The Bookbinder of Jericho
- Downloads：2695
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2024-01-21 07:21:41
- Update Date：2025-09-08
- Status：finish
- Author：Pip Williams
- ISBN：1038622859
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Kira Aaron
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Slow start， but enjoyable read for the second half！ I appreciated the relationship between the sisters and behind-the-scenes moments in the Oxford University Press。
LillyBooks
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I very much enjoyed Williams’ first novel， The Dictionary of Lost Words， so I was excited to read this novel that takes place in Oxford at the same time。 （It’s not a sequel; there is a brief overlap of a couple of characters， but it’s not necessary to read the earlier work。）The strange thing about this novel is that I can’t say there was anything wrong with it。 I liked the idea of the premise， I liked learning about the bookbinding methods， I liked learning about narrowboat living 。 。 。 And yet， I very much enjoyed Williams’ first novel， The Dictionary of Lost Words， so I was excited to read this novel that takes place in Oxford at the same time。 （It’s not a sequel; there is a brief overlap of a couple of characters， but it’s not necessary to read the earlier work。）The strange thing about this novel is that I can’t say there was anything wrong with it。 I liked the idea of the premise， I liked learning about the bookbinding methods， I liked learning about narrowboat living 。 。 。 And yet， nothing here captured my imagination or my heart。 。。。more
Madelyn Brunvand
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I really wanted to love this but I felt like the characters weren’t super fleshed out and I was waiting for some action to happen the whole time
Emma Pallister
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3。5*** review to come when my brain starts functioning again
Linde
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Love the connection this had to The Dictionary of Lost Words。 It had familiar faces， but not a prequel or sequel。Great nod to all the people unseen in the war and beautiful story。
Su Mcconville
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Some interesting learning about the bookbinders。 The references to Esme from Dictionary of Lost Words does rely on the reader having read that book。 Loved the Town vs Gown concept as I grew up in Cambridge and felt the same。 I also saw a lot of houseboats so that was informative to learn about life on a houseboat。I felt it was quite a slow read and I certainly wasn't compelled to keep reading。 Some interesting learning about the bookbinders。 The references to Esme from Dictionary of Lost Words does rely on the reader having read that book。 Loved the Town vs Gown concept as I grew up in Cambridge and felt the same。 I also saw a lot of houseboats so that was informative to learn about life on a houseboat。I felt it was quite a slow read and I certainly wasn't compelled to keep reading。 。。。more
Kaylee Sarton
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I found the Great War setting very interesting and， per usual， enjoyed the academia aspect。 The descriptions of bookbinding were particularly soul-warming。 I thought that characters fell flat overall。 It took a long time for me to root for anyone and feel like their journeys were compelling。
Katie
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I did not enjoy this book， totally slogged through it and basically skimmed the last half。 No consistent story， unlikeable characters and really boring。
Julie Greenwood
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DNF 9 %
Laurel
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this follow on novel by the author of the Dictionary of Lost Words。 I haven’t read a lot about WWI and its impact on Belgium， where my family is from， so that was a personally interesting layer （several main characters are refugees in England from Belgium）。 Dense but engaging book with interesting characters。 And great narration on audiobook。
Mya
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3。5 starsI found it hard to rate this book。 And I wasn't sure why。The characters are lovely。 The writing is rich。 The style is fairly easy reading。 The topics are serious。 I feel like I should rate it higher。I guess， for me， it just didn't really go anywhere。 It covers a period from just WW1 until it's conclusion。 So stuff does happen。 And people do evolve。 But it still felt like I got to the end and nothing really happened。 It's a very character driven book and perhaps I prefer something with a 3。5 starsI found it hard to rate this book。 And I wasn't sure why。The characters are lovely。 The writing is rich。 The style is fairly easy reading。 The topics are serious。 I feel like I should rate it higher。I guess， for me， it just didn't really go anywhere。 It covers a period from just WW1 until it's conclusion。 So stuff does happen。 And people do evolve。 But it still felt like I got to the end and nothing really happened。 It's a very character driven book and perhaps I prefer something with a little more action。There is some overlap with "The Dictionary of Lost Words" but this was not intended to be a sequel and could easily be read as a standalone novel。If you're unsure and enjoyed her other book， definitely give it a try！ 。。。more
Anne Tonkin
