Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Katie Couric Media, Audible, the CBC, the Globe and Mail, BookBub, POPSUGAR, SheReads, Women.com and more!
"Juliet Stevenson's luminous narration is a delight for the ears and makes for an entertaining and moving listening experience." – Library Journal (Starred review)
"Juliet Stevenson's performance of this novel about a post-WWII bookshop is vocal virtuosity." —AudioFile
"Juliet Stevenson narrates the novel in her lovely, versatile voice, nicely capturing different personalities of the book" – The Washington Post
Multi-award-winning actor Juliet Stevenson narrates this Earphones Award–winning, heartwarming audiobook from the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society. Natalie Jenner returns with a compelling story of postwar London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world in Bloomsbury Girls.
Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager's unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:
Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances—most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.
Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she's been working to support the family following her husband's breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.
Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she's working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.
As they interact with various literary figures of the time—Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others—these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Katie Couric Media, Audible, the CBC, the Globe and Mail, BookBub, POPSUGAR, SheReads, Women.com and more!
"Juliet Stevenson's luminous narration is a delight for the ears and makes for an entertaining and moving listening experience." – Library Journal (Starred review)
"Juliet Stevenson's performance of this novel about a post-WWII bookshop is vocal virtuosity." —AudioFile
"Juliet Stevenson narrates the novel in her lovely, versatile voice, nicely capturing different personalities of the book" – The Washington Post
Multi-award-winning actor Juliet Stevenson narrates this Earphones Award–winning, heartwarming audiobook from the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society. Natalie Jenner returns with a compelling story of postwar London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world in Bloomsbury Girls.
Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager's unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:
Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances—most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.
Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she's been working to support the family following her husband's breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.
Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she's working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.
As they interact with various literary figures of the time—Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others—these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.
Critiques-
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March 21, 2022
Jenner (The Jane Austen Society) spins an illuminating yarn about a London bookstore. Evie Stone, one of the first female graduates of Cambridge University, begins cataloging rare books at Bloomsbury Books in 1949 after being denied a position at Cambridge as a research assistant. Vivien Lowry, a stylish woman and budding writer whose titled fiancé was killed in WWII, also works at the shop and constantly competes with Alec McDonough, the store’s head of fiction, over whose ideas for author appearances will bring in the most business. Grace Perkins, a mother with two young sons, enjoys working at Bloomsbury for the time away from her mercurial husband, Gordon. Though the business is struggling, the owner is reluctant to sell, because he enjoys seeing how the store brings together people of various walks of life. As London continues to recover from the war, the women depend upon one another to find fulfillment, with Vivian pulling off a luncheon at the store with Daphne du Maurier, and Grace considering whether to risk taking her sons and leaving Gordon. Evie, meanwhile, discovers love and adversity with the store’s head of science and naturalism, Ashwin Ramaswamy, even as their relationship elicits racist scorn. Jenner’s well-plotted narrative gains strength from the characters’ bonds. Fans of emotional historical fiction will be charmed. -
Juliet Stevenson's performance of this novel about a post-WWII bookshop is vocal virtuosity. Stevenson enlivens a multitude of characters through a spectrum of dialects spanning from plummy to country. Each persona flourishes in the mind's eye--from Evie Stone (the farm lass in Jenner's THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY) to noted playwright Samuel Beckett. Evie, newly graduated from Cambridge University, finds work at a venerable London shop, Bloomsbury Books. There, she meets a cadre of intelligent women--salesperson Vivien, secretary Grace, and cultural figures of the time, including Daphne du Maurier, Peggy Guggenheim, and Ellen Doubleday. Romance and resourcefulness ensue as the fate of the book shop hangs in the balance. Stevenson delivers the satisfying triumph at the end with perfect polish. E.S.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
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Starred review from June 1, 2022
Jenner's heartwarming follow-up to The Jane Austen Society traces the lives of three women who are transformed while working at an old-fashioned London bookshop. Evie, a trailblazing graduate of Cambridge University, has been unfairly passed over for a fellowship and now seeks to uncover a mystery while working at the shop. Stylish Vivien, a writer in her own right, is tired of being dismissed and is desperate to put her creativity to work. Grace struggles to balance a precarious home life with her work at the shop and wishes to be recognized for her business acumen. When illness shakes up the shop's personnel, all three women know that the time has come for them to step into new roles and exercise their talents and intelligence. Juliet Stevenson's luminous narration is a delight for the ears and makes for an entertaining and moving listening experience. With small changes in tone and cadence, she captures every nuance of expression. Her accent work is exquisite and conveys the broadest county accents to the poshest upper-crust tones. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of Christina Baker Kline, Mary Ann Shaffer, and Jennifer Ryan, or for any listener who enjoys post-World War II historical fiction.--Sarah Hashimoto
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
