A BOOK TO READ: THE BOOKSHOP

The Bookshop is a novel written by British author Penelope Fitzgerald. It was published by Gerald Duckworth in 1978. The book, written in the English language, has 118 pages. The Bookshop was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1978.

The book was adapted into a film, a Spanish-British-German co-production, and was internationally released in 2017. It won three Goya Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

CHARACTERS

The characters in the book include Florence Green (the main character), Mrs. Gamart ( an ambitious and influential woman), Mrs. Gamart’s nephew (a Parliament member), and so on.

SUMMARY

The Bookshop was set in 1959. The main character, Florence Green, who was a middle-aged widow, decides to own a Bookshop in the small coastal town of Hardborough, Suffolk. Florence’s choice for the bookshop is the Old House, which is an abandoned, damp property, said to be haunted by a rapper (a poltergeist).

Florence made many sacrifices and manages to start the business. She made a lot of sales for about a year after which the sales slumped. She finds herself in a difficult situation when an influential and ambitious woman known as Mrs. Gamart wants to acquire the Old House to set up an arts center.

Things swayed to Mrs. Gamart’s part when her nephew, a member of the Parliament, sponsors a bill that empowers local councils to buy any historic building that has been left uninhabited for five years. The bill is passed, and the Old House is compulsorily purchased, while Florence is evicted.