Author: Kuchenga Shenjé
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Genre: Historical Fiction
Format: Kindle ARC
No. of Pages: 368
Date of Publication: May 7, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars
DESCRIPTION:
The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can't be contained.
1896. After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence's father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame—and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester.
Intercepting her father's latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield's library is old and full of secrets—but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife.
Then one night, the library is broken into. Strangely, all the priceless tomes remain untouched. Florence is puzzled, until she discovers a half-burned book in the fireplace. She realizes with horror that someone has found and set fire to the secret diary of Lord Belfield's wife–which may hold the clue to her fate…
Evocative, arresting and tightly plotted, The Library Thief is at once a propulsive Gothic mystery and a striking exploration of race, gender and self-discovery in Victorian England.
MY THOUGHTS:
She clearly wanted to swim in the misery of her grief.
The protagonist in The Library Thief, Florence Granger, was forced to walk a very fine line between black and white. She was born to a white father and a Jamaican mother, and was taken from her mother from birth. The first thing that mentioned is that Florence’s father made sure her hair was hot combed regularly so that her very light skin and her pressed hair would show that she indeed would appear white. As being Black during that era was an undesirable thing, Florence’s anxiety would rise significantly if her curls started to appear, showing that the nature of her hair is quite different than other white people where she lives.
However, Florence became involved in a scandal that came into the picture that had nothing to do with race. Unmarried and pregnant, her father throws her out. Previously trained by her father who was a bookbinder, she takes a job at the expansive Rose Hall. Florence is hoping that her appearance as being white would permit her to work on this project. However, there was an a break-in and a fire in the grand library. Apparently nothing was stolen, but immediately Florence recognized something in the fire. It was a book, a diary of sorts, partially burned, but she is certain it is something of significance.
Passing for white was not always easy for Florence. But putting that aside, she really wants to restore the library at Lord Francis Belfield's library. When Florence arrived at Rose Hall, she notices with curiosity that it is not bustling in activity as one might expect, And apparently, she soon realizes that she is not the only one that is involved in a scandal. As the story progresses, we see that there are albino’s and other light skinned people that are trying to pass as white. The judgment that is experienced is almost beyond belief for us in our day. Quite naturally, anyone of the Black race did not have the freedom of marriage between races at that time.
There’s something intriguing in the Author’s Note. She mentioned the Windrush Generation, which piqued her curiosity after reading a book with that phrase. This inspired her to write this book. Naturally, I had to look up what the Windrush Generation was. It was a post-war migration to Britain by West Indian people traveling to the United Kingdom. The name “Windrush” came from the name of the ship that carried them. This migration occurred in 1948 and continued until after World War II.
As a dedicated reader, it is always interesting to see what inspires an author to write a book. However, I felt that this book was rather long and almost repetitive in some ways, even though my eyes were opened more about the struggles that people of my race experienced at that time.
I thought I’d mention a rather interesting phrase that comes up in this book - tabula rasa. This is quite significant to see the path that individuals are often forced to travel. Children are born completely innocent, devoid of any knowledge or experience. So as I read this Victorian era story, it was very intriguing to see how race and gender affected people during those days.
Many thanks to Hanover Square Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
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