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

Two months go by with no more air raids. Grace works hard rearranging the store and creating clever signs to capture customers’ attention. She still hasn’t read much of The Count of Monte Cristo because she returns home exhausted from work.

Mr. Pritchard visits the shop with Colin’s old tabby cat, now Mr. Pritchard’s. The cat is good company to Mr. Pritchard, though he doesn’t catch any mice. Mr. Evans warns Mr. Pritchard away from trying to poach Grace for his own bookstore.

Viv has also been doing well at work, but she admits that she’s bored. They’ve been trying to go out to the theater or the cinema, but blackouts and required gas masks have made their excursions a failure. The darkness has caused some people to be hit by cars, making a nighttime outing difficult and dangerous. Viv says she’s considering joining the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), a women’s branch of the army.

Colin receives notice of his conscription into the British army. He is to report for a medical evaluation on November 11, Armistice Day. Viv decides not to join the ATS if Colin is sent away so she can be there to help Mrs. Weatherford.

Colin transforms his mother’s flower garden into a garden that will bear fruit and vegetables, more provisions for his mother for the war. He asks Grace to watch after his mother while he’s gone. Grace promises to do so and to throw him a big welcome home party when he comes back.

They all bid a tearful goodbye to Colin. Mrs. Weatherford stays at the window, staring at the spot her son walked away from.

More customers come to Primrose Hill Books, even with the departure of so many young men to war. Grace notes that the customers stay longer and purchase more books now that the store is more organized. Ahead of the Christmas holiday, Grace convinces Mr. Evans to register the store with the National Book Token system: A person can buy a token and gift it to another person, and the gifted token can be brought to the bookstore to get a book.

Mr. Stokes, the local Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden who gives out infractions to people who don’t follow the new war precautions, comes into the store looking for a book that will help him pass the time while on duty. Grace still hasn’t been reading and can’t recommend any books, which is Mr. Evans’s specialty.

Mrs. Weatherford cooks a special dinner for Christmas. The three women exchange gifts. Mrs. Weatherford gives Viv and Grace purses that are specially fitted to hold their gas masks. Rationing begins shortly after, with limits on how much bacon, sugar, and butter each person can purchase.

Grace spends a day off from work reading The Count of Monte Cristo and is mesmerized by it. She spends hours with the story, hypnotized by the characters and the drama. When Mrs. Weatherford comes home and sees what she’s reading, she mentions that The Count of Monte Cristo is also Colin’s favorite book. She has yet to hear from Colin but is keeping herself busy with the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS).

On her way to work the next day, Grace is pleasantly surprised to see children playing and laughing in the streets. At the bookshop, Mr. Evans tells her that children have been returning to the city for the Christmas holidays. She proposes that they order children’s books and make a children’s section in the shop. They’ve prepared a section for What Hitler Wants, a book analyzing Mein Kampf, which will be released soon and is sure to be a hit.

After doing some work in the store, Grace takes a break with The Count of Monte Cristo. Mr. Evans is pleased to see her reading and recommends Jane Austen for her next read. He points out that she has one month left on their six-month employment agreement, and wonders if she’s grown attached to the store. Grace realizes she has: She doesn’t want her time at Primrose Hill Books to end.

Grace is nervous to speak to Mr. Evans about staying on at Primrose Hill Books. Meanwhile, she’s finished The Count of Monte Cristo and started Emma by Jane Austen.

Viv seems off, and when Grace asks her what’s wrong, she reveals that she feels she’s not doing enough for her country. She doesn’t want to join the Land Girls, even though she’d be good at it because she was raised on a farm. Viv is determined to join the ATS. She encourages Grace to come with her, but Grace can’t leave Mrs. Weatherford.

At work the next day, Mr. Evans has a new box of books. They are old books that he’s helping keep safe for booksellers whose book stock is being banned by the Nazis. Blood dots the books, and Mr. Evans admits it’s possible that people died to keep these books safe. Guilty that she isn’t doing enough to keep people safe, Grace tells him she’s thinking of joining the ATS.

Mrs. Nesbitt arrives at the store. She accuses Grace of stealing her own store’s display styles and taking all the business away from the other stores. Mr. Evans kicks Mrs. Nesbitt out. He asks Grace not to join the ATS and to stay at Primrose Hill Books. Grace is thrilled.

