-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A Novel
by Julia Bryan Thomas
For readers of Martha Hall Kelly and Beatriz Williams, "a story of female freedom and constraints that doesn't shy away from the trauma―and joy―that faced U.S. women"(Kirkus) during a pivotal period in American history.
Literature impacts us all uniquely ― but also unites us.
Massachusetts, 1954. Alice Campbell escapes halfway across the country and finds herself in front of a derelict building tucked among the cobblestone streets of Cambridge, and she turns that sad little shop into the charming bookstore of her dreams.
Tess, Caroline, Evie, and Merritt become fast friends in the sanctuary of Alice's monthly reading club at The Cambridge Bookshop, where they escape the pressures of being newly independent college women in a world that seems to want to keep them in the kitchen. But they each embody very different personalities, and when a member of the group finds herself shattered, everything they know about each other―and themselves―will be called into question.
A heart-wrenching, inspiring, extraordinary love letter to books set against the backdrop of one of the most pivotal periods in American history, The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club explores how women forge their own paths, regardless of what society expects of them, and illuminates the importance of literature and the vital conversations it sparks.
"A story of female freedom and constraints that doesn't shy away from the trauma―and joy―that faced U.S. women in the 1950s." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Readers who enjoy character-driven narratives will appreciate the gradual but notable changes in the friendships and how the women relate to one another... . a great choice for book clubs." ―Library Journal
"Relevant now ... A good fit for enthusiasts of historical fiction centering young women, New England settings, and college nostalgia." ―Booklist
"A loving, engaging tribute to female friendship and the intimate power of books." ―Mary Anna Evans, Benjamin Franklin Award-winning author of The Physicist's Daughter
"Elegant prose and compelling storytelling….I loved every heartbreaking, empowering, unexpected and uplifting moment of it." ―Penny Haw, author of The Invincible Miss Cust
This information about The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Julia Bryan Thomas is a graduate of Northeastern State University and the Yale Writers' Workshop. She is married to mystery novelist Will Thomas.
If you liked The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club, try these:
by Alina Grabowski
Published 2025
A gripping literary puzzle that unwinds the private lives of ten women as they confront tragedy in a small Massachusetts town.
by Kristin Hannah
Published 2025
From master storyteller Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s.
by Samantha Silva
Published 2022
From the acclaimed author of Mr. Dickens and His Carol, a richly-imagined reckoning with the life of another cherished literary legend: Mary Wollstonecraft – arguably the world's first feminist.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
One spring morning, a stranger arrives in the small southern city of Golden. No one knows where he has come from…or why…
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
