One day a man from the group told Grace she had saved his life. The stories distracted them from the devastation taking place outside. Grace promised to be careful, but she would not give up the job.Īs bombings became more frequent, Grace began reading to a group of people who took cover in the Farringdon Station air-raid shelter. Evans had begun to think of Grace as a daughter and was afraid he might lose her as well. When Grace arrived at the store one morning to find Evans drunk, he admitted that Grace reminded him of his daughter, Alice, who was killed in a car crash. Evans encouraged her to volunteer as an air raid warden. He warned her not to rush and marry before the war started.Īfter Viv, Grace’s best friend, went to serve in the active military and Weatherford’s son, Colin, was killed in the war, Grace began talking to Evans more and more about her fear that she was not doing enough to help with the war effort. He showed interest in her well-being when she agreed to have tea with George Anderson by telling her George was a good man. Evans demonstrated his appreciation for Grace’s work when he discouraged a fellow shop owner trying to lure Grace into working for him. Moreover, she used reading to inspire her neighbors during the dark days of the war.Įven though Percival Evans, the man for whom Grace worked, claimed he did not need Grace’s help in his bookstore, Grace began cleaning and organizing the store as a way to be useful. Though Grace feared she would fail at this job, she came to love books and reading. Weatherford, Grace found a job working for a curmudgeonly old man in a bookshop.

With the help of her mother’s friend, Mrs. She feared she would not be able to find a job because her uncle had even refused to write her a letter of recommendation for the years she had worked for him. In The Last Bookshop in London, a historical fiction novel by Madeline Martin, Grace Bennett arrived in London feeling as if she were a failure after her mother’s death and uncle’s rejection. The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Martin, Madeline.

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