
The Last Bookshop in London
A Novel of World War II
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Narrated by:
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Saskia Maarleveld
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By:
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Madeline Martin
About this listen
Inspired by the true World War II history of the few bookshops to survive the Blitz, The Last Bookshop in London is a timeless story of wartime loss, love, and the enduring power of literature.
August 1939: London is dismal under the weight of impending war with Germany as Hitler’s forces continue to sweep across Europe. Into this uncertain maelstrom steps Grace Bennett, young and ready for a fresh start in the bustling city streets she’s always dreamed of - and miles away from her troubled past in the countryside.
With aspirations of working at a department store, Grace never imagined she’d wind up employed at Primrose Hill, an offbeat bookshop nestled in the heart of the city - after all, she’s never been much of a reader. Overwhelmed with organizing the cluttered store, she doesn’t have time to read the books she sells. But when one is gifted to her, what starts as an obligation becomes a passion that draws her into the incredible world of literature.
As the Blitz rains down bombs on the city night after night, a devastating attack leaves the libraries and shops of London’s literary center in ruins. Miraculously, Grace’s bookshop survives the firestorm. Through blackouts and air raids, Grace continues running the shop, discovering a newfound comfort in the power of words and storytelling that unites her community in ways she never imagined - a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of war-torn London.
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Another great story by Kelly Rimmer
- By Lisa N. on 08-15-20
By: Kelly Rimmer
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The Paris Agent
- By: Kelly Rimmer
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden, Fiona Hardingham, Emma Fenney
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Twenty-five years after the end of the war, Noah Ainsworth is still preoccupied with those perilous, exhilarating years as a British SOE operative in France. A head injury sustained on his final operation has caused frustrating gaps in his memory—in particular about the agent who saved his life during that mission gone wrong, whose real name he never knew, nor whether she even survived the war.
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Powerfully moving story
- By Jennifer Greenfield on 07-28-23
By: Kelly Rimmer
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The Lost Girls of Paris
- By: Pam Jenoff
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden, Henrietta Meire, Candace Thaxton
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs - each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station. Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a network of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war.
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I don’t understand the good reviews
- By Heather on 03-30-19
By: Pam Jenoff
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The Secret Book Society
- A Novel
- By: Madeline Martin
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The Secret Book Society has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.
By: Madeline Martin
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The Paris Housekeeper
- By: Renee Ryan
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden, Callie Beaulieu, Henrietta Meire
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Paris, 1940 German tanks rumble through the streets of Paris, forcing frightened citizens to flee. But not everyone has the luxury to leave. Camille Lacroix, a chambermaid at the world-famous Hôtel Ritz, must stay to support her family back home in Brittany. Desperate to earn money, Camille also acts as a lady’s maid for longtime guest Vivian Miller, a glamorous American widow—and a Nazi sympathizer. Despite her distrust of the woman, Camille turns to Vivian when her friend Rachel Berman needs help getting out of Paris. It’s then that Camille discovers that Vivian is not what she seems.
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Loved the three narrators
- By Pmurr on 10-27-24
By: Renee Ryan
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The Italian Ballerina
- A World War II Novel
- By: Kristy Cambron
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Rome, 1943. With the fall of Italy's Fascist government and the Nazi regime occupying the streets of Rome, British ballerina Julia Bradbury is stranded and forced to take refuge at a hospital on Tiber Island. But when she learns of a deadly sickness sweeping through the quarantine wards--a fake disease known only as Syndrome K--she is drawn into one of the greatest cons in history. Alongside hospital staff, friars of the adjoining church, and two Allied medics, Julia risks everything to rescue Jewish Italians from the deadly clutches of the Holocaust.
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Took me halfway through...
