The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II

The Last Bookshop in London is a piece of historical fiction by Madeline Martin. Published in 2021, the novel was an instant New York Times bestseller. Madeline Martin is the author of several novels that each focus on historical fiction and romance.

Told through the third-person point-of-view, The Last Bookshop in London tells the story of a young woman named Grace who defies the terrors of World War II to maintain a bookstore and its community. The Last Bookshop in London is a story about resilience, bravery, and the power of literature.

Plot Summary

Grace Bennett and her best friend Viv move to London from the English countryside in search of new homes and new job opportunities. Grace has recently lost her mother and is now parentless. Her uncle, whose store she worked for, has turned her out of her home. Now, Grace has no choice but to move in with Mrs. Weatherford, a kind woman who was friends with her mother. Mrs. Weatherford lives with her son Colin, who is Grace’s age, and the animals that Colin rescues. Mrs. Weatherford is happy to have Viv and Grace move in with her.

Upon moving to London, Viv and Grace immediately start looking for work as shopkeepers. Viv has a letter of recommendation that gets her a job in the illustrious department store Harrods. But Grace doesn’t have a letter of recommendation because her uncle refused to give her one, even though she was instrumental in making his business a success. Mrs. Weatherford arranges for Grace to work in a bookstore called Primrose Hill Books, run by a cantankerous older man named Mr. Evans. The bookstore was built in honor of his wife and their shared love for books, but it is in disarray when Grace arrives. Although Mr. Evans insists he doesn’t need a shop assistant, Grace sets to work right away cleaning and organizing the store and thinking of ways to make it more profitable. She meets a handsome man named George who has long been a customer at Primrose Hill Books. George helps her understand the value of books for escapism and inspiration, though Grace isn’t herself a reader.

London is setting up for World War II. Though the countryside town Viv and Grace moved from will be mostly safe from the terror of war, London is a prime target for German air bombs. City parks are turned into trenches, and a total blackout is enforced. When England formally declares war on Germany for their invasion of Poland, the news is not surprising but is nonetheless terrifying. Hordes of children are evacuated from London into the countryside. Viv and Grace’s first direct experience with war occurs when an air raid alarm sends them to the makeshift bomb shelter in the backyard. Mrs. Weatherford lived through World War I, at that time known as the Great War. She is therefore calm in crisis and knows exactly what to do.

Colin is conscripted and heads off to war. Grace turns Primrose Hill Books into a success by organizing the shop and ordering books people can be passionate about. Meanwhile, she starts reading books herself, starting with George’s gift of The Count of Monte Cristo. Grace becomes a voracious reader, which is a true comfort to her as times become bleaker. Winter comes with the beginning of food rations, and more and more countries fall to Germany’s invasion. Mrs. Weatherford joins the Women’s Voluntary Service to do something for the war effort, and Viv, bored of her job at Harrods and eager to help her country, signs on with the Auxiliary Territorial Service and is sent away.

News of Germany’s invasion of France disrupts the relative calm of England. Hundreds of thousands of British men are evacuated from Dunkirk, but Colin is killed in the battle. Italy joins the war as an ally of Germany; Italian businesses are ransacked in London and Italian men are arrested on suspicion of being spies.

In 1940, the situation in London grows dire. Bombings become a regular, even daily occurrence. Grace joins the war effort as an Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden, so she patrols the streets of her neighborhood with a man named Mr. Stokes at night. When bombs drop, Grace runs toward them. She assists in putting out fires, searching burning buildings for survivors, and ushering people into bomb shelters. This job is dangerous and traumatically stressful, and it shows Grace a depth of courage she didn’t know she had. Thousands of lives and homes are lost, but Grace fosters a sense of community by reading aloud to people while they take cover in bomb shelters.

Meanwhile, Primrose Hill Books flourishes under Grace’s care, but Mrs. Weatherford becomes more reclusive after Colin’s death. She stops attending WVS meetings and refuses to hide in bomb shelters. Grace helps Mrs. Weatherford find new meaning in life by introducing her to Jimmy, an orphan boy who often goes to Grace’s public readings, which now take place at Primrose Hill Books. Jimmy’s parents are presumed dead, so he now lives in poverty with his little sister Sarah. Mrs. Weatherford is touched by their plight.

During Christmas of 1940, Viv and George are given a short leave to visit family. Grace goes on a date with George, who gifts her a new book and kisses her.

Mr. Evans dies from ill health. Grace grieves, but finds a new chance to continue honoring his life when she inherits the bookshop. After heavy losses, the Blitz of 1940 eventually ceases. Primrose Hill Books is bombed, but the books and the infrastructure mostly survive. Grace is devastated by the bookshop’s injuries, but her public readings audience pitches in to rebuild the bookshop overnight. They rename the shop “The Last Bookshop in London.”

In the Epilogue, the novel jumps to 1945, a month after the end of the war. Mrs. Weatherford has adopted Jimmy and Sarah, and Viv has moved back to London. Primrose Hill Books is still a business success, now named Evans & Bennett. George returns from the war, alive and safe, and reunites with Grace.