The Bookshop on Riverside Drive

Recently widowed, Charlotte runs off to the Swedish countryside to bury herself in work, to shield herself from her grief. Only a year has passed since her beloved husband died in a tragic accident, but Charlotte keeps locking her emotions in and thus manages to convince herself that her life is quite acceptable considering the circumstances. However, one day her haven is disrupted when a phone call reveals that she has inherited an old bookshop from her long-lost aunt.

Charlotte has no interest in visiting London, nor in owning a bookshop. With the hope of making a quick sale and rid herself of the unknown business, she hastily leaves for the city. But as soon as she sees Riverside Bookshop, with its crooked floorboards and magical aura, and meets the unruly staff, something takes root within her. Charlotte begins to question her decision.

The loneliness Charlotte has felt in the past year is slowly but surely being replaced by a feeling of belonging. She grows fond of the others working at the bookshop – Sam, a sexually liberated woman who hides her true feelings behind her humor; Martinique, who fills the bookshop with love and infatuating scents of her cooking; and William, whom Charlotte can’t quite wrap her head around. The group is hardworking and prone to laughter, and the more time Charlotte spends with them, the more she feels the cold within her slowly thawing out.

As time passes, Charlotte feels more and more connected to the bookshop, and decides to bring it back from the edge of bankruptcy. However, when she one day stumbles upon a letter that her aunt wrote before she passed away, her world turns upside down. The letter is addressed to Charlotte’s mother, and it seems as if the two sisters were close when they were young. How come Charlotte never heard from her aunt, and why did her mother never speak of her? A secret hides between the rows of the old letter and threatens to disrupt Charlottes newfound spark. Can Charlotte truly find peace again, or will darkness cloud her life once more?

In The Bookshop on Riverside Drive, Frida Skybäck depicts the crooked path out of grief and the transformative power of friendship and sisterhood. Set against the backdrop of London’s picturesque Victorian streets adorned with cascading spring blooms and charming window shutters, this heartwarming tale is a testament to the importance of belonging and the promise of a brighter future tomorrow.