Book of Forbidden Words by Louise Fein
Published: February
17, 2026 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Historical
Fiction, Book About Books
From the risky backstreets of sixteenth-century Paris to the unpredictable
suburbs of mid-twentieth century New York, the stakes couldn’t be higher when,
400 years apart, Milly, Lysbette, and Charlotte each face a reality where the
spread of ideas are feared and every effort is made to suppress them.
Dramatic and affecting, and inspired by the real-life encrypted Voynich
manuscript, Book of Forbidden Words is both an engrossing
story about a timeless struggle that echoes through the ages and a testament to
the indomitable spirit of those who dare to let their words be heard.
My Thoughts:
Book of Forbidden Words is a book that read at a slower pace than I usually
read but that is because I read ever single word in the book. I did not want to miss a single one. I felt that each word was important to the
story.
This book read differently than others I have read that were
set during WWII. I expected it to be
focused on banned books and saving them, but this was more than that. The focus of women’s rights and helping
women see that they can be more than wives and mothers if they want to be made
this book a different type of historical book.
The main characters from each timeframe spoke
out in their own way knowing that they were causing a stir and possibly putting
their own lives in danger.
Book of Forbidden words tells a story that is as important
today as it was in 1952 and 1552.
Thank you William Morrow for a copy of the book in exchange
for my honest review.
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Meet the Author (taken from herwebsite): For just
about as long as I could read, I have wanted to be an author.
Much of my childhood, when not pretending to be a pony or on
my bike, was spent with my nose in a book, or escaping the mundane of everyday
life in the vastly more interesting world of my imagination.
I have always loved to write and as I grew into adulthood, I
wrote stories, diaries and poetry. Writing was always just a hobby, as I needed
to earn a living and I never once considered it could be a career.
After I finished university, I took some time out to travel,
qualified as a lawyer and worked in finance. Life became busy with a career,
husband and three children and I had little time for writing. But the bug
wouldn’t leave me alone. I used the train journey home from work to scribble
ideas, the beginnings of novels, stories and poems. I took an evening class in
creative writing at the CityLit and thought one day.
One day came when I saw an advertisement for a
master’s degree in creative writing, aimed at writing a first novel at St.
Mary’s University, London. I went home and told my husband with a sigh how much
I would love to sign up for that course. Go for it, he said. By this
time I was running my own consultancy business, and after realising he wasn’t
joking, I didn’t hesitate. I’ll give myself a year, I thought, certain I could
get a novel written in that time, and then go back to my job.
Of course, the year turned into a few, but the result was People
Like Us (Daughter of the Reich in the USA) and I’ve not looked back.
I’m incredibly lucky in that I have a supportive spouse and am now able to
write full time around family commitments.
I live in Surrey with my family, two naughty cats, and small
dog Bonnie, who is the best writing companion I could ask for. Always at my
side when I write and she listens most patiently when I need to talk through a
tricky plot problem.
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