The Bookbinder

The Bookbinder by Pip Williams is a book lover’s dream-come-true novel. Having visited Oxford, I was already in love with the setting. Then, like my other favorites, the book begins with the intimate, distinctive voice of a character, taking a reader into her confidence.

In 1914, Peggy lives with her twin sister on a long boat on the Thames and binds books at the Oxford University Press. With captivating sensory details, she reveals the whole process of a physical book’s creation, simultaneously revealing her intellectual passion for every word she can steal time to read.

Peggy’s desire to learn in… show more.

As the Great War draws closer, Peggy takes pleasure in her role as a bookbinder, while keeping an eye on her twin sister after her mother’s demise. She dreams of bigger things while keeping her feet firmly planted on the ground through tragedy and setbacks. The war brings upheaval in their town, and in their lives, upturning social structures and hierarchies.

While Williams’ second book has a lovely connection with her debut novel, The Dictionary of Lost Words, it is equally entertaining and delightful while continuing the fascinating theme of the early days of feminism.

The reader peeps into the… show more.