The Sisters of Book Row by Shelley Noble was an historical fiction novel focusing on the early 1900s. This was a time in NYC where Margaret Sanger had started to work on opening and funding many women’s clinics focusing on lifting women out of poverty through learning about birth control and women’s health. It is also the time of Anthony Comstark, one of the most powerful men fighting what he determined was obscene and lewd published material.
Into this time, Olivia, Daphne, and Celia Applebaum, are the owners of Arcadia Rare Bookshop in a section of NYC called Manhattan’s Book Row. Each of the sisters have to work together for their bookstore, but each has a secret (or two) that they keep to themselves. Olivia is trying to sell rare books that would meet Comstark’s rigid rules without drawing any attention to the store. Celia is working with the Sanger’s supporters having pamphlets printed and delivered to various people. This is one of Comstark’s targeted groups. Daphne just wants to find a husband, a family and make the bookstore better. The sisters have decisions to make and will need the strength of Manhattan’s Book Row.
The book is told by the different sister’s voices allowing the reader to see each of the sisters as individuals. I loved how the story wove each of their desires, concerns and foibles. I learned so much about Comstark and Margaret Sanger as the information was interwoven within the story.
The Sisters of Book Row by Shelley Noble was a fabulous read!
