‘The Bookbinder of Jericho’ by Pip Williams

This is the companion book to her successful debut novel The Dictionary of Lost Words (2020). 

The intersection between the two are dovetailed and many familiar characters merge seamlessly into the new. A full cast of new characters, especially twin sisters Peggy and Maude, bring the dark, stark realities of life in 1914 alive. 

The ‘towns’ alongside the ‘gowns’ – a nod to the class culture alive and well. The working class of Jericho moving alongside the tradition-driven gowned scholars of Oxford. The two worlds rarely collide – until World War One. A workforce becomes diminished, and all etiquettes and ‘rules of society’ are blurred. Women are called to tasks beyond their assigned roles Peggy dares to realise a life-long dream, hidden in the depths of her heart to cross the divide to become a ‘gown’. 

Those that ‘read’ in the scholarly halls give little thought to the origins and handcraft that is invested into creating the books so readily available. Yet author Pip Williams brings a new understanding to the craft of bookbinding. Her meticulous detail and descriptions makes the reader appreciate the time and procedure and understand the ‘work of art’. The ‘Towns’ create for the ‘gowns’… unseen and yet, without the manuscripts, repairs, bindings and skills, the ‘Gowns’ would not progress. 

World War One pivots their worlds – darkness, death, the horror of war with its broken people arrives in their hometown of Jericho. Welcomed by the working class families from The Press, The Bindary and villagers to heal.

War, refugees and then the Spanish Flu anchor the tale – another most satisfying tale from Pip Williams.