A Diplomat's Guide to Book Smuggling: A Novel

By Layla McCay

Getting caught was not part of the plan. Nor was falling in love.

London, 1974. Jane Beaumont dreams of a world where she travel the globe and finally be herself. Instead, she's stuck shelving books, watching life pass her by. So when she strikes up a friendship with a (secretly) gay diplomat and learns that his career is hindered by his bachelor status, marrying him seems like the perfect solution. Yes, Jane will have to pose as the dutiful diplomat's wife, but a lifetime of travel will open up to them both, just so long as they play their parts convincingly.

Posted to Washington DC, Jane soon finds more excitement than she bargained for when the chance discovery of a sapphic novel on the bookshelves of her new residency leads her to the book's previous owner, Frances, a fellow diplomat's wife stationed in Paris. As the two begin an emotionally charged correspondence, the need arises for a one-of-a-kind book service that only Jane can provide. Suddenly she finds herself at the center of a secret literary book service, scouring bookshops for queer fiction to smuggle across the pond not only to Frances, but to other closeted diplomats.

With every book sent, the more Jane begins to find herself, but when she begins to attract unwanted attention in the rigid social circles of the Embassy, attention that puts her book service, marriage, and budding romance at stake, she'll begin to wonder: how long can she maintain her fantasy before it all comes crashing down?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1464299900
• ISBN13: 9781464299902
• Release Date: February 2027
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.9" x 5.5"