Note from the author: The comparable title, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, was too old, but I loved the book, so I kept it. The query didn’t get traction until I added the lines, “In short: World War II. Paris is occupied. There’s a war on words, and it’s Nazis vs. American librarians.”
Dear Ms. Jackson,
I am seeking representation for THE PARIS LIBRARY. I’m writing to you because of your interest in commercial fiction that makes a difference and makes a reader want to hit the pause button on whatever they’re doing. I also appreciate your idea of a book – to inform, inspire, entertain, and surprise.
In short: World War II. Paris is occupied. There’s a war on words, and it’s Nazis vs. American Librarians. And the librarians win.
At length: The novel tells the tale of Lily, a lonely teen obsessed by her neighbor Odile, a French war bride. Lily is sure that Odile was a Résistante who passed messages to spies in books. When Odile refuses to discuss the past, Lily goes snooping and discovers Odile’s darkest secret and France’s deepest shame.
Paris, 1939. Odile has it all – a handsome police officer for a beau, an English best friend, and a job at the American Library in Paris, a thriving community of students, writers, diplomats, and booklovers. When war is declared, food becomes scarce, tempers rise, resentment sets in, and accusations fly. In a city filled with Nazis, Odile manages to be her own worst enemy, and in one moment of jealousy, she reveals a secret that ruins lives. Ashamed, she flees France by marrying a G.I. she barely knows. Her past remains a secret.
Montana, 1983. Widowed and alone, Odile suffers the solitary confinement of small-town life and feels unworthy of friendship. Though most adults are cowed by her, the neighbor girl will not let Odile be. As the two become friends, Odile sees herself in Lily – the same love of language, the same longings, the same lethal jealousy.
Fans of The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society will enjoy the deep friendships forged in THE PARIS LIBRARY as well as discover a little-known chapter of World War II history: the story of the American librarian who created the Soldiers’ Service to deliver books to servicemen, and who later faced the Nazi ‘Book Protector’ in order to keep her library open. She and her colleagues defied the Bibliotheksschutz by delivering books to Jewish readers. It was a dangerous mission: the Nazis shot a librarian.
Growing up in Montana, I lived on the same street as a French war bride, who made English sound so beautiful with her lilting accent. I live in Paris and have worked and written at the American Library, which will celebrate its centennial in 2020. My short stories have appeared in ‘Slice’ and Montana Noir. My novel Moonlight in Odessa (Bloomsbury US/ UK), about the booming business of email-order brides, was translated into ten languages. I enjoy public speaking and have spoken at literary events in France, Switzerland, England, and the US.
Thank you for reading my query letter. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Janet Skeslien Charles