THE LONDON BOOKSHOP AFFAIR
How can you not love U. K. author Louise Fein? In addition to being a brilliant storyteller, her interest in writing about strong powerful women, the lives of which are often based on true stories and realities that have pushed women down and stripped them of their personal rights in the not so distant past.
Readers of Louise’s books are left with a profound desire to be more —more courageous, more stalwart, and more confidentand with a deep commitment to stand up and do the right thing on both a personal and patriotic level.
The bestselling author of Daughter of the Reich and The Hidden Child, Louise’s new book, The London Bookshop Affair, is set in London, England, in the 1960s, and is based on the lives of two courageous women, Celia Duchesne, who is working in the bookshop in 1962, and twenty-year-old Jeannie, code name Anya Moreau, who was stationed in France in 1943 as part of the Resistance movement during World War II.
I would recommend that in order to get a true sense of the lives and the times on which this book is based, that you read the Author’s Note section before you begin the book, because it overviews the women and the fractious times in which they strived to make a difference.
The world of the early 1960s was mired in the Cold War, John F. Kennedy was President of the United States, Nikita Khrushchev was Premier of the Soviet Union and was politically aligned with Cuba’s president, Fidel Castro. Alarmingly, Khrushchev and Castro were in cahoots as they secretly strategized on placing nuclear missiles in Cuba – a situation that became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Nineteen-year-old Celia and her friends, Daphne and Sam, are highly concerned about this state of affairs and begin attending rallies for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, (CND).
“Nobody has any idea what danger we’re in,” states Daphne.
Celia is in agreement on the state of world affairs as governed by these powerful men.
“[They should]…put some women in charge for a change,” she thinks.
While this statement might sound naïve in the early stages of the book, it is Celia’s deep convictions and mettle that facilitate the capturing of three high level Russian spies that are using the London bookshop as their meeting place and “drop.”
LOUISE FEIN is Creative Aging Books & Ideas celebrated author on MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2 p.m. EST.
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Creative Aging Books & Ideas 2024 Author Events – cecescott.com
Running parallel to Celia’s story is that of Jeannie’s – what IS her connection to Celia? Jeannie was, in the early 1940s, a civilian agent for England’s Secret Operations Executive, SOE, and was handpicked for her fluency in French and her skills as a Morse and wireless transmission operator.
“Women were crucial, my dear, because they could move around the country more easily than men, without raising suspicion,” Miss Clarke, Jeannie’s “handler’ tells Celia, who meets with her, desperate to find out more about the thread that connects her to the young operative.
It is a testament to the power and importance of woman’s efforts and contributions during the war when Miss Clark goes on to share that, “Physical strength is not the most import thing in war. Mental strength, living on your wits, outsmarting the enemy. That’s what matters most.”
A novel wrapped in political intrigue, activism, treachery, flirtation and the evolution of women’s empowerment, The London Bookshop Affair, is a powerful read that inspires the kind of stand-up behaviour and innovative thinking and courage that makes one stand up and cheer for the “good guys – and gals.”
Read my earlier interview with Louise here:
Volume V – Louise Fein – cecescott.com
Creative Aging Books & Ideas presents celebrated author
LOUISE FEIN
MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2 p.m. EST.
REGISTER for your free Zoom link here:
Creative Aging Books & Ideas 2024 Author Events – cecescott.com