Jersey, 1943, and, in what was once a warm and neighbourly community, German soldiers now patrol the cobbled streets, imposing a harsh rule on the people of the island.
Grace La Mottée, the island’s only librarian, is ordered to destroy books which threaten the new regime.
Instead, she hides the stories away in secret. Along with her headstrong best friend, postwoman Bea Rose, she wants to fight back.
So she forms the wartime book club: a lifeline, offering fearful islanders the joy and escapism of reading.
But as the occupation drags on, the women’s quiet acts of bravery become more perilous — and more important — than ever before.
And, when tensions turn to violence, they are forced to face the true, terrible cost of resistance.
The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson is published on 15 February, 2024.
Kate has written about the real people whose stories inspired her novel in Uncovering Jersey’s wartime resistance.
For more historical fiction, have a look at our round-up of over 130 books coming out this year.
