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Back The Library Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. THE LIBRARY
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. EPILOGUE
  54. Questions for your Book Club
  55. Acknowledgements
  56. About the Author
  57. Become an Aria Addict
  • How significant is the library to the story?
  • Why is the library so important to Tom and to Maggie?
  • When Tom is first introduced to the reader he is described as invisible. What is your first impression of him?
  • The story is told from two different character viewpoints: a seventy-two-year-old woman and a sixteen-year-old boy. Do you think their judgements are typical of the way the older and younger generations view each other?
  • Both Tom and Maggie are lonely people and yet their lives are very different. Why do you think they are both lonely?
  • You learn more about the characters’ backgrounds as you read further into the novel. Did your opinion of any of them change? If so, how?
  • Maggie has been keeping her secret for over fifty years. Should she have told Tom the truth? Is it ever good to hide the truth?
  • Which character do you most admire, and why?
  • What do you think Maggie learned from Tom and vice versa?
  • What were some of the ways that they tried to save the library? What would you have done in Tom and Maggie’s position?

Acknowledgements

A whole lot of people come together to get a book published and I am thankful to everyone who has had a hand in The Library. This started as a secret project when the characters popped into my head and were a world away from the romantic comedies I was used to writing. But their stories were so strong I couldn’t ignore them so I wrote this book. At the time I didn’t know if it would ever be published but I had to tell Tom and Maggie’s story.

Huge thank you to my agent Kate Nash for not thinking I’d lost the plot when I presented her with my manuscript and for working so hard to find the right home for it. I will be forever grateful to Hannah Smith, Laura Palmer and the fabulous team at Aria for taking a chance on this project and making it the book it is today. Huge thanks also go to Lisa Brewster for the stunning cover.

Thank you to Alison May & Janet Gover for the March 2019 Writing Retreat that gave me reassurance that this was worth pursuing. Also thanks to Chris from that course for the two fingers comment. Thanks to my long-suffering writing friends who must have wondered if this book would ever see the light of day – I promise to shut up about it now.

Much love and thanks to David and Rosemary Boulton for lovely discussions over lunch about life on a smallholding and for being fabulous early beta readers. Thanks to Ryan Nurse, another awesome early beta reader – you’ll make an amazing editor one day very soon. Thanks to Emily Davis for answering my many questions about libraries and also doing a fabulous job as a beta reader.