London, 1939. When war breaks out on librarian Joyce Kindred’s doorstep and a call for help rings out across the libraries of London, she’s determined to act.
Joyce knows only the world of books can offer safety and comfort to her neighbourhood — and she will make sure no one is left behind.
Joyce sets up a mobile library scheme, but soon her acts of resistance go beyond sharing books. She shelters a young Jewish refugee, Adela — and it’s not long before she discovers Adela has a secret that could turn their world upside down again…
Occupied Poland, 1942. Dorotha knows any chance of her escaping the barbed wire fences and cruelty of the Łódź ghetto dwindles by the day. Reading isn’t just an act of defiance: it’s the only thing left in her life over which she has any control.
And so she shares books under the cover of darkness, creating a secret library away from her captors – -that is, until even that last ray of hope is taken from her…
Joyce and Dorotha were once librarians, ordinary women, and best friends. The war has forced them into acts of unimaginable bravery — but will they ever find each other again?
The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson is published in paperback on 27 August, 2026.
Read Kate’s linked feature about some of the amazing East End women, survivors of the Blitz, that Kate interviewed while researching her book.
If you enjoy historical fiction there’s much more in Historia’s list of over180 books coming out in 2026.
