Only two people of the group were not enthusiastic and they were very much in the minority. They felt it was predictable, undemanding and a bit formulaic but one was comfortable knowing it was going to end well. It took her about a year before she found an agent and she had her fair share of rejections too. She was just about to give up when she learned that there was a new agency being launched that needed new authors. Libby always loved fashion and the history of it and hence she majored in fashion journalism, even though her course was broader in covering anything journalism. During her years of study, she interned a lot at magazines but eventually realized this was not for her. As Kate dives deeper into the lido’s history—with the help of a charming photographer—she pieces together a portrait of the pool, and a portrait of a singular woman, Rosemary. What begins as a simple local interest story for Kate soon blossoms into a beautiful friendship that provides sustenance to both women as they galvanize the community to fight the lido’s closure. Meanwhile, Rosemary slowly, finally, begins to open up to Kate, transforming them both in ways they never knew possible. The cafe in question is near to a busy London mainline and Tube station and is an oasis for those who need a coffee and a rest at anytime of the day and night. Those who work there are the main characters , but the customers provide us with cameos and short stories within the novel. I thought this worked really well and I could envisage every one of them.

Rosemary has lived in Brixton all her life, but everything she knows is changing. Only the local lido, where she swims every day, remains a constant reminder of the past and her beloved husband George.So when the lido is threatened with closure, Kate knows this story could be her chance to shine. But for Rosemary, it could be the end of everything. Together they are determined to make a stand, and to prove that the pool is more than just a place to swim - it is the heart of the community.

A lavish depiction of an unlikely friendship, a London community and life-long love, all charmingly told in rich, yet gentle prose * CATHERINE ISAAC, author of You, Me, Everything * This is perhaps a harsh assessment of a novel that has a lovely story at its centre, but the feel-good factor can only go so far. Forget the hype – in a highly competitive arena of debut authors, The Lido is a drop in an ocean full of talent. Sarah Gilmartin Masha lives a life of self-imposed emotional isolation, in which grief and guilt have become her companions: “My grief has become an addiction; a bad habit like a tattered comfort blanket that I have held on to for far too long.”

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Day and night, Stella's Café opens its doors to the lonely and the lost, the morning people and the night owls. It's a place where everyone is always welcome, where life can wait at the door. Kate is told she should interview eighty-six year-old Rosemary Peterson, who has been coming to the pool almost daily for eighty years. Rosemary agrees to the interview IF Kate will go swimming in the pool. And that one acts changes Kate's life. Soon she and Rosemary have become fast friends and Kate is helping to organize a protest to stop the sale. I hope that reading The Lido might make readers consider the value of places in their own community, whether it’s a local library, bookshop, or swimming pool. It’s easy to take these for granted, but I think our towns and cities would be so much sadder if such places no longer existed. They represent values of community and friendship that I believe are important to all of us as humans and are worth fighting for. A joyous and uplifting debut - a testament to kindness and friendship * SARAH WINMAN, author of When God Was a Rabbit and Tin Man * I cannot wait for July so this book gets published and I could post some quotes from it - I highlighted a lot of them! There were some true gems there. I definitely recommend this book, especially because the story is about a lido (an outdoor pool) and it's almost summer time - you won't find a more perfect book! Also, get our your swimsuits out because this book WILL make you want to swim.

Hannah and Mona are waitresses at Stella's, a 24-hour a day cafe in London. During their shifts, they see all sorts of people coming in and out, and this book does give a short snapshot of a few of the customers they get in. Everyone has a story, and some of them get told in here. The early articles that Kate writes for the Brixton Chronicle are “not stories that she would show the tutors who taught her journalism master’s classes” and the fact that her mother collects them in a scrapbook “makes it even worse” (9). Describe the Kate’s articles. Why is she ashamed of them? Why do you think her mother’s saving them compounds Kate’s feelings? Do you think she is a good journalist? Explain your answer. What skills does her job require? Si algo tiene esta novela es la solidaridad, esa de ayudar a las personas por que si, por el hecho de ayudar sin pedir nada a cambio, de esas novelas que son las que me gustan, que a pesar de todo, los seres humanos somos buenos, de esas novelas que de vez en cuando te demuestran que se puede confiar en los demás, que te endulzan el corazón y que a pesar del egoísmo que mueve el mundo, hay personas que están dispuesta a darlo todo, con la sola intención de ayudar a mejorar el mundo.But when a local developer attempts to buy the lido for a posh new apartment complex, Rosemary’s fond memories and sense of community are under threat. Rosemary then discovers that the Lido is soon to be closed, bought from Lambeth Council by Paradise Living property developers, and turned into a gym and tennis court. The pool to be cemented over. Yet another local public facility sold off to the highest bidder. She starts a campaign to save the Lido which Kate is asked to report on and she realises this might be her ‘big story’. She meets Rosemary by the pool and, despite the age gap, they find they have a mutual bond; Rosemary is trying to save her home and Kate is trying to find one… the Lido. This is how they join together, these two women sixty-some years apart in age, to save the lido, Rosemary’s memories, and maybe even Kate, as well.

Cuando una persona se derrumba. Crees que los huesos y la piel son un buen andamiaje, pero cuando una persona se derrumba te das cuenta de que no estamos construidos con un material lo bastante fuerte. A beautifully written testament to unlikely friendship, the galvanising pursuit of common goals and lifelong passions which link individuals with their community * DAILY MAIL * I spent about six months prior to writing The Lido planning the story. This didn’t mean plotting the entire book; instead I wanted to really flesh out the characters and the themes in the story before starting to write. That way it meant that the characters and the story were able to take themselves in their own direction to a certain extent. That said, I had the idea for the final line of my book very early on. I found that it helped to know the point that I was working towards. This book is not about the plot, it is about the characters and how they grow, and the lido itself is a main character and is portrayed as such.The cafe comes with its own unique style as it shares glimpses of the lives of Mona and Hanna who are best friends and actresses at the cafe. During the 24 hours, we get to know the friends and some of the patrons of the restaurant. When asked about why the lido is important to her, Rosemary “can’t begin to say everything so instead she says the start of the truth” (64). Discuss some of the reasons the lido is so important to Rosemary and to the community of Brixton. If Kate were asked the same question, what do you think her answer would be? Are there any places in your life that are as important to you as the lido is to Rosemary and Kate? Tell your book club about them.