Graydon House
August 2021
On Sale: August 17, 2021
400 pages ISBN: 1525806467 EAN: 9781525806469 Kindle: B08FTDV2L9 Trade Size / e-Book Add to Wish List
“The Bookseller's Secret is a delight from start to finish. Michelle Gable skillfully twines the narratives of two effervescent heroines, a modern-day author with writer's block and her literary icon Nancy Mitford who is struggling to pen a bestseller in the middle of the London Blitz. The result is a literary feast any booklover will savor!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Rose Code
ARISTOCRAT, AUTHOR, BOOKSELLER, AND SPY—A THRILLING NOVEL ABOUT THE ICONIC NANCY MITFORD DURING WWII
In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she’s given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics.
Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance to manage the Heywood Hill bookshop while the owner is away at war. Between the shop’s brisk business and the literary salons she hosts for her eccentric friends, Nancy’s life seems on the upswing. But when a mysterious French officer insists that she has a story to tell, Nancy must decide if picking up the pen again and revealing all is worth the price she might be forced to pay.
Eighty years later, Heywood Hill is abuzz with the hunt for a lost wartime manuscript written by Nancy Mitford. For one woman desperately in need of a change, the search will reveal not only a new side to Nancy, but an even more surprising link between the past and present…
“A thoroughly entertaining tale based on the life of a legendary author. With a vivid real-and-imagined cast of unforgettable characters, Gable expertly and cleverly delivers wit, humor, and intrigue in full measure on every page. What a delightful escape.” —Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things
“Michelle Gable delivers a triumphant tale that highlights the magic of bookshops and literature to carry people through even the darkest days of war. Featuring a colorful, witty, tenacious cast of characters, The Bookseller’s Secret deftly connects two authors separated by generations while unraveling a mystery that keeps the pages turning. A delightful tribute to an intriguing historical legend.” —Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday