An uplifting and inspiring novel based on the true story of a librarian who created an underground shelter during World War II, perfect for readers ofThe Paris LibraryorThe Last Bookshop in London.

London, 1944: Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While war ravages the city above her, Clara has risked everything she holds dear to turn the Bethnal Green tube station into the countrys only underground library. Down here, a secret community thrives with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a caf, and a theateroffering shelter, solace, and escape from the bombs that fall upon their city.

Along with her glamorous best friend and assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it may come at the price of keeping those closest to them alive.