With layers of intrigue, this captivating debut historical novel ultimately focuses on the power of inclusivity, hope, and love. Florence talks her way into a bookbinding commission at Rose Hall in 1896, on learning of the suspicious death of Lord Belfield’s wife, she determines to find answers. Even though this is clearly a historical novel, there is a timelessness to the issues within and the way they have been written. Author Kuchenga Shenje has created a number of themes, some of them emotionally dark and challenging. She writes with compassion and empathy without shying away from the difficult times contained within. Topics of friendship, love and hate, and inclusivity and prejudice, also sit alongside the main mystery. The library of books, bookbinding, and books mentioned helps to create a real sense of place. I connected with Florence as a narrator, it feels as though this is a coming of age story as she explores possibilities and her own potential. She is full of kindness, with the levels of tenacity and self-assurance needed to make her own way in a world. The main mystery itself flows through the novel, creating waves of tension. From this, offshoots of secrets and lies slip and slide into place creating further twists within the story. As I read the final few chapters my emotions settled and I felt a sense of satisfaction. With multiple themes and a central mystery, The Library Thief is a rewarding historical novel.
The Binding meets The Vanishing Half in this extraordinary historical debut - perfect for readers who love gothic mysteries with books at the heart of them, as well as stories about people often overlooked by history. The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can't be contained.
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 realises 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 . . .
