Pip Williams

Pippa Bennett-Warner

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The Dictionary of Lost Words

The Bookbinder of Jericho

A compelling story, beautifully told and full of vibrant characters. It's such a vivid and moving account of how the war brought not only horror and deprivation, but for some - especially women - new freedoms and opportunities which they were reluctant to give up once the fighting had ended. I absolutely loved it!

Ruth Hogan, author of The Keeper of Lost Things

What a charming, original and beautifully researched historical novel. It nails the problems facing female ambition in a man's world a century ago in such a vivid way that it speaks to us still

'A wonderful book, whose vividly-drawn characters tell the story of a pivotal period in women's history as they work behind the scenes in the bindery of the Oxford University Press. I could almost smell the ink and hear the whisper of the pages being folded, as the novel followed their traumas and their triumphs against the harrowing backdrop of the First World War.'

Fiona Valpy, author of The Dressmaker’s Gift.

An immersive and compelling tale ... Williams is a fresh, exciting new voice in historical fiction. I can't wait to see what she does next

Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go Dark

A compelling, beautifully written homage to the transformational power of books, set against the tragic backdrop of the First World War.

Daisy Wood, author of The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris

Confident and considered ... Williams fully inhabits the world of the bindery and it shows - there's hardly a page out of place

Vibrant, socially astute historical fiction, it's laden with details sure to enthral bibliophiles

[An] enjoyable, richly detailed novel

This is the kind of book you want to savour... A gorgeous read

'A brilliant exploration of who has access to knowledge and the experience of women during wartime.'

Meticulously researched and alive with colour

I've longed to return to Williams' distinctive blend of riveting historical detail and brilliant women. The Bookbinder of Jericho is everything I wanted and more

Will enfold readers in its powerful and moving narrative. A stunning companion to The Dictionary of Lost Words, this book is... another triumph for Pip Williams

Heart wrenching... Pip Williams writes with great insight and fascinating detail of working-class women, the war effort and World War I refugees

The Bookbinder of Jericho will teach you things you'll never forget - not just about how books were made, but who the women were who made them. Rich, deep and fascinating

Pip Williams has an unnerving and magnificent skill at creating characters who step off the page and directly into your heart and memory... Reading [The Bookbinder of Jericho] felt like coming home

This is the kind of book you want to savour... A gorgeous read

Brought to you by Penguin. 
 
What is lost when knowledge is withheld? 
 
Oxford, 1914. When the the young men are drawn away to fight, it is the women who must keep going. Twin sisters Peggy and Maude work in the bindery at Oxford University Press in Jericho. Peggy is intelligent, ambitious and dreams of studying - but is often reminded that her job is to bind the books, not read them. Maude, meanwhile, is extraordinary and vulnerable. She wants nothing more than what she has, and Peggy must watch over her. 
 
When refugees arrive from devastated Belgium, it sends ripples through the community and through the sisters' lives. Peggy begins to see the possibility of another future: one where she can use her intellect and not just her hands. But as war and illness reshape her world, it is love, and the responsibility that comes with it, that threaten to hold her back . . . 
 
Evocative, subversive and rich with unforgettable characters, The Bookbinder of Jericho is a story about women and knowledge: who gets to make it, who gets to use it, and what is lost when it is withheld . . . 
 
©2023 Pip Williams(P)2023 Penguin Audio

Pip Williams was born in London, grew up in Sydney and now calls the Adelaide Hills home. She is the author of the international number one bestseller, The Dictionary of Lost Words, described by The Times as 'an extraordinary, charming novel'. It was also a New York Times bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick and has been translated into over thirty languages to worldwide acclaim. Pip's second novel, The Bookbinder of Jericho, sprang from her discovery of archival footage of women who worked in the bindery of Oxford University Press during the early twentieth century. When she tried to find out more about them, there was almost nothing. Despite their important role in the production of books, barely a word has been written about them until now.

PRAISE FOR THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS: 
'A really thought-provoking novel' Reese Witherspoon 
'An enchanting story about love, loss and the power of language' Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory' 
_______________________ 
 
What is lost when knowledge is withheld? 
 
Oxford, 1914. When the the young men are drawn away to fight, it is the women who must keep going. Twin sisters Peggy and Maude work in the bindery at Oxford University Press in Jericho. Peggy is intelligent, ambitious and dreams of studying - but is often reminded that her job is to bind the books, not read them. Maude, meanwhile, is extraordinary and vulnerable. She wants nothing more than what she has, and Peggy must watch over her. 
 
When refugees arrive from devastated Belgium, it sends ripples through the community and through the sisters' lives. Peggy begins to see the possibility of another future: one where she can use her intellect and not just her hands. But as war and illness reshape her world, it is love, and the responsibility that comes with it, that threaten to hold her back . . . 
 
Evocative, subversive and rich with unforgettable characters, The Bookbinder of Jericho is a story about women and knowledge: who gets to make it, who gets to use it, and what is lost when it is withheld . . .

The Bookbinder of Jericho

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