The underground library becomes the center of the community. In addition to living in constant threat of bombing, the librarians have to deal with their patrons' controlling, abusive husbands; administrators bent on censorship; unsupervised children; and safety concerns, such as a rapist roaming the streets. Most of the men in this story have a Gaston-like attitude that women shouldn't be reading books and getting ideas. Their responsibility is to be beautiful, get married, have babies, and essentially be mindless slaves to their husbands; nevermind all the war widows, there's little compassion for them. The characters are the highlight of this delightful book. Clara, a war widow, had every reason to be bitter. She disregards her ‘imposed upon’ obligations and her losses and channels her energy into providing equal opportunity books to everyone in the secret community. Ruby has a big heart and puts others before herself, desperately wanting to hide her inner unhappiness and loss. You’ll be in awe of the sense of community the author creates and come to love many of the library patrons.

The author’s note at the end was as enjoyable as the novel! This is essential reading for bibliophiles around the world. During the first week of the blitz, the Bethnal Green library was destroy, due to the war, construction of the Bethnal Green tube station had stopped and the vast empty space wasn’t being used. Despite losing her mentor, Clara Button and her assistant Ruby Munroe open an underground library and a sanctuary in London's East End. A gripping and heart-wrenching novel set in London in World War Two, following the two women who run a secret underground library Young childless widow Clara Button is doing her bit for the war effort, running Britain’s only Underground Shelter Library.... Our barbarous foes may be hell-bent on burning London to the ground, but beneath the city’s surface, Mrs. Button calmly carries on stamping books and ensuring everyone has a thumping good read to take their mind off the bombs." Heartbreakingly, that home was tinged with horror one night in March 1943 when 173 people died in a human crush on the uneven steps down to the shelter. ARP wardens worked alongside housewives and boy scouts to save the injured. Mrs Chumbley wrenched children free from the crush with such force their shoes were left behind. It was three hours before the last casualty was pulled out.Clara must fight some adversity and people who are against what she is trying to do, as the war drags on Clara’s strength is tested many times over but she never gives up, with the Germans dropping their new bombs many people from the underground are affected and there are many tears shed. Clara meets ambulance worker Billy Clark when he jumps in and helps her when needed most, and Clara is a widow and soon she is seeing her heart open to Billy but he holds a secret that will cause problems. True story from the East End of London during WWII: The Bethnel Green library was destroyed by German bombs during the Blitz, and much of the surrounding neighborhood was destroyed as well. In a bit of serendipity, the Bethnel Green Tube station had not yet been put into service, so the space became the underground home for the community's displaced people. There was a cafe, a theater, ranks upon ranks of bunk beds, and a library. History isn’t about dates and battlefields, leaders, and royalty. It’s about ordinary people getting on with the business of living, in spite of such unforgiving odds. And somehow in the process always managing to hold hard to hope. I’ve become rather jaded by book titles containing the word ‘little’ but here it is incredibly apt. Based on the real history of the Bethnal Green Library, Thompson’s book reveals that although COVID and The Blitz are both very different, the effect on reading has been the same. Books, in both cases, were “a key weapon in the fight for morale.” The Blitz revealed the need to have equal access to reading material and the stigma of reading for relaxation lifted. Covid revealed the need for equal access to information via the internet. We may not have had the bibliobus that the East Enders had, but our community had a book bicycle that travelled between communities to the shut-ins. I’ll never forget the first time I re-entered the library after the restrictions were lifted. The protocols were worth every effort.

