The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can’t be contained.
A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a white-passing bookbinder in Victorian England and the secrets lurking on the estate where she works, for fans of Fingersmith and The Confessions of Frannie Langton
1896. 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 realizes 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…
Evocative, arresting and tightly plotted, The Library Thief is at once a propulsive Gothic mystery and a striking exploration of race, gender and self-discovery in Victorian England.
Book Information
Author: Kuchenga Shenjé
Publication Date: May 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781335909695
Hardcover Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Price $29.99
MY REVIEW
TW/CW: Rape, Murder, child abuse
My first blog tour in ages! It’s nice to have participated in one again especially for a book like this one. I just knew, reading the summary, that this was right up my alley. Historical fiction with libraries in it and a diverse read? SIGN ME UP. Which, I mean, obviously I did, sign up that is.
This book is basically pure atmosphere. You will see this gothic structure known as Rose Hall solely through Florence’s eyes. First-person and not only that but at times I would forget this was Florence’s story in that I was so consumed I felt like it was me living through this gothic tale. And it is truly gothic. If you enjoyed classics such as Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre, you’ll probably enjoy this one as well. If you don’t read classics, that’s okay, if you like gothic vibes, this is also for you.
Florence is in the position that leads her to intercept her Father’s mail to be hired on at Rose Hall for bookbinding. She arrives in his stead and puts forth an offer to the Lord of the house for her to do the job and becomes part of the almost skeletal staff of the once bustling hall.
The reasons Florence has for being there are so much more intricate than what someone like her father might say and I really enjoyed this look of exploring sexual desires as well as this encompassing look at it within different sexualities.
Florence makes friendships and connections at Rose Hall that are bound in iron and even better? There’s a murder mystery afoot. The Lady of the Hall drowned in the river on a midnight walk, but Florence and others about the local village and Rose Hall suspect foul play. Due to Florence’s book learning and her rather stubborn take on the mystery, she considers herself the detective and forges on to get answers.
Getting these answers isn’t simple and they lead to so many more questions. The pacing is slow, I would say. Again this is not just a murder mystery we are unraveling what makes Florence tick and those she’s connecting to around her. Rose Hall is practically a character itself, and Shenjé pulls no stops when it comes to calling out the dark sides of the aristocracy when it pertains to their staff. So often have those with power abused it and abused those under said power, we get a glimpse into this as well. Lord Belfield may not be a vile villain in the stereotypical sense but he is a villain of his own making especially in his complicity in his brother’s truly vile and reprehensible actions.
Florence encounters and befriends Wesley, a person who is just as complicated and layered as herself. Someone who she immediately feels a strong connection to and a kindred spirit in and who shows her just how different love and loving can be for those not considered ‘normal.’ And we have the murdered Lady of the house, Florence feels a pull to her but more so to her lady’s maid who despite their physical differences (or not depending on if you read this yet lol) she feels a strong connection to.
Florence discovers why she never quite fit in as a child, why there was a hot comb to be used on her to make her hair look like other girls. She also discovers what her father never said and this leads her on an entirely different journey and shapes her actions in so many ways as the book pushes forward to its quite climactic ending.
There is solace in finding answers even if they leave you with more questions, there’s solace in accepting who you are whether it has to do with where you’re from, who you love, or what you know you should have been born as and The Library Thief makes sure you know that. Shenjé makes a historical fiction that doesn’t erase issues that have always been around, past or not, and brings it all into a tale that left me in awe.
4/5 cups of coffee from me! Thanks so much to Harper Collins for the eARC of this in exchange for my honest review. Sorry it was so long winded…and it was vague on purpose as you all know; no spoilers here! I have included purchase links for the book and social links for the author below, including a bio on them. (No commissions for me with these links)
Purchase Links
THE AUTHOR
KUCHENGA SHENJÉ is a writer, journalist, and speaker with work on many media platforms, including gal-dem, British Vogue and Netflix. She has contributed short stories and essays to several anthologies, most notably It’s Not OK to Feel Blue (and Other Lies), Who’s Loving You and Loud Black Girls. Owing to a lifelong obsession with books and the written word, Kuchenga studied creative writing at the Open University. Her work is focused on the perils of loving, being loved and women living out loud throughout the ages. The Library Thief is the ultimate marriage of her passions for history, mystery and rebels. She currently resides in Manchester, where she is determined to continue living a life worth writing about.
AUTHOR LINKS
The Caffeinated Reader 
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