The Librarians of Lisbon
Suzanne Nelson
Zando Pub
Feb 4th, 2025
The Librarians of Lisbon by Suzanne Nelson is a fast-paced roller-coaster ride of deceit, espionage, and danger inspired by real historical figures. The setting of Lisbon plays a significant role because Portugal was a neutral country filled with espionage, romance, and friendship.
The main characters are two Boston librarians, Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan, who are trained by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (precursor to CIA) and assigned to work in Lisbon. Their day jobs are librarians, but they are also assigned missions for which they are sworn to secrecy, unable to reveal even to each other.
Selene is from a wealthy family, both beautiful and poised, while Bea is bookish and lacks confidence. Both are caught up in treacherous game of cat and mouse alongside two of Lisbon’s most notorious men, Luca Caldeira a social outcast, and Rafael Delgado, an agent known as Gable. Despite Lisbon Portugal being neutral, it’s the last gateway to Europe, full of desperate refugees, nobility, spies, and double agents, plus there is a thriving black market because of being the top producer of wolfram, a mineral used to make ammunition.
The story is fast paced, filled with excitement, romance, and mystery.
Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?
Suzanne Nelson: It was a combination of several things. I wanted to write the setting in Lisbon Portugal because it was neutral during WWII. There were librarians, scholars, and academics operating as spies for the US government and monitoring the actions of the Nazis who were looting the literary treasures.
EC: Why Lisbon?
SN: I read this fantastic book by Neill Lochery, Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light. Both Allied and Axis spies were operating in the city simultaneously, plus the city was a huge refuge for people fleeing occupied Europe. Unfortunately, they were stalled for weeks, months, and sometimes years because they did not have the correct exit papers. The refugees included exiled Royals who fled Europe, and famous writers and artists, including the Jewish co-authors Margaret and H. A. Rey, of the “Curious George series.” It was a surreal environment where refugees were gambling side by side with the Gestapo. Many times, no one knew who a friend or foe was. There was a real sense of loneliness, desperation, and danger among a lot of people.
EC: What was the role of the Wolframite?
SN: It is a mineral that contains a metal, Tungsten. It is used in artillery manufacturing, creating impenetrable armor. Salazar, the Portuguese Prime Minister, allowed the trade to be with both the Axis and Allied countries until a few months prior to D-Day and suspended the trade for both. There was black marketing dealings and smuggling going on with the Portugal PM looking the other way. In the story Bea and Gable must discover who was selling large amounts of wolfram to the Nazis.
EC: How would you describe Selene?
SN: She is charming, from Newport Rhode Island but ends up in Boston, a thrill seeker, enthusiastic, brazen, estranged from her family, impatient, affluent upbringing, determined, and impetuous. She is also a reluctant seductress because she does not want to be known as a spy who only uses her looks and beauty to get information, but someone who can use her mind.
EC: How would you describe Bea?
SN: She is from Boston, reserved, quiet, has lost her parents, has a photographic memory, wants to be challenged, good instincts, and motivated.
EC: The relationship between Bea and Selene?
SN: They were good friends, loyal, and Bea was Selene’s lifeline. Selene wanted adventure, to take the world by storm, and dragged Bea along for the ride. But at the end of the book Bea was the one who has found her bravery, while Selene went home wounded.
EC: How would you describe Gable, the partner of Bea?
SN: Agent Gable was loosely based on Agent Garbo, a famous double agent with MI5 who had operated in Lisbon for about a year. I wanted to include a version of him in the story. He appears to be a narcissist. He is charming, a charlatan, double agent, has a temper, volatile, and blunt, with a lot of confidence.
EC: Is there a difference between the spy Gable and his alias Rafael?
SN: Rafael’s persona is a façade. He is charming, a womanizer, aristocrat, playboy, suave, and a smooth talker. His true personality is as Agent Gable behind closed doors with Bea.
EC: What about Bea and Gable’s relationship?
SN: She enjoys putting him in his place, puts up with his quirks, willing to stand up to him, and he has never experienced a woman like her. He is attracted to her but wants to control his feelings and wants to be the one in control. He is standoffish and solidarity because he believes he must be. He uses his job to prevent him from getting involved with anyone, which would expose himself to emotions.
EC: How would you describe Luca, Selene’s partner?
SN: Luca was inspired by a historical figure, Aristides de Sousa Mendes. His nickname was the Oskar Schindler of Portugal. He was the consul general who worked in France and signed 1000s of visas to allow people into Portugal even though the Portuguese PM, Salazar, forbid it. He ignored the rule and disobeyed the orders. He was blacklisted in Portugal with a tragic ending. I wrote Luca with a conscience, someone vulnerable, has built walls, moody, determined, bitter, wounded, heroic, an outcast, and gruff.
EC: What about Luca and Selene’s relationship?
SN: He is a teaser, she respects him, and they think alike. She wants to be loved for her mind. She is standoffish with men partly because of what happened to her when she was engaged. She resents that she was not allowed to do stuff the men do. Selene does not want to pass as a trophy wife and wants more than that. She gave him hope, redemption, and love.
EC: Next book(s)?
SN: I am also a children’s book author. It is a middle grade book coming out next summer that is semi-autobiographical about a newly blended family’s vacation to Yellowstone National Park. No title yet. The next adult book will be historical fiction that is WWII based. There is no publication date or title. Hopefully it will be out in 2027.
THANK YOU!!