- By Mona-Alisa on 05-26-23
By: Kristy Cambron
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The Girl in the Painting
- By: Tea Cooper
- Narrated by: Casey Withoos
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Australia, 1906: Orphan Jane Piper is nine years old when philanthropist siblings Michael and Elizabeth Quinn take her into their home to further her schooling. The Quinns are no strangers to hardship. Having arrived in Australia as penniless immigrants, they now care for others as lost as they once were. Despite Jane’s mysterious past, her remarkable aptitude for mathematics takes her far over the next seven years, and her relationship with Elizabeth and Michael flourishes as she plays an increasingly prominent part in their business.
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A Six- Star Review!
- By Victoria J. Mejia-Gewe on 06-09-21
By: Tea Cooper
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The Last Bookshop
- By: Emma Young
- Narrated by: Olivia Beardsley
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Cait is a bookshop owner and book nerd. Her social life revolves around her mobile bookselling service, which hand-picks titles for elderly clients, particularly the grandmotherly June. After a tough decade, Book Fiend is the last bookshop in the central business district and the last independent retailer on a street given over to high-end labels. Profits are small, but clients are loyal. When James breezes into Book Fiend, Cait realises life might hold more than her shop and her cat.
By: Emma Young
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The Huntress
- A Novel
- By: Kate Quinn
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Bold and fearless, Nina Markova always dreamed of flying. When the Nazis attack the Soviet Union, she risks everything to join the legendary Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on the invading Germans. When she is stranded behind enemy lines, Nina becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, and only Nina's bravery and cunning will keep her alive.
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EVEN BETTER THAN ALICE NETWORK
- By Nina on 03-02-19
By: Kate Quinn
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The Little Wartime Library
- By: Kate Thompson
- Narrated by: Sarah Durham
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the country’s only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café, and a theater—offering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city. Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. As the war drags on, the women's determination is tested to the limits.
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I learned so much
- By candi hurst on 06-15-23
By: Kate Thompson
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Call Your Daughter Home
- By: Deb Spera
- Narrated by: Robin Miles, Adenrele Ojo, Brittany Pressley
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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It's 1924 in Branchville, South Carolina, and three women have come to a crossroads. Gertrude, a mother of four, must make an unconscionable decision to save her daughters. Retta, a first-generation freed slave, comes to Gertrude's aid by watching her children, despite the gossip it causes in her community. Annie, the matriarch of the influential Coles family, offers Gertrude employment at her sewing circle, while facing problems of her own at home.
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Lovely story/perfect narration
- By christi mccoy on 07-08-19
By: Deb Spera
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The Paris Apartment
- By: Kelly Bowen
- Narrated by: Polly Lee, Marisa Calin, Gemma Dawson, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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London, 2017: When Aurelia Leclaire inherits an opulent Paris apartment, she is shocked to discover her grandmother’s hidden secrets - including a treasure trove of famous art and couture gowns. One obscure painting leads her to Gabriel Seymour, a highly respected art restorer with his own mysterious past. Together they attempt to uncover the truths concealed within the apartment’s walls.
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Thank you for an Amazing story!
- By A.vega on 07-20-21
By: Kelly Bowen
What listeners say about The Last Bookshop in London
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-19-21
Excellent WWII historical fiction
This book is on my list of favorites very close to Dear Mrs. Bird. It is realistic without being too harsh in its details so that I could even share it with my Mom, who lived through WWII as a child.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Victoria J. Mejia-Gewe
- 07-13-21
A highlight of my year!
“You’ll change this war yet. One book at a time.” — Chapter 13
Madeline Martin uses the backdrop of World War II to offer a tribute to the power of books in The Last Bookshop in London. The year is 1939. No longer welcome by her relatives, Grace Bennett has moved to London, where she gets a job at Primrose Hill Books, a shop that has been neglected. Being good at running a business, Grace gradually organizes the store and turns it into a success. However, she has never actually read any of the books she sells. Then one day someone gives Grace The Count of Monte Cristo, which eventually Grace picks up to read. Thus begins her journey into the world of books, into which she dives with fervor. In the process, she takes her customers with her, sharing her new excitement of books with everyone.
