Genre Fiction
![Madeline Martin - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_madeline_martin.jpg)
The Librarian Spy: A Novel of World War II
"Readers will be on the edge of their seats…. A brilliant tale of resistance, courage and ultimately hope." –Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The Warsaw Orphan
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London comes a moving new novel inspired by the true history of America's library spies of World War II.
Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.
Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It's a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.
As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.
"Uplifting, inspiring and suspenseful, this is one to savor!" –Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Riviera House
"Madeline Martin is a fantastic author. The Librarian Spy is a stunning tour de force of historical fiction." –Karen Robards, author of The Black Swan of Paris
For more historical fiction from Madeline Martin, don't miss The Last Bookshop in London.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London comes a moving new novel inspired by the true history of America's library spies of World War II.
Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.
Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It's a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.
As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.
"Uplifting, inspiring and suspenseful, this is one to savor!" –Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Riviera House
"Madeline Martin is a fantastic author. The Librarian Spy is a stunning tour de force of historical fiction." –Karen Robards, author of The Black Swan of Paris
For more historical fiction from Madeline Martin, don't miss The Last Bookshop in London.
Editorial Reviews
"This story blew me away. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they are transported to 1940s Portugal and France with Madeline Martin's vivid and inspiring characters. The Librarian Spy is a brilliant tale of resistance, courage and ultimately hope."-Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The Warsaw Orphan
"Madeline Martin immerses us in the expertly rendered and fascinating worlds of Lisbon and Lyon during the war as we follow the stories of two brave women who are willing to risk everything for the cause of freedom. Uplifting, inspiring and suspenseful, this is one to savor!" –Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Riviera House
"Madeline Martin is a fantastic author, and this beautiful, heartbreaking tale of two young women who risk everything as they use the power of words to fight back against the Nazis will have you glued to your chair. The Librarian Spy is a stunning tour de force of historical fiction."-Karen Robards, author of The Black Swan of Paris
"In Madeline Martin's stirring new novel, readers will be whisked into her brilliantly depicted portrayal of 1940's Lisbon, Portugal, and Lyon, France. Martin captures the essence of the French resistance in war-riddled France as we race with hearts in our throats through Elaine's harrowing tale, juxtaposed with Ava's thrilling and engrossing passages illustrated with sensory delights. Both heroines push the boundaries of their worlds, risking much in their shared missions for survival and hope. Not to be missed, The Librarian Spy is an inspiring novel that highlights the women who dared to resist in the face of adversity." -Eliza Knight, USA To bestselling author of The Mayfair Bookshop
"Martin shows great reverence for the power of the written word in her pacey new novel, The Librarian Spy, set during the tumultuous backdrop of WWII in Lisbon and Lyon, when Nazis attempted to silence the press of the Resistance. This engaging, lively read featured a cast of characters I loved to root for and I cou...
"Madeline Martin immerses us in the expertly rendered and fascinating worlds of Lisbon and Lyon during the war as we follow the stories of two brave women who are willing to risk everything for the cause of freedom. Uplifting, inspiring and suspenseful, this is one to savor!" –Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Riviera House
"Madeline Martin is a fantastic author, and this beautiful, heartbreaking tale of two young women who risk everything as they use the power of words to fight back against the Nazis will have you glued to your chair. The Librarian Spy is a stunning tour de force of historical fiction."-Karen Robards, author of The Black Swan of Paris
"In Madeline Martin's stirring new novel, readers will be whisked into her brilliantly depicted portrayal of 1940's Lisbon, Portugal, and Lyon, France. Martin captures the essence of the French resistance in war-riddled France as we race with hearts in our throats through Elaine's harrowing tale, juxtaposed with Ava's thrilling and engrossing passages illustrated with sensory delights. Both heroines push the boundaries of their worlds, risking much in their shared missions for survival and hope. Not to be missed, The Librarian Spy is an inspiring novel that highlights the women who dared to resist in the face of adversity." -Eliza Knight, USA To bestselling author of The Mayfair Bookshop
"Martin shows great reverence for the power of the written word in her pacey new novel, The Librarian Spy, set during the tumultuous backdrop of WWII in Lisbon and Lyon, when Nazis attempted to silence the press of the Resistance. This engaging, lively read featured a cast of characters I loved to root for and I cou...
Readers Top Reviews
Pat M.
The strength of these women in the losses they suffered and their perseverance during the war show unparalleled grit. Heartwarming end.
JanPat M.
The Librarian Spy is a book that will stick with me. The characters so alive they felt like real people to me. I’m struggling to find the words to express how magnificent and necessary this book is. I’m grateful to have read it, sometimes through tears. Bravo!
Deborah Wall McGr
It seems not quite right to call this a beautiful story because it is filled with such courage in the face of such horror. It brought me to tears many times as I read it. And I remember the thrill when we all dressed up and went to the train station to welcome my father home, exactly as Ava described welcoming her brother.
Dr. Heidi Rosenbe
This was a truly wonderful story. I couldn’t put the book down and loved each character. The story tells the heroism of the Resistance fighters through the prism of life and love. Being a librarian myself, I so enjoyed the sensory descriptions of libraries and the importance that books have on our lives. Especially during this time when the banning of books once again looms, it is an important story to tell and a warning to heed.
J.L. AskewDr. Hei
Recently, on Goodreads, casting about for something to read, I saw this book. Although not prone to women’s fiction (other than Austen, the Brontes, and Eliot I read as a youth), a World War II spy tale was appealing. The main character, Ava Harper, is a DC government librarian doing her best to support the war effort; “she had complied [with rationing] long before it became law. She gave blood [as often as allowed].” “Rather than dance and drink at the Elk Club like her roommates “, she worked with the Red Cross, “repairing uniforms, rolling bandages”, and doing anything else asked of her. Ava is reassigned to the American Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal, a neutral country free of the war strictures she’d known at home. Her job is to gather intelligence by acquiring newspapers and photographing them on microfilm that is regularly sent back to the states for analysis. Chapter two introduces another main character, Helene Belanger, a member of the French underground in Lyon, who runs a partisan press, disseminating news of Nazi atrocities to their countrymen. Before joining the resistance, Helene acted within societal norms in the role of a housewife. Early in the book Helene changes names (becoming Elaine), acquiring fake identity papers to avoid arrest. Other characters take on false names for the same reason, a necessity in the clandestine world of the French Resistance. The juxtaposition of identities could be confusing, but I kept it straight, taking notes. Author Martin skillfully writes dual plots with each heroine’s story told in alternate chapters as the narrative threads gradually shift toward each other, becoming more entwined until the final chapters where the stories merge. The plots are based on the good hearted nature of the two main characters, both wanting to salvage lives from the suffering humanity they see around them every day. Elaine, in occupied France, sees Jews rounded up for the death camps and members of the resistance detained and tortured. Ava, in Lisbon, sees throngs of refugees in ever growing lines at the embassy, many who have sold everything in an effort to get a visa and gain transit to America. Both women carry separate burdens, Ava worried about her brother, a U.S. soldier on the front lines, and Elaine, fearful for her husband, arrested by the gestapo. The author writes delicately of relationships strained by the uncertainties of war and with sensitivity for her character’s feelings. Eventually, Elaine is detained and brought before German torture master Werner. In her mind she slips back into the role of housekeeper, becoming steadfast, claiming she is a “mere housewife”, stating her chores one by one. Martin surprises us at every turn as the two heroines face setbacks and reversals in their individual quests to save lives and ease suffering. These events don’t feel contrived but rather have...