Based on real life events, Kate Thompson has penned a beautifully written fictional story, which oozes strength and courage, resilience, resistance, and defiance. And the mainstay at the heart of this story is Clara Button. It’s 1944 and Clara Button is a war widow needing something worthwhile to do with her life. She knows what it’s like to suffer loss and isn’t ready to sit at home caring for her mother-in-law. Clara goes against her mother and mother-in-law’s wishes by spending her days running the small underground library in the disused Bethnal Green tube station. They see what she does as unseemly but Clara is determined to help those around her and bringing the joy of reading and an escape to the war-weary of the East End is exactly what she believes the locals need. Together with her friend and assistant Ruby, a larger than life woman whose cheery, beautifully made up exterior hides a troubled family life and heartache that binds her to the East End, they care for the displaced people of all ages helping them to see some light in their dark, frightening world. The Little Wartime Library was a haven for people. It did so much more than hand out books. It helped children to learn to read, to come to terms with loss of family to help those living in the underground to bear the long hard years that war brought to their homes and cities. During the war, the facilities were amazing down the Tube; it had everything you needed. There was even a mobile hairdresser, who used to come down the tunnels doing people’s hair out in rags before bed so they woke up with nice curly hair. Terrific! While the book is filled with a lot of heart-wrenching moments, it left me feeling so much love for the characters and story. The writing was perfection and it was easy to devour. The Little Wartime Library is easily one of my favourite books this year and absolutely worth the read. This book is a shining testament to the strength of women during the war.

Heartbreakingly, that home was tinged with horror one night in March 1943 when 173 people died in a human crush on theuneven steps down to the shelter. ARP wardens worked alongside housewives and boy scouts to save the injured. Mrs Chumbley wrenched children free from the crush with such force their shoes were left behind. It was three hours before the last casualty was pulled out. Books are for everybody. In a society where women shouldn’t read too much and children are considered just a nuisance, Clara strongly believes not only that everybody should read, but that they should be allowed to read any kind of book they want. Girls shouldn’t be forced to read only books “for girls”. Romance and fiction are as good as non-fiction. Author Kate Thompson’s 5-star historical fiction focuses on the pioneering efforts of two women who effectively transformed the lives of wartime Londoners. I loved the book’s structure as the Prologue and Epilogue act like bookends to the main narrative. A story that thrums with vibrancy

With so many people homeless and living in this underground world, Clara is determined to make sure that there is still books for them to read and does everything she can to encourage more people into the library she and her assistant and best friend glamourous Ruby Munroe have started a children’s bedtime reading session and also a book club for anyone who wants to join in, in these times not only do these people read and listen to some great books they also find friendship and the support that is needed. They start a travelling library for the factory workers who can’t get to the library they also have pamphlets on different issues for woman in desperate need. Informative and enlightening, heart-wrenching yet hopeful, this is a story that will stay with me. Fans of historical fiction and stories revolving around libraries would certainly enjoy this novel. These “youngsters” are now in their 90s and memories of the little library are embedded in their hearts.

Bethan Green’s magical library with Kate Thompson

Clara Button is a young widow and the librarian at a wholly underground library. There is a whole community which has sprung up in a disused underground station - a good place to hide when there are bombs falling up above which are destroying your community and killing your friends and family. Clara's best friend is Ruby, a girl who couldn't be more different from Clara if she tried. Despite their differences in personality, they are very close and it is their friendship which gets them both through. Both young women have been through trauma in their pasts and Ruby is still trying to help her mum deal with her abusive second husband. Bunk beds in the tunnels at Bethnal Green underground station: Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives Libraries are the engines of our education and our escape, never have they been more important in transforming our lives.”

These ‘youngsters’ are now in their nineties, and memories of the little library are embedded in their hearts. “It was a sanctuary to me,” Pat, now 92 and living in Berkshire, told me. “By 1943, I was 14 and there had been so much horror, the Blitz, the Tube disaster. You can’t imagine what that library represented to me as a place of safety. It sparked a life-long love of reading.” The Little Wartime Library, is a book framed by author’s message and notes as well as modern-day prologue and epilogue. The heart of the story is set during WWII era London during the devastating days of bombing. Right when it seems the most nonsensical time to put time and resources into a lending library, theater, or music, is exactly the time to do it and they did. People needed this library and the determined help of Clara the Librarian more than ever.

Along with her glamorous best friend and library assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it seems it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive. What works so well is that there is no guarantee of a happy ending for anyone, creating moments of deep emotion. Satisfying layers of depth Just brilliant!! I can't describe it any other way. The fact it's based on true events adds more layers to it.