A young British woman working in a book bindery gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when World War I upends her life in this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club pick The Dictionary of Lost Words.

It is 1914, and as the war draws the young men of Britain away to fight, women must keep the nation running. Two of those women are Peggy and Maude, twin sisters who live on a narrow boat in Oxford and work in the bindery at the university press.

Ambitious, intelligent Peggy has been told for most of her life that her job is to bind the books, not read them—but as she folds and gathers pages, her mind wanders to the opposite side of Walton Street, where the female students of Oxford’s Somerville College have a whole library at their fingertips. Maude, meanwhile, wants nothing more than what she has: to spend her days folding the pages of books in the company of the other bindery girls. She is extraordinary but vulnerable, and Peggy feels compelled to watch over her.

Then refugees arrive from the war-torn cities of Belgium, sending ripples through the Oxford community and the sisters’ lives. Peggy begins to see the possibility of another future where she can educate herself and use her intellect, not just her hands. But as war and illness reshape her world, her love for a Belgian soldier—and the responsibility that comes with it—threaten to hold her back.

The Bookbinder is a story about knowledge—who creates it, who can access it, and what truths get lost in the process. Much as she did in the international bestseller The Dictionary of Lost Words, Pip Williams thoughtfully explores another rarely seen slice of history through women’s eyes.

My Review

The Dictionary of Lost Words is one of my favourite books this year. I never believed another book could match it, but it did. The Bookbinder of Jericho is set in the same location – Oxford – and the main characters, twin sisters Peggy and Maude Jones are the next generation. It’s 1914 and the girls work in the book bindery, folding and stitching. The work is repetitive, but what keeps Peggy going is having a peak at what she is binding, ‘bind the books, don’t read them,’ she is told. Every now and again the folding or stitching are not up to par and Peggy can take the pages home with her. She wants more.

Maude looks exactly like Peggy, but she is different, people would have said ‘simple’ in those days. We wouldn’t say that today. Maybe she is autistic, but they wouldn’t have recognised any kind of neurodivergence in 1914. She loves to fold and repeat what people say, except she only repeats part of the sentence, the most important part.

When the Belgian refugees arrive, Maude takes librarian Lotte under her wing (or is it the other way round?) and Peggy is slightly jealous. After their mum died aged 36, Peggy sees herself as Maude’s carer, and Maude ‘is extraordinary but vulnerable’.

As more injured soldiers arrive and are housed in makeshift wards in the university, Peggy volunteers to sit with them, read to them and write letters, if their injuries prevent them from doing so. It is here she meets Gwen, wealthy, from London and studying at Somerville College, where they have a whole library at their disposal. ‘Town and Gown’, the residents of Oxford call them. The ordinary people and the privileged students. It’s what Peggy really wants, to study literature. Her mother said she has the brains, but who will look after Maude?

As an ordinary girl from Jericho, Peggy should not be sitting with officers, but she is allowed to go with Gwen, and that’s when she meets Bastian. I listened to this on Audible so apologies if I spelt his name wrong. His injuries are so severe, she can only see one side of his face, he is swathed in bandages from head to foot and cannot walk. Their friendship deepens and turns into love.

The Bookbinder of Jericho is not just a love story. It is set against the background of the 1st World War, but also women’s battle for the vote, which is getting closer. Women will need to be thirty though, and have ‘means’. For Gwen, yes therefore eventually, but not for Peggy, never for the likes of Peggy.

While not a sequel to The Dictionary of Lost Words, The Bookbinder references characters such as Esme and Gareth, and actress Tilda features highly in the book. I think the war changes her more than it does anyone else.

I must mention that Peggy and Maude live on a houseboat called Calliope, and it makes the book somehow even more special, maybe because I love the idea, and we get an inroad into their life on board as well as their neighbours, Rosie, Oberon and Jack, and how they help each other out when needed.

It’s such a fabulous book, I don’t know what else to say. It’s perfect.

About the Author

Pip was born in London, grew up in Sydney and now calls the Adelaide Hills home. She is co-author of the book Time Bomb: Work Rest and Play in Australia Today (New South Press, 2012) and in 2017 she wrote One Italian Summer, a memoir of her family’s travels in search of the good life, which was published with Affirm Press to wide acclaim. Pip has also published travel articles, book reviews, flash fiction and poetry.