For readers of Martha Hall Kelly and Beatriz Williams, "a story of female freedom and constraints that doesn't shy away from the trauma—and joy—that faced U.S. women"(Kirkus) during a pivotal period in American history. Literature impacts us all uniquely — but also unites us. Massachusetts, 1954. Alice Campbell escapes halfway across the country and finds herself in front of a derelict building tucked among the cobblestone streets of Cambridge, and she turns that sad little shop into the charming bookstore of her dreams. Tess, Caroline, Evie, and Merritt become fast friends in the sanctuary of Alice's monthly reading club at The Cambridge Bookshop, where they escape the pressures of being newly independent college women in a world that seems to want to keep them in the kitchen. But they each embody very different personalities, and when a member of the group finds herself shattered, everything they know about each other—and themselves—will be called into question. A heart-wrenching, inspiring, extraordinary love letter to books set against the backdrop of one of the most pivotal periods in American history, The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club explores how women forge their own paths, regardless of what society expects of them, and illuminates the importance of literature and the vital conversations it sparks.
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I just finished The Radcliffe ladies' reading club by Julia Bryan Thomas and here are my thoughts.
Alice loves her little book shop. It's 1954 and women are rarely allowed to aspire to want things outside of a house, husband and kids but not Alice. Books are her life.
She wants to share her love of reading with other women so when she sets up a book club at the store, she is over the moon when college students Tess, Caroline, Evie and Merritt all show up to discuss the first book.
The girls all find safety and independence within the walls of Alice's bookstore and when the worst of the worst happens to one of the girls.... Alice is there to help get her through it.
Wow, this book was so good. I am a sucker for historical fiction that empowers women and this one really warmed my heart. Women in the 50s were pretty much just homemakers and trying to figure out who you are back then must have been so hard.
Alice became the mother figure to the 4 girls in a way that she not only protected them and encouraged them to voice their own opinions but she showed them that you don't have to just be someone's wife to be fulfilled. The setting of 1950s Massachusetts was brilliant and it made me want to go there during fall. The writing was lucid and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book.
I don't usually put trigger warnings in but I will add one this time.
TW Rape resulting in pregnancy/miscarriage.
I would have liked some more development on the characters. I felt like I didn't understand why Tess was the way she was and that left me with a slightly empty feeling. It would have been more well rounded with some more back story on all 4 of the girls and Alice but maybe it was leaving it open for spin off books. I could get on board with that.
4 stars. I finished it in one sitting and I was so entertained the whole way through. If you love historical fiction that discusses books, this is a winner.
Thank you @netgalley and @sourcebooks for my gifted copy
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