A Special Message from Anne Youngson

Anne Youngson took the library world by storm with her debut novel MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM. And now she’s back with a special message for librarians and to tell you about her forthcoming novel, THE NARROWBOAT SUMMER.

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Dear Librarian,

I have been a fan of libraries all my life. I was brought up in a town called Reading, and I grew up loving reading, which was thanks, in a large part, not to the name of the town (which didn’t even sound the same) but to the Reading Public Library. There were books at home and at school, of course, but only in the library could I make my own choices and begin to explore according to my own whims and tastes. When my first novel, MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM, was about to be published, I found out how important libraries are in the USA,
how well-organized and vibrant. You take libraries seriously, over there, which is exactly as it should be. Before the book was launched, I had the chance to visit the ALA convention in New Orleans, and was overwhelmed by the number of topics under discussion, and the interest in books of all kinds. It seemed to me as if the libraries and the people who work in them are at the center of the life- in-books that all readers lead, alongside real life. Having MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM promoted by the library network meant that, after the launch, I was able to meet (virtually) so many librarians, and the readers they inspire, to talk about the book and what they had felt about it. I loved that so many of the librarians guided their members towards MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM, and I am hopeful they will do the same for THE NARROWBOAT SUMMER, when that is launched in January 2021. It is, like my first novel, a story about a time of change, and about how to see what is positive in letting go of parts of the past, in favour of something new. I hope this novel is able to bring you, and readers who frequent your library, hope and light this year.

With all my best,
Anne Youngson

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THE NARROWBOAT SUMMER
ISBN 9781250764614, on sale 1/26/21

Meet Eve, who has left her thirty-year career to become a Free Spirit; Sally, who has waved goodbye to her indifferent husband and two grown-up children; and Anastasia, a defiantly independent narrowboat-dweller, who is suddenly landlocked and vulnerable. Before they quite know what they’ve done, Sally and Eve agree to drive Anastasia’s narrowboat on a journey through the canals of England, as she awaits a life-saving operation. As they glide gently – and not so gently – through the countryside, the eccentricities and challenges of narrowboat life draw them inexorably together, and a tender and unforgettable story unfolds. At summer’s end, all three women must decide whether to return to the lives they left behind, or forge a new path forward.