As things prepare to shift from the earliest phase of the “Bore War” to the Blitz, Grace volunteers to become an ARP warden, helping people amid the bombing. When she is not on duty, Grace joins her fellow citizens in bomb shelters and the Tube station near Primrose Hill, bringing along a book for company. Before she knows it, Grace finds herself reading aloud to the increasing numbers of people who need hope and discover it within the pages of Grace’s books. Soon Grace starts holding daily reading sessions in the bookshop when not in the Tube station. She continues this throughout the war, keeping up the morale of those around her with the blessing of books.
The Last Bookshop in London demonstrates the influence that books have in changing people’s lives. Lately I have listened to a lot of historical novels set during World War II, but this book has an extra element of something special. All highlight the inner strength that humans have drawn upon during times of severe need, but none holds as much hope as The Last Bookshop in London offers. This is something that the world especially needs today.
I have recently been frequently encountering Saskia Maarleveld as the audiobook narrator of historical novels. Her performances are always well-fitted to each book, and The Last Bookshop in London is no exception. When the bombs drop on London during the Blitz, listeners experience the terror, yet we also feel the strength of Grace and the other characters running through the story. We see the redemption offered by books of all kinds through the eyes of the characters, each of whom has a distinct voice and nature through the narration of Maarleveld.
The Last Bookshop in London surprised me by how inspiring this book turned out to be. It proves to be a fitting tribute to both books and humanity. This book would make an excellent selection for a book club or, even better, a One City, One Book program. In a time when we are all struggling to return to life as normal after having hunkered down from COVID-19 for the last year and a half, this book serves as an inspiration from a time when the world suffered together tremendously but emerged from the ashes in a testament to the strength of humanity.
“Out there you save lives. In here you save souls.” — Chapter 19
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5 people found this helpful
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- Mike Vitamvas
- 09-13-21
One of the best books I have listened to
I’ve listened to hundreds of audiobooks and this is one of the top 10, maybe even top 5.
Excellent narration and the story kept my attention. I looked forward to driving so I could continue listening.
Highly recommend.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Kate Yonder
- 11-15-21
Beautiful Imagery and Beautifully Written
This novel was beautifully written but hard to start. I had to restart it several times before moving forward. That being said, the imagery is lovely. It was a gorgeous listen. Heart-warming and not over dramatized. Nothing was over the top. Just another pleasant piece of WWII historical fiction.
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1 person found this helpful
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- kanga2012
- 09-17-21
Delightful and touching story.
This is a feel good story mixed in with the horrors of living in London during WWII. Grace learned so much about human compassion and selfless caring for others. As a former bookseller and lover of reading myself, I enjoyed her introduction into books and stories while helping others learn to read. How wonderful it would be if people gathered in groups to sit and listen to someone read aloud!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Eva
- 09-14-21
Excellent story. Excellent reader.
Love this book! The reader’s annunciation was superb. It took me back to when I discovered reading.
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- Michael McLellan
- 09-10-21
The Last Book Shop in London
While this story was somewhat predictable, it was lovely & paid homage to the power of literature & good books. I recommend it. It' s a warm, friendly story.
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- JDF
- 09-15-21
Enchanting story
I thoughly enjoyed this story of wartime London and the happiness that books can bring to people suffering under the worst of conditions.
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-02-21
Outstanding story and performance
I could hardly put this down. I knew London had a hard time of it during the war, but I didn’t realise how hard. This author shows all of it and also the great courage and perseverance the British showed while enduring so much tragedy and loss. I loved the story of cemented relationships and how much influence one extraordinary person can have on so many. I highly recommend this book!
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- S. W. Chinich
- 09-13-21
Thoroughly enjoyable!
This novel deals with the hardships of war by the average city dweller in London. It’s a good story without the horrors of the holocaust. For those who like WWII books, this is an enjoyable story.
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