Book Notes | ‘The Bookbinder’ by Pip Williams
The story takes place in Oxford, England, between 1914 and 1920. As men are sent to the continent to fight in the Great War, women in England work to keep the nation going.
Peggy and Maude are twin sisters who work together binding books for the Oxford University Press. Maude has unspecified cognitive challenges that make her vulnerable. Peggy feels the responsibility to watch out for her sister in the bookbindery and at home.
The twins live on a narrowboat in town, working together at the bookbindery. While Maude is happy with the work and her life, Peggy dreams of more. Across from the bookbindery is Somerville College, one of the first colleges in Oxford to admit women. Peggy’s love of reading, instilled by her mother, leads her to yearn to be educated among the women she sees at Somerville coming and going.
As the story unfolds, Peggy meets a Somerville student who befriends her and helps her see that attending Somerville may be possible. The war becomes more personal as she befriends a Belgium refugee. Peggy is torn as she tries to balance her dream of reading literature at Somerville and her responsibilities to others. The story raises questions as to who has access to knowledge and how the Great War challenges assumptions and the status quo in England.
Overall, the UMRA Book Club enjoyed the book, thought it started out slowly. Many readers commented on the variety of characters they “connected with” as the story evolved. Some mentioned that WWI was less familiar context for them than stories embedded in WWII, and they enjoyed learning more about that earlier era in England.
—Kathleen Cramer, UMRA Book Club I
The Bookbinder
Fri, Aug 16, 2024, 2pm
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams when the UMRA book club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, August 16. The book is set in 1914 Oxford and chronicles the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Email Pat Tollefson at [email protected] for more information.
Upcoming Events
In 2009, Albert Lea became the pilot project for adopting Blue Zones strategies to improve a whole community’s well-being. Since then, the project has expanded to more than 70 communities across North America. Cathy Malakowsky, the guest speaker for UMRA’s March 18 workshop, will explain the changes made in Albert Lea and new projects in the works.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Good Night, Irene by the Mexican-American poet and novelist Luis Alberto Urrea when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom on Friday, March 21.
The U.S. Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John Roberts since 2025 is considered to be the most conservative and activist in history. But it has much in common with the 1963–69 Warren Court, widely viewed as the most liberal and activist. U of M professor of political science and law Timothy R. Johnson will put these claims into perspective as the guest speaker for UMRA’s March 25 brunch forum.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club will discuss The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson when it meets on Friday, March 28, via Zoom. It is a horrifying and compelling read.
The Family History Interest Group meeting on April 2 will feature a presentation by UMRA member Barbara Fifield Brandt (pictured), who will describe how she unlocked the story of her ancestor, Almira Fifield, MD (1833–63), the “lost heroine of Porter County (Indiana)” and one of the first female physicians in the U.S.
The UMRA Hiking Club will explore wildlife along the Mississippi River in Fort Snelling State Park. The 3.9-mile Pike Island Loop is generally considered an easy route and takes just over an hour. Hikers can leave at that point, or stay to add another short loop. The trail is located below the bluff on which the historic fort sits. The last time we were there we saw a lot of deer, and the river always provides fascinating views.
“Geometrical shapes” will be the theme when the UMRA Photo Club will meets on April 8 at the Hennepin County St. Anthony Library in the St. Anthony Village Shops shopping center at New Brighton and St. Anthony Boulevards. For those interested in lunch first, meet at 11:30 a.m. at the Great Dragon Buffet, located across the parking lot from the library.
The University of Minnesota Archives, with its major holdings largely tucked away in two huge underground caverns along the Mississippi River under the West Bank campus, holds the essential records of our University of Minnesota’s past. University Archivist Erik Moore will interpret the holdings and bring out a sampling of what it holds. We will also get a tour of the caverns (Minnesota Library Access Center), revealing where these precious materials are housed, including the original tapes of KUOM, now Radio K.
Would you enjoy gathering with a group of 15-20 other UMRA members to share breakfast and conversation about a specific topic? Then UMRA’s new topical breakfast gatherings at The Original Pancake House in Roseville are for you.
For UMRA’s April 15 Living Well Workshop via Zoom, professor emeritus, author, and Braver Angels co-founder Bill Doherty will share with us what he has learned about overcoming differences in our families and communities in a highly polarized world.
The UMRA Book Club will discuss Random Family by journalist Adrian Nicole LeBlanc when it meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 18, 2025.
The UMRA Hiking Club will welcome guest leaders Bion Beebe and Linda Bjornberg from Twin Cities Hiking Meetup to introduce our group to a “new-to-us” trail on Monday, April 21. We will hike approximately 4 miles at a moderate 17 to 18 mile pace along the Minnesota River to Bass Ponds, a floodplain marsh and premier birding area.
You are cordially invited to see Rick Huebsch, Associate VP for Research, Technology Commercialization at UMN, who will discuss UMN Technology Commercialization. Tech Comm facilitates the transfer of UMN innovation beyond the research lab, to benefit the public good, foster economic growth, and generate revenue to support the University's mission.
UMRA’s Earth Day forum on April 22 will feature a presentation by UMRA member Peter Moe, the recently retired director of the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. He is well known and admired for building an incredibly successful facility and program for the University.
UMRA’s Armchair Traveler program on Wednesday, April 23, will take us to the coast of British Columbia for a month-long cruise and—halfway around the world—to Rwanda, a landlocked country located just a few degrees south of the Equator in East-Central Africa.
The Black Count: Glory and Betrayal by Tom Reiss, published in 2012 and winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in biography, will be the selection for discussion when UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 25. Newcomers are welcome.
Peter Moe, retired Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director and UMRA member, will be leading a hiking tour of the Arboretum again this year. The amazing tulip display was at its peak for our hike last year, and we will undoubtedly enjoy seeing many spring-blooming trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and perennials. Plan to stay for lunch together (optional) after the hike at the Rootstock café in the Oswald Visitor Center.
Do you have a box or several albums of old family pictures that you are not quite sure what to do with? Or perhaps you just want to find out more about your ancestors and are not sure where or how to begin. This meeting of the Family history group will be an open discussion.
We will revisit the University of Minnesota Archives, with its major holdings largely tucked away in two huge underground caverns along the Mississippi River under the West Bank campus, holds the essential records of our University of Minnesota’s past. University Archivist Erik Moore will interpret the holdings and bring out a sampling of what it holds. We will also get a tour of the caverns (Minnesota Library Access Center), revealing where these precious materials are housed, including the original tapes of KUOM, now Radio K.
You are cordially invited to this presentation by Andy Whitman, Professor, Attorney, Volunteer Financial Planner. He will discuss investments for your grandchildren.
In May we will be doing a photo shoot at the Como Conservatory.
.Wood Lake Nature Center is a peaceful 150-acre cattail marsh, woodland, and restored prairie that is a haven for migrating birds and waterfowl. This UMRA hike is a great opportunity for those who would like a shorter, easier hike. The trails are dirt, grass, and woodchip, with some bridges and a bit of paved trails. Only a couple small hills to navigate, the park is mostly flat.