop

  14. Natural History Museum

  15. Coram’s Fields

  16. The Dorchester 

  17. The Savoy Hotel

  18. Iverness Street Market

  19. Trinity College Library 

  20. Hamleys

  21. Dulwich Village 

  22. Halal Restaurant 

  23. Hackney

  24. Queen Square 

  25. American Bar

  26. Kew Gardens

  27. Sotheby's London

  28. The Second Shelf 

  29. Persephone Books

Reviews

"Bloomsbury Girls is an immersive tale of three women determined to forge their own paths in 1950s London. Jenner has proven to be a master at spinning charming, earnest characters and paints a vivid picture of postwar England. I wanted to stay lost in her world forever!"

– Stephanie Wrobel, internationally bestselling author of Darling Rose Gold

"In a London still reeling from the ravages of World War II and the changes war has brought to English society, three young women take their futures into their own hands. With Bloomsbury Girls, Natalie Jenner has penned a timely and beautiful ode to ambition, friendship, bookshops, and the written word."

– Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library

"Bloomsbury Girls is a book lover's dream, one of those rare reads that elicits a sense of book-ish wistfulness and nostalgia. Jenner has created a colorful cast of characters in a story about friendship, perseverance, and the ways that determined women can band together in a man's world. You're in for a treat."

– Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary