The Librarian Spy: A Novel of WWII

The Librarian Spy: A Novel of WWII

Madeline Miller

Publication date: July 26, 2022 by Hanover Square Press

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 4 🍷🍷🍷🍷

Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London comes a moving new novel inspired by the true history of America’s library spies of World War II.

Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.

Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.

As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.

My Thoughts: Two women, two stories, one enemy. Elaine found her way to the French Resistance after her husband disappeared. Elaine's previous experiences granted her the opportunity to assist in the publication of the French Resistance newspapers. When confronted with a woman and child desperate to flee occupied France, Elaine utilized her access to the newspaper to assist. 

Ava was an American librarian recruited to acquire all foreign publications available in Lisbon. She was then tasked with scanning those publications onto microfilm and shipping them to Washington D.C. in the hopes that there would be intelligence information to assist the Allies. As Ava was proficient in several languages she inadvertently stumbled upon a coded message in one of the French Resistance newspapers. 

While neither Elaine or Ava were exceptionally colorful characters the story was a moving one. Lisbon Portugal has not traditionally been a location in stories taking place during WWII. Martin did a remarkable job at highlighting the precarious balance of neutrality in that country during that time. 

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this title.