The Maze Books December Book Club Pick is The Romance of a Shop by Amy Levy. We are very happy to have special host author Rachel León joining us! Rachel and author Ruth Madievsky penned the afterword for the book club pick. Because the last Thursday of the month falls on the Christmas holiday, we will be hosting the discussion on Tuesday 12/23 at 6:30pm. Copies of the book are available online via our bookshop affiliate and in-person at Maze Books in Rockford.
About the Book
“The Romance of a Shop follows the four Lorimer sisters in the wake of their father's death. Penniless and reliant on each other, they decide to open a photography studio at 20B Baker Street, offering the citizens of London quality portraits.
It's the 1880s and photography is not only growing in popularity and accessibility, but those with a critical eye are elevating the medium associated with quick and steady cash into a true art form.
With more women entering the workforce out of necessity and rebellion, the Lorimer sisters take advantage of newfound independence as they work to survive poverty, the grind and smoke of London, fraught courtships, and melodramatic twists of fate. A novel of sisterhood, love, the female gaze and postmortem photography Levy deftly balances along the thin lines of romance and realism, art and commerce.
Featuring a conversational afterword from writers Ruth Madievsky and Rachel León!” (unnamedpress.com)
About Rachel León
“Rachel León (she/they) is a writer, editor, and social worker, who has worked in the foster care system for over thirteen years. She serves as Managing Director for Chicago Review of Books and Fiction Director for Arcturus.
Her work has appeared in The Rumpus, Catapult, LA Review of Books, BOMB Magazine, Brooklyn Rail, Foglifter, Electric Literature, The Millions, Split Lip Magazine, Publishers Weekly, the Ploughshares blog, CRAFT, and elsewhere.
Her writing has been supported by Tin House’s Summer Workshop, StoryStudio Chicago’s Storyboard, Stony Brook University’s BookEnds program, and the Illinois Arts Council.
Rachel León is the editor of The Rockford Anthology (Belt Publishing, 2025). Her debut novel, How We See the Gray, is forthcoming from Curbstone Books (Northwestern University Press) May 15, 2026.” (rachelleon.me)
Event Venue
406 E. State St. , Rockford, IL, United States, Illinois 61104
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
