If you know any librarians, can you imagine them as heroic spies?
Neither can I, so Madeline Martin’s recent novel, The Librarian Spy, sparked my curiosity.
I discovered a spy-filled World War II story set in Lyon, France, and an intriguing, new-to-me location—Lisbon, Portugal.
Here’s the plot in a nutshell:
- The Allied Special Libraries and Information Bureau in Lisbon brought in research librarians from the U.S. and U.K to track down facts about clear or possible Nazi plans and activities, which helped shorten the war.
- At the same time, German spies in Lisbon sought information about Allied plans.
- Into this mix arrived a constant flow of refugees (especially Jewish) seeking safe refuge from parts of Europe under threat or occupation by the Nazis.
- In occupied Lyon, France, under threat of torture or immediate execution, the Resistance continues to work actively against the Nazis, printing and distributing truthful news about the progress of the war and the Nazis’ crimes.
- The stories begun in these two locales converge at a certain point in the story (sorry, no spoiler here!)
Characters:
Each must make heart-wrenching choices with potentially fatal consequences:
- which risks to take
- whom to trust
- whom to help
Most are heroic, so readers will root for many, among them:
- Ava Harper – 1st protagonist, she’s a Rare Book librarian recruited from the Library of Congress to aid the U.S. intelligence effort in Portugal
- James MacKinnon – Brit in Lisbon who takes an interest in Ava, who thinks he works for the Special Libraries and Information Bureau
- Elaine Rousseau (alias of Hélène Bélanger) – 2nd protagonist; she’s a resident of Lyon, France, who sympathizes with the Resistance, but her husband, Joseph, forbids her from volunteering and scolds her for not being a proper Vichy wife
- Etienne – Joseph’s best friend, he connects Elaine with the Resistance
- Josette, Nicole, Denise, and Manon – all Resistance sympathizers in Lyon who interact with Elaine
- Sarah – Jewish refugee desperate to escape with her young son, Noah, to join her husband in the U.S.
- Kommander Werner – cruel German known for torturing Resistance captives in Lyon so they would reveal names of their fellow anti-Nazi sympathizers
Strengths:
This suspenseful story keeps readers on the edge of their seats, while weaving in setting details and interesting information that’s not widely known about Portugal and Lyon in World War II.
Weakness:
Although this is a compelling story, a major premise is fictional. This may disappoint readers seeking a completely historically-accurate novel. The author admits that the U.S. sent no women librarians to Portugal during World War II to uncover potentially useful information.
Content review:
Descriptions of violence committed by the Nazis will make this story disturbing for some, especially young readers.
I recommend The Librarian Spy, an entertaining and informative dual-protagonist novel, to readers who enjoy suspenseful reading about the World War II era, with a fresh twist.
Reader, what are your favorite novels of World War II?