Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

The British Booksellers

A Novel

ebook
1 of 2 copies available
1 of 2 copies available

Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.

A tenant farmer's son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl's daughter, but that couldn't keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington...until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn't come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.

When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband's declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.

As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father's legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they've worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe's local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.

From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of World War II, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.

  • Split timeline: WWI and WWII
  • Stand-alone novel
  • Book length: 118,000 words
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs
    • Creators

    • Publisher

    • Release date

    • Formats

    • Languages

    • Reviews

      • Library Journal

        Starred review from January 19, 2024

        Lady Charlotte Terrington and Amos Darby grew up together making mischief in the English countryside. But an aristocrat and a tenant farmer aren't destined to be together at the turn of the 20th century, no matter how much love flows between the upstairs and downstairs of a Coventry estate. In a split-time storyline, Cambron (The Italian Ballerina) brings readers into the nightly bombings of World War II, where Charlotte and Amos are now running competing bookstores and still dealing with scars from their nation's previous war. Charlotte's daughter hires Land Girls in a last-ditch effort to save the family's estate, even as she wonders why the rivalry between her mother and Amos is so intense. When American lawyer Jacob Cole visits with a bombshell announcement, the characters must learn to forgive. VERDICT In this delightful historical romance, with nods to the movie You've Got Mail, readers will be put through the emotional spectrum, all the while rooting for the mismatched couple: now middle-aged and battle scarred, but not without hope for true love.--Christine Barth

        Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • Publisher's Weekly

        Starred review from February 19, 2024
        In this memorable blend of romance and WWII history, Cambron (The Paris Dressmaker) chronicles the devastation of the Coventry blitz and its impact on two budding couples. Widowed Lady Charlotte Terrington-Holt and Amos Darby own rival bookshops in 1940 Coventry, England, but put their competing interests aside to offer tea to residents recovering from nights spent in air raid shelters. As they work together, Amos’s feelings for Charlotte reignite: he had once hoped to marry her, but then the Earl of Harcourt swept in. Meanwhile, the arrival of Detroit lawyer Jacob Cole adds to the chaos. He’s in England to prevent Charlotte’s grown daughter, Eden, from claiming a mysterious inheritance left to her in his father’s will—but he finds himself taken with the young lady and soon joins the efforts to keep the Holt estate operating while the farm hands are off at war. Both couples hope for futures together—if they can survive the bombing. Cambron brings a great deal of authenticity to her rendering of Coventry’s “Forgotten Blitz” (which took place almost 100 miles from London), as the tumult and trauma of wartime make class disparity and past misunderstandings wash away, leaving only authentic emotion. Readers won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough. Agent: Rachelle Gardner, Rachelle Gardner Literary.

      • Booklist

        March 15, 2024
        Christy Award-winner Cambron's latest is set during the years prior to and during WWI and WWII. In Coventry, England, farmer's son Amos Darby develops a close friendship with the girl in the manor house, Lady Charlotte Tarrington, whom he calls Charlie, and from whom he wishes for more. They are both booklovers, and Amos dreams of running a bookshop. Charlotte is a talented cellist, but her parents don't approve. Forward to 1940. Charlotte married Earl William Holt, as her parents wanted her to, but she is now widowed--he died in WWI--with a grown daughter, Eden, and they are trying to save Holt Manor. She and Amos, who bears physical and emotional scars of the earlier war, own rival bookstores and don't speak much. Now the Nazis have started bombing England, and Coventry won't be spared. Meanwhile, American lawyer Jacob Cole shows up with information about a mysterious shared inheritance, and Eden is intrigued by Jacob and his mission. Cambron presents a psychologically rich and historically vivid inspirational story of courage, sacrifice, and people coming together to preserve their community.

        COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    Formats

    • Kindle Book
    • OverDrive Read
    • EPUB ebook

    Languages

    • English

    Loading
    Check out what's being checked out right now This service is made possible by the local automated network, member libraries, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.