A Century-Old Family Secret Resurfaces Through The Lost Bookshop

— Martha pauses as she spots the bookshop in a narrow Dublin alley.

Escape From Arranged Marriage Sparks Life-Changing Journey

In 1921 London, young Opaline Carlisle refused her family's demand for an arranged marriage and ran away to Paris. There, she found work at the famous Shakespeare & Company bookstore, surrounded by rare books and literary greats. Eventually, she moved to Dublin and opened her own small bookshop with the help of a kind antiques dealer. But her brother soon tracked her down. Determined to control her, he had her committed to an asylum and secretly gave her newborn daughter up for adoption. Opaline spent nearly two decades locked away, never knowing her child was still alive.

Generations Later, Granddaughter Discovers Hidden Family Secret

In present-day Dublin, Martha escapes her abusive marriage and starts a new life working as a housekeeper in an old townhouse on Ha’penny Lane. There, she meets Henry, a British literary scholar searching for a lost manuscript by Emily Brontë. As they investigate, Martha uncovers a shocking truth: her own grandmother was the daughter Opaline lost. The discovery connects her to a family history she never knew, bridging a century of heartbreak.

The Lost Bookshop Reappears After a Century, Love Finds Its Home

As Martha pieces the mystery together, something extraordinary happens. The long-forgotten Lost Bookshop reappears on its original site, almost as if waiting for her all along. Inside its shelves lies the missing Brontë manuscript, untouched for decades. With Henry by her side, Martha becomes the new guardian of the bookshop—and of her family’s remarkable legacy. Together, they reopen the store, giving both the shop and themselves a second chance.

🎈 Want to discover the full story behind The Lost Bookshop? Pick up Evie Woods’s novel and step into a world of lost stories, buried secrets, and unexpected new beginnings.