The Royal Librarian

Sophie Klein was living with her family in Vienna when Hitler annexed Austria. Sophie had promised her mother that she would take care of her younger sister, Hanna, but where could they go? As her father's family was Jewish, staying in Austria was not an option.

Sophie managed to find a place for Hanna with a group of other young children being shipped to the United States. Sophie had worked in libraries and as she was fluent in German and English she eventually managed to find a position working in a library in England where part of the job description was to translate German documents into English. The library position was at the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.

In this work of historical fiction by Daisy Wood, we learn of Sophie's life and challenges from 1938 until 1943. The story is also told from the viewpoint of Lacey Jones who lives in Philadelphia in 2022. One day Lacey discovers that her grandmother had been born in Austria and that her grandmother had a sister who had worked in England in the Royal Library. Lacey decides to go to England to try and find out about her great aunt's story and why her grandmother never mentioned her sister.

The Royal Librarian is a work of fiction laced with historical facts but the information about living in the castle during the war is mainly fictional. However the author creates an atmosphere of what living in Austria and England was like during the Second World War, including the fears faced by the citizens of England as they waited for the impending German attack. It is another readable book about the challenges of living in England during the Second World War.