As you can see, I’m making an effort to close the gap between my “Just Arrived” and “just read” posts for the books that cross my path — which was easy to do with The Bookbinder of Jericho, written by Pip Williams, because for those who enjoy historical fiction, it’s a very readable book.

As indicated in my Just Arrived post, the story is centered on the Oxford University Press book bindery through the World War One period. Peggy Jones and her twin sister, Maude, both work in the bindery, but Peggy wants to be and do more, starting with actually reading the books she binds. Over the course of the novel, her aspiration consolidates into an ambition to win a scholarship and attend Somerville, a women’s college in Oxford.

Issues of class and gender in early twentieth century Oxford, as a microcosm of the larger society, are central to The Bookbinder of Jericho. For example, Peggy is able and intelligent, but because of her class, educational opportunities have been limited and she lacks the financial resources to pursue higher education. Yet even if she can get a scholarship to study at Somerville, and completes her course of study successfully, Oxford University will not award women degrees.

The advent of World War One sees men leave the University Press to serve in the army. At the same time, Oxford sees an influx of Belgium refugees, many of them deeply traumatized by their exposure to war and the invasion of their country. Lotte, who comes to work in the bindery with Peggy and Maude, struggles throughout to overcome her experiences. Soon afterward, Somerville is turned into a soldiers’ hospital and the community receives its first war wounded — a culmination of events that profoundly affect Peggy, Maude, and their fellow book bindery workers.

The Bookbinder of Jericho weaves together Peggy and Maude’s personal relationships, and Peggy’s ambitions in particular, with the wider issues of the war, and the social change that emerges as it progresses. In that sense it’s a “slice of life” and “slice of history” narrative, juxtaposed with insight into the work of the bookbindery and technical art of creating books.  Peggy’s personal journey is also far from straightforward, with her sense of duty, and responsibility for Maude, proving as personally significant as class and gender in pursuing her ambitions.

Although stories about confronting the barriers of class and gender are not new, what makes them work are the depth of the characters and the society brought to life. Pip Williams creates her alchemy through the bookbindery’s work, and the emotional demands and challenges of a world war on everyone the story touches.

Peggy and Maude’s relationship, and the “worlds” of the bookbindery and Somerville pulled me into the story, and kept me engaged until the end. If you like historical fiction and women’s stories, set within a larger historical and social context, then I think you’ll also enjoy The Bookbinder of Jericho.

It may also appeal if you have enjoyed Pip Williams’ first novel, The Dictionary of Lost Words, or books such The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, Book of Colours by Robyn Cadwallader, or Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth.

I read a paperback edition of The Bookbinder of Jericho, 438 pages, published by Affirm Press, that I purchased in a genuine brick-and-mortar bookshop. 😀