The Bookshop Sisters

We meet sisters Rosy and Martha as they discuss plans for their summer over Sunday lunch. This all changes though when a mysterious call is received from their mother’s sister. Despite their father having to take the call because their mother will not speak to her sister, the girls are quickly dispatched to Dublin to help save their aunt’s bookshop. Rosy is delighted at this prospect, already an avid reader; her sister Martha much less so.

And so begins a tale of two sisters and saving a bookshop to the untrained eye, however there is much more hidden between the pages of this particular title. Baggot Books is in fact a real bookshop – Parsons, and it too was run by an army of women, just like the committed group we encounter in the story. The story is set in 1956, and gives a real insight into life for women at this time, and specifically women in Ireland. This real life relevance is followed up at the end of the story with a section on the context and some hints for finding out more about the true characters that inspired this fictional retelling.

The plot moves along at pace and the characters and events are engaging, though the narrative style is a little unusual given the level of speech included. But it would perhaps be true to say that the real merit of this title is to be found in the historical context and the discussion this could generate with young readers. There is real insight offered into the injustices that women faced at this time, and into the ways some women chose to stand against this prejudice. There is much to say too about the family relations portrayed and many readers may well find they relate to these issues, even so many years on from the events of the 1950s. Sparking conversation and further investigation hopefully, this is a title to support readers in engaging with a world which may not be around them entirely any more, but which certainly still influences the way we live now and the experiences and struggles of some.