In a letter to Stark, Ashton tells him that traveling on night-trains is a glorious experience once again. During the war, the trains were constantly delayed by troop trains and had to have blackout curtains on all the windows. She feels that during the war everyone seemed like moles scuttling along in their lonely tunnels; now the sight of families simply sitting together at their kitchen table is a delight to her.

At one bookshop, a man was aggressive with Ashton, demanding to know how she, “a mere woman,” dares to desecrate the name of Isaac Bickerstaff, a noted journalist and "the soul of eighteenth-century literature,” who is now dead. Before Ashton could answer, a woman from the back row jumped to her feet and said no one can desecrate a man who never lived. Isaac Bickerstaff was a pseudonym for Joseph Addison who published columns in Spectator magazine. Miss Ashton, the woman added, is free to choose whatever pretend name she wants.

Ashton asks Stark to investigate a man named Markham V. Reynolds. She does not know who he is, but he seems to know her itinerary. He has been sending grand bouquets of flowers to her, all with no message and only a card engraved with his name. She is not sure whether to feel “flattered or hunted.”

Sales for Izzy have been astounding; Ashton had been afraid that everyone would be so weary from the war that no one would want a remembrance of it, especially in a book. The women she has met on her book tour have told her their stories about the war, and Ashton wishes she had her column back and could write some of them. One woman told her of having four daughters in their teens. The oldest recently went to a tea at the cadet school, and when she walked into a room full of young men, she fainted. Ashton cannot imagine an entire generation growing up without the usual things young girls experience—dances, teas, and flirting.

The booksellers she has met are an exceptional group, as they are obviously in the business because they love readers and reading. Getting “first dibs” at a book is not a bad thing, either. Ashton’s and Sophie’s first job was in a second-hand bookshop. The cranky store owner used to admonish them not to get the new books dirty but then let them go off and read them.

It is always amazing to her that people go into bookstores with nothing particular in mind, just hoping to find something which will capture their attention. Once they find something and have read the blurb on the dust jacket, they wisely ask the clerks their opinions. When she and Sophie worked at the second-hand shop, their faces always gave away their opinions. When their reviews were bad, clever customers would take their advice and ask for recommendations, which they freely gave. If these customers liked their selections, they would become customers for life. Because of this, