Q&A with Louise Fein

 

 

 

Louise Fein is the author of the new novel The London Bookshop Affair. Her other novels include The Hidden Child. She lives in Surrey, UK.

 

Q: What inspired you to write The London Bookshop Affair, and how did you create your character Celia?

 

A: My inspiration for The London Bookshop Affair really arose out of the fact that, when considering what to write for my third novel, I had been researching the Secret Operations Executive (the SOE) during World War II.

 

A cousin of my father had been in the SOE although nobody really knew what he had done as he never spoke of it.

 

The SOE, also known as Churchill’s Secret Army, consisted of thousands of men and women who would never have been eligible for the regular army.

 

After passing rigorous training, they were dropped behind enemy lines in occupied countries in the Far East and Europe such as France, Belgium, Holland, and Greece. They aided the war effort by committing acts of sabotage and spreading misinformation.

 

There were some incredible acts of heroism, many of which have been explored widely in fiction, but also quite some incompetence on the part of the British which led to many deaths, which has been less well explored.

 

But what really fascinated me was the fact that after the war many of these women who had been incredibly skilled and brave, were simply expected to return to the domestic sphere.

 

It got me wondering how that must have felt to have had great agency and freedom during a time of war, only to have that taken away during peacetime.

 

I also read about one young widow who left her 1-year-old daughter to join the SOE. She never made it back, and her daughter was raised by her grandparents.

 

I caught myself thinking, how could a mother leave her very young child like that? And then it made me think, thousands upon thousands of fathers must leave their young children to fight, so why not mothers?

 

I realised then how much my thinking, indeed all of our thinking, is very influenced by societal expectation and convention. Hence was born the idea of my character of Celia who was going to challenge all of that.

 

I chose to set the majority of the novel in the early 1960s. This was because this period was just before second wave feminism, youth culture, the contraceptive pill, and the swinging ‘60s really took off, and at a time when the strict conventions of men’s and women’s roles in society had taken, arguably, a backward step during the 1950s.

 

It seemed the perfect time for my young heroine to be challenging those conventions.

 

But also at this time, whilst there was much for the youth to be looking forward to, the tensions between the USSR and the West were at their height, and with the nuclear arms race in full swing, another war was a real prospect and one which could spell the end of the world.

 

The tensions between social change and the very real threat of a terrible third world war was the perfect time to set my novel.

Q: Can you say more about the novel’s two timelines?

 

A: The main timeline of the novel is 1962. I chose this year in particular because the ramping up of tensions over Berlin and Cuba made for the perfect backdrop to the tensions between my characters in the novel.

 

This was the height of the Cold War and I think there is an enduring fascination with espionage and what causes some people to spy for their country.

 

The World War II element of the story directly relates to the main timeline, and without any plot-spoilers, its discovery by Celia is the catalyst to the action and the relationships in the 1962 story.

 

I think it also shows quite clearly the different expectations of society on women during the war and afterwards, and the difficulty between the generations caused by the emergence of a youth culture never seen before in the early 1960s.

 

Q: The Wall Street Journal called the novel “several books at once: a family chronicle, a coming-of-age tale, a love story and...an espionage thriller.” What do you think of that description, and how did you balance the various aspects of the book as you were writing it?

 

A: I have to admit, I am thrilled with this description. I feel it is all of these things and I very much hope I have done justice to all of the elements of the story.

 

I didn’t really plan it this way. Some of the elements emerged in the writing. I never, for instance, planned there to be any love story in it, but that sprang up from nowhere. I also didn’t plan for one of the protagonists – Septimus Nelson – to have a voice in the story. Again, he emerged.

 

That is, I think, one of the joys of writing. However much you plan, surprises always occur.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the story?

 

A: I hope that, first and foremost, readers will find the story engaging and entertaining. I also hope that the story will generate discussion around some of the themes in the novel.

 

For instance, society’s expectation of parents - women and mothers in particular; our identity and where it comes from; generational tension; the freedom and choice of ordinary people, and the justification (if any) of the blurred lines between protest, disruption, and direct action in protecting the planet.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: Whilst my books to date are historical fiction, I think they are all quite different to each other.

 

This latest one is different again and, I think, is my most ambitious book yet. It is another dual timeline novel, but this one has timelines spanning 400 years, and a geography spreading from England and France to the USA.

 

Writing in time periods so far from our own is out of my comfort zone and has been both fascinating and challenging. Obviously, there is all the research, but also getting that ideal balance between accessibility and authenticity.

 

What always amazes me about writing historical fiction are the parallels that exist in every historical period with “now” if you seek them out. This one, I feel, perhaps even more than the others, will resonate with living in today’s world.

 

As always in my writing, it will be based around real history, people, and events. There will be some mystery, adventure, and feisty female characters. The book will be out in 2026. I’m very excited about it, and hope that readers will love it too!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I have a reading group guide/book club questions on my website for The London Bookshop Affair (and my other books) if people might find this helpful. It can be found here: https://www.louisefein.com/book-club-discussion-questions

 

I always enjoy hearing from readers, so do get in touch either via my website https://www.louisefein.com or on social media. I can be found hanging around on X (Twitter), https://twitter.com/FeinLouise Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/louisefeinauthor/  and Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/louisefeinauthor.

 

I also send out a newsletter to my subscribers, no more than four times a year and with the occasional perk such as a giveaway or a short story. Do sign up, again, via my website!

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Louise Fein.