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After recently reading a couple of highly promoted but disappointing books， this was a breath of fresh air。 The characters are built up so beautifully， like old friends， we deeply care what happens to them and share their pain， frustration， sorrows and desires。 Sensitively crafted， beautifully written， historically significant， this book stays with you to ponder class and gender and its role in putting and keeping people ‘in their place’。 I felt I knew Peggy and walked with her through this stor After recently reading a couple of highly promoted but disappointing books， this was a breath of fresh air。 The characters are built up so beautifully， like old friends， we deeply care what happens to them and share their pain， frustration， sorrows and desires。 Sensitively crafted， beautifully written， historically significant， this book stays with you to ponder class and gender and its role in putting and keeping people ‘in their place’。 I felt I knew Peggy and walked with her through this story。 。。。more
Eleanor
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What a beautiful book。 The story dances along， so engaging， such a beautiful depiction of a challenging period in history。
Kristy
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Slower read。 Like a love story to books， reading and women
Kasey
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Beautifully written story。
Tiffany
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Fascinating look into publishing， education， women's rights and WWI。 Fascinating look into publishing， education， women's rights and WWI。 。。。more
EJ ❤️
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A bit racier and darker than The Dictionary of Lost Words… just a bit 😉 Ms Williams weaves a wonderful story with interesting characters。
Natalie
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I enjoyed this as much as The Dictionary of Lost Words （an overlap novel）。 The very brief summary: historic novel focused on women binding books in Oxford’s publishing house during World War 1; included elements are war wounded， the Spanish plague， British education and class privilege， women’s suffragette movement。 The authors clipped language takes some getting used to and if I hadn’t watched Endeavor， I think I’d struggle to picture many of the scenes （she’s not particularly descriptive）。 I a I enjoyed this as much as The Dictionary of Lost Words （an overlap novel）。 The very brief summary: historic novel focused on women binding books in Oxford’s publishing house during World War 1; included elements are war wounded， the Spanish plague， British education and class privilege， women’s suffragette movement。 The authors clipped language takes some getting used to and if I hadn’t watched Endeavor， I think I’d struggle to picture many of the scenes （she’s not particularly descriptive）。 I appreciate that she is unsparing when it comes to how raw and uncomfortable situations and people are。 It’s a relief to see humanity allowed- not excused or rescued， but rather witnessed in whatever state they are in their understanding。 。。。more
Lesley R
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A beautifully written historical story， with very believable characters。 Set in WW1 Peggy and her sister Maude work in a bookbinders。 Peggy feels bound to look after Maude but longs for more。 Her dream is to study at Oxford。 This story highlights the restrictions placed on women in what was a very male dominated era， and highlights the importance of friendships， love and books。
Suzannah
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Pip Williams wrote my favorite quote from a book in The Dictionary of Lost Words， about how womens' titles （Miss， Mrs。， Ms。） were created to inform society of her sexuality。 This book has a similar quote I liked。 "The words used to describe us define our value to society and determine our capacity to contribute。 They also tell others how to feel about us， how to judge us。" Pip Williams wrote my favorite quote from a book in The Dictionary of Lost Words， about how womens' titles （Miss， Mrs。， Ms。） were created to inform society of her sexuality。 This book has a similar quote I liked。 "The words used to describe us define our value to society and determine our capacity to contribute。 They also tell others how to feel about us， how to judge us。" 。。。more
Roberta
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Discarded。 Boring beginning and I just stopped reading at about 50 pages
Paula Engle
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This was a charming， historical gem！
Nini Ste
