The Last Bookshop In London -- by Madeline Martin

 

Thanks for the escape. Typically, something in a war-torn environment is not an escape from reality, but this one was to a place I once called home. And, the home was a good place to be then.

Author Madeline Martin wrote the historic fiction The Last Bookshop In London from a WWII perspective. For me, the very same neighborhood in Islington was home during graduate studies in 2001-2002 at City University. I could easily picture the scenery with streets like Clerkenwell, Farringdon, and Britton frequently referenced.

I had a bias going to London then. I grew up aware of its well-known historic strength. I was glad I got there early before registration and took several guide-led walking historic tours. 

Martin interwove the functions of books, publishing, the war, loss of life, and many people things in this very nicely done story. Strong emotional tuggings were impossible to ignore. 

It might be a good idea to keep pen and paper handy when reading. She includes a few good references to some older English literature that these fast pages won't allow you much time for. 

As a movie, it would likely be termed a Chick Flick, with a female main character, and in most supporting roles, but it reads so well that might only bother the most sensitive critic. The title bothered me a bit as it seems entirely too many titles overuse the word last. However, the word last is justified very well here.

Some quick online research also supports much of the plot. Numerous book stores on Paternoster Row, near St. Paul's Cathedral, were destroyed by German bombs. Charing Cross Road is where most of London's bookshops are concentrated now. 

The only possible negative for some readers might be the 'It's A Wonderful Life'-type ending. I love that movie and its sentimentality. Obviously, Martin appears to, too. It was difficult to decide where to start a review of The Last Bookshop In London. It covers a lot of ground and could have started a series, or rivaled War And Peace for Length.

That would have been fine with me, said the man who usually advocates the virtues of brevity.