The vegetables Colin planted for his mother didn’t grow, so Mrs. Weatherford tries to replant vegetables, but she doesn’t know how. Viv is reluctant to help because she’s determined to leave farm life behind her, but eventually all the women pitch in and enjoy the time they spend together in the soil. Viv gets her assignment papers from ATS, and Grace prepares to say goodbye to her best friend.

In April, Grace helps Mrs. Weatherford with the WVS and voraciously reads novels. With every book she loves, she orders more copies for Primrose Hill Books, and she recommends them so passionately to customers that the store earns more and more money.

Mr. Stokes arrives for a new book, looking tired. He explains that his partner has been conscripted and he needs someone to help him on duty. Mr. Evans recommends Grace because she’s been looking for a way to help the war effort. Mr. Stokes is hesitant about a woman working with ARP, and Mr. Evans defends Grace’s ability to do anything a man can do. Grace registers as an ARP warden and is given a helmet, a whistle, a CD mask, and a manual.

Mr. Stokes teaches Grace about the neighborhood on her first night as ARP warden. He points out a house with a meager light shining through and tells her that it’s been tested and proven that even small amounts of light can be seen from the sky, which threatens the entire city. Germany has recently invaded Norway, Denmark, and Holland, heightening the need to make sure that all precautions are taken in England. Grace wants to help keep England safe, but she doesn’t feel comfortable fining people for having loose curtains.

Grace joins Mr. Stokes for night duty three times a week. The letters she and Mrs. Weatherford receive from Viv and Colin are censored but comforting. Grace secretly wishes that George would send her a letter, even though they didn’t know each other well. She wishes she could tell him about how much she truly loves books, thanks to him.

The news of Germany invading France comes as a shock to the English. Prime Minister Chamberlain resigns, and Winston Churchill takes over. Grace notices how the news of the Germans in France escalates tension. She helps a young housewife, whose husband is fighting in France and who has recently evacuated her beloved daughter to the countryside, select a book that will soothe her pain.

Grace is thrilled when she receives a letter from George. It was written in February, many months ago. He writes that he is excited to return home and take Grace out on their date.

Grace finds Mrs. Weatherford excitedly preparing the house for Colin’s return. The WVS has been instructed to prepare for the return of British soldiers from France. Although this likely means that Hitler’s army has successfully invaded France, forcing the British army to flee, Mrs. Weatherford is excited to see her son again.

Grace arrives home from work one night to find Mrs. Weatherford in tears. She and the WVS spent the day helping men returning from Dunkirk, and the men were torn up and traumatized. The stories from Dunkirk are horrifying, and Mrs. Weatherford has yet to find Colin. Prime Minister Churchill announces that although 300 thousand troops had been evacuated from Dunkirk, an estimated and whopping 30 thousand British men are dead. The silver lining is that many civilian fishing boats and personal watercraft helped in the evacuation, proving the strength of British comradery.

Grace reads a book while Mrs. Weatherford busies herself in the garden. Grace hears Mrs. Weatherford shriek, and she immediately thinks of the rumors of German parachutists sneaking into countries in disguise. Grace rushes out to the garden with a knife, but Mrs. Weatherford screamed out because she’s found cutworms in the garden. She must poison her vegetables in order to get rid of the worms.

In June, Italy joins the war as an ally of Germany. While on duty with Mr. Stokes, Grace watches an Italian man get arrested by police for being Italian. An Italian restaurant is vandalized and burglarized. Grace tries to defend the restaurant, horrified that Italians in Britain would be targeted for their national background. Mr. Stokes convinces the vandalizers to put out the fire for fear that the light of the fire will be detected by bombers.

One day, as Grace tries to read and Mrs. Weatherford tries to garden, they receive a knock at the door. They are delivered a telegraph informing them that Colin died at Dunkirk. Mrs. Weatherford is inconsolable, and Grace goes to work, hoping to distract herself. She cries at work, and when Mr. Evans tries to comfort her, Grace realizes that “no amount of talking could possibly bring back Colin. Indeed, she [doesn’t] even know if the grip around her throat [can] relax enough to put voice to such agony” (148). She also can’t contain her guilt over what happened at the Italian restaurant. Mr. Evans consoles her by reminding her that she can’t change everything, but that small gestures can mean a lot, especially during a time of war. He reminds her that their work as booksellers is one of those small gestures, bringing small amounts of joy to people who are suffering. He points out that a recent book, Pigeon Pie, has sold out despite its absurdity, a feat the bookstore accomplished thanks to Grace.

In the next weeks, France falls to the Germans and the Germans begin bombing England.