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In ihrem Roman ，， Die Buchbinderin von Oxford " erzählt die Autorin Pip Williams die Geschichte der Zwillingsschwestern Peggy und Maude， die in der Buchbinderei der ，，Oxford University Press " in Jericho arbeiten。 So wie es schon ihre Mutter tat。 Seit mehreren Jahren leben die inzwischen 20jährigen jungen Frauen alleine auf dem Hausboot in beengten und etwas ärmlichen Verhältnissen， nachdem ihre Mutter viel zu früh verstorben ist。 Sie verdienen wie viele andere Frauen aus Jericho ihren Lebensunt In ihrem Roman ，， Die Buchbinderin von Oxford " erzählt die Autorin Pip Williams die Geschichte der Zwillingsschwestern Peggy und Maude， die in der Buchbinderei der ，，Oxford University Press " in Jericho arbeiten。 So wie es schon ihre Mutter tat。 Seit mehreren Jahren leben die inzwischen 20jährigen jungen Frauen alleine auf dem Hausboot in beengten und etwas ärmlichen Verhältnissen， nachdem ihre Mutter viel zu früh verstorben ist。 Sie verdienen wie viele andere Frauen aus Jericho ihren Lebensunterhalt in der Buchbinderei， wo sie Tag für Tag die Bögen fallen， aus denen die Bücher gebunden werden。 Eine eintönige Arbeit， die Maude gefällt。 Peggy jedoch würde viel lieber die Bücher lesen。 Die Fragmente， die sie bei der Arbeit auf die Schnelle sieht， reichen ihr nicht。 Daher nimmt sie unbrauchbare Seiten und Ausschuss mit nach Hause。 Das Hausboot quillt fast über vor Büchern。 Sie möchte mehr erreichen， als ihr Leben lang als Buchbinderin zu arbeiten。 Doch da sie bereits mit 12 Jahren die Schule beendete， stehen ihr nicht viele Möglichkeiten offen。 Außerdem fühlt sie sich für ihre Schwester verantwortlich， die etwas besonders ist und mehr Anleitung und Unterstützung im Leben braucht。 Als der 1。 Weltkrieg ausbricht， ziehen schon bald die Männer in den Krieg aufs Festland。 Als erste Flüchtlinge， sowie verwendete belgische Soldaten nach Oxford kommen， ändert sich Peggys Leben。 Einige der belgischen Frauen beginnen ebenfalls in der Buchbinderei zu arbeiten。 Eine von ihnen， Lotte ， freundet sich bald mit Maude an， so daß Peggy im Freiwilligen-Dienst den zum Teil schwerst verwundeten Soldaten im Krankenhaus vorlesen und beim Briefeschreiben helfen kann。 Dabei lernt sie Gwen， eine junge Frau aus besseren Kreisen kennen。 Tilda， die Freundin der Mutter， geht als Kriegskrankenschwester nach Frankreich。 Von dort schickt sie fürsorgliche Briefe， in denen sie aber auch von ihrem Dienst und den schrecklichen Geschehnissen und Verwundungen der Soldaten berichtet。 Eindrucksvoll， erschreckend und berührend taucht man so in das Kriegsszenario und den Folgen ein。 Peggy bekommt durch Gwen Einblicke ins Studium und den nötigen Anschubs， vielleicht doch mehr aus ihrem Wissensdurst machen zu können。 Im Krankenhaus kümmert Peggy sich um den schwerst verletzten Belgier Bastiaan und verliebt sich in ihn。 Wird für Peggy der Traum eines Studiums am Sommerville College in Erfüllung gehen？ Und das persönliche Glück ？ Eine Zukunft mit Bastiaan？ Auch die Frauenbewegung， das Aufbegehren nach mehr Rechten ， ist thematisiert ， nimmt aber keinen zu großen Raum der Geschichte ein。 Pip Williams hat auf eine liebevolle， manchmal etwas zu ausführliche Weise， die besondere Beziehung der Schwestern dargestellt。 Das innige Verhältnis zueinander， welches jedoch für Peggy zuweilen eine Last darstellt。 Das Hin-und Hergerissen-Sein zwischen Verantwortung und eigenen Wünschen ist realistisch und deutlich spürbar dargestellt。 Sowohl die Schwestern， als auch Tilda， Lotte ， Gwen， die lieben Bewohner des benachbarten Hausbootes sind liebevoll， realistisch und sympathisch beschrieben。 Während es im ersten Teil der Erzählung zum großen Teil um die Arbeit in der Buchbinderei geht， wird im weiteren Verlauf des Buches mehr und mehr die Entwicklung der Personen zum Thema。 Die Geschichte nimmt immer mehr an Fahrt auf，wobei es zu keiner Zeit dramatisch oder reißerisch wird。 Der Schreibstil ist unglaublich bildhaft und einfühlsam。 Die Beschreibungen der Buchbinderei sind so detailliert， daß ich mir jetzt genau vorstellen kann， wieviel Handarbeit nötig war， um ein Buch herzustellen。 Das hat mir unglaublich gut gefallen。 Auch die Handlungsorte， besonders das Hausboot ， die Buchbinderei und die Umgebung sind wunderbar bildhaft dargestellt。 Das Cover gefällt mir sehr gut。 Die schön gebundenen Bücher， das gefaltete Boot ， umrankt von Zweigen passen sehr gut zum Titel， welcher aussieht wie aus einem Buch ausgeschnitten。 Die Geschichte hat mir gut gefallen， weil mich das Streben von Peggy nach Wissen， gepaart mit ihrer Fürsorge und Verantwortung für ihre Schwester sehr berührt hat。 Auch die detailliert ， zum Teil schonungslos， beschriebenen Ereignisse und Traumata der Soldaten haben einen bleibenden Eindruck hinterlassen。 Das Eintauchen in die Welt der Buchbinderei mit lebendigen Charakteren ist eine Empfehlung für Liebhaber historischer Romane。 。。。more
Aimee Potts
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This book gave me a peek into so many different worlds。 Oxford during WWI， women scholars in Oxford at the time， the Oxford University Press （which was incredibly interesting）。 I learned more about the people in "Town" as most books set in Oxford that I've read focus on the University side。 Being american I'd never known any more about the Belgian refugees other than Hercule Poirot had been one。 The author brought so many different and unusual people together in this book， and I feel she represe This book gave me a peek into so many different worlds。 Oxford during WWI， women scholars in Oxford at the time， the Oxford University Press （which was incredibly interesting）。 I learned more about the people in "Town" as most books set in Oxford that I've read focus on the University side。 Being american I'd never known any more about the Belgian refugees other than Hercule Poirot had been one。 The author brought so many different and unusual people together in this book， and I feel she represented them all with so much respect， without judgement as well as without pressing any one particular viewpoint into my face。 We are all complicated humans， and Pip Williams did a great job expressing this in her book。 。。。more
Rosemary
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Enjoyed learning about book binding， the war， Oxford， the societal limits on women， and of “gowns” v。 “towns。” The sex scene details were unnecessary and detracted from the story。
Victoria Lee
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4 plus out of 5This is a blurb from Daisy Wood on the back of the book:"By day， Peggy works in the bindery of Oxford University Press; at night， she devours the books she isn't allowed to read。 Desperate for education and independence， she somehow must weight the demands of duty convention， and even love against her thirst for knowledge。"Peggy， aged 21， and her twin sister， Maude， have worked at the book bindery since leaving school at age 12。 Peggy loves to read and she dreams of attending the 4 plus out of 5This is a blurb from Daisy Wood on the back of the book:"By day， Peggy works in the bindery of Oxford University Press; at night， she devours the books she isn't allowed to read。 Desperate for education and independence， she somehow must weight the demands of duty convention， and even love against her thirst for knowledge。"Peggy， aged 21， and her twin sister， Maude， have worked at the book bindery since leaving school at age 12。 Peggy loves to read and she dreams of attending the university where she binds books， but she knows that dream is out of reach due to her being part of a lower class of society。 In addition， any dreams she may want to pursue are hampered by her feeling of responsibility to her twin， Maude， who is autistic。WW I begins。 Peggy volunteers at a hospital site， where she becomes friends with another volunteer named Gwen。 Gwen is from an upper class family and she attends Somerville， the women's college at Oxford， but she does not appreciate her privileges and just wants to get through her coursework with the least effort possible。Peggy is assigned to read to an injured Belgium soldier named Bastiaan at the hospital。 They fall in love。 After his discharge， they begin dating。Gwen speaks to the principal of Somerville， who is acquainted with Peggy through Peggy's volunteer work。 The principal tells Gwen that Peggy has aptitude and should apply for a scholarship。 Peggy devotes all possible spare time to her studies。 Bastiaan proposes to her， but she turns him down because she would not be able to be fulfill the roles of both student AND wife/mother at the same time。 They break up。Meanwhile， in a related story arc， Peggy is shown by her supervisor at the bindery， and by a Belgian refugee who becomes Maude's friend， that Maude will flourish if given more independence。 Peggy takes the entrance examination to get into Somerville。 She passes the first exam but not the 2nd。 She gives up and starts seeing Bastiaan again。 Months later， after the war has ended， Gwen tells her that she （Gwen） failed TWICE in her own attempts to pass the entrance exams。 At Christmas， Bastiaan gives her a gift of Homer's Odyssey， in the original Greek。 It is a hint that she should continue to learn ancient Greek so that she can apply again。At the end of the book， Bastiaan has returned to Belgium and is now an architect helping to rebuild his city。 We see that he and Peggy are corresponding， and that their letters show their deep friendship。 Peggy has been accepted to Somerville。 Oxford has finally conceded to grant degree status to female graduates--up to that point， even the principal of the women's college had not been conferred a degree。 Maude and Jack are a couple。 Gwen has decided to go into politics to fight for the rights of all women。 It had been a point of contention between Gwen and Peggy that even though women had just been granted the vote that year， it was only granted to women of upper class who were titled landowners。Although the book takes place during WW I， and it does address the atrocities of war， the story equally focuses on the themes of class struggles and women's rights。 It is a coming of age story for Peggy， who finally admits that she has always been using Maude as an excuse not to pursue her dreams。 Verdict: Written in a simplistic， very accessible style， the story tackles complex themes。 This is not typical women's fiction with the courageous heroine who charm beguiles everyone， becomes a spy， and marries her true love in the end。 I applaud the author for not taking the corny route。 4 plus out of 5 Recommended。 。。。more
Maureen Ferraro
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I love this book！ The writing is flawless， and the story is quite compelling。 I didn't want it to end。 I have never said that about a book。 I love this book！ The writing is flawless， and the story is quite compelling。 I didn't want it to end。 I have never said that about a book。 。。。more
Liz
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4。5Beautifully written and a number of themes to reflect on but not quite 5 stars as it seemed to drag a little in places Interesting perspective on the impact of war on women’s suffrage and the opportunities in the workplace。 Also learned about Belgian refugees and Elizabethsville。 I had never really thought about reactions towards the Belgians。 Brief references to Spanish flu too which have some parallels with the recent pandemic。 Will definitely read Pips other book
Jennifer Harkness-Quintana
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3。5
Emily
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