The Room of Lost Steps by Simon Tolkien ~ a Review

by MK French

In 1936, Barcelona, Theo helped the anarchists and was with his true love, Maria. The anarchists turn on him, so Theo returns to England to study at Oxford. Spain is in the midst of a bloody civil war, and his old schoolmate Esmond offers him the chance to fight the Fascists. Theo is unprepared for the nightmare of war, and when he returns to Barcelona, he must make a terrible choice that will define his life forever.

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September 2025; Lake Union; 978-1662528651
audio, ebook, print (379 pages); historical fiction

The Room of Lost Steps is the second half of the Theo Sterling duology. It takes place after the first half, so he's still in Spain with his mother and stepfather at the start. He is so determined to help his friend Antonio and look for Maria that he refuses to leave the city when it gets dangerous. He gets involved just as fighting breaks out and finds Maria. She's at once drawn to his calm and infuriated by the fact that he isn't as passionate about her beliefs as she is. The civil war is devastating, and he's a witness to the worst of it. As a result, we get to see up close what it was like in Barcelona, and the victims are not just the two sides shooting at each other, but the innocents who are unable to get out of the way.

Theo isn't content to use his privilege and stay in Oxford when he's able to get out of harm's way. Instead, he'd rather go back into the thick of it and go down fighting. Partly this is because he wants to get Maria's love and affection, and partly out of his sense of righteousness. He'd grown up poor in Depression era NYC, after all, and it made its mark on him. He can't stand by and let the ordinary folk get put down or slaughtered by Fascists, and would rather die than be complicit in a system like that. Of course, this puts him in the position to meet minor historical figures and talk about major historical figures in this tumultuous time. We get a ground-level view of what those years were like in Europe, leading up to WWII. It's tense and treacherous, with death, trauma, and disillusionment with politics throughout.

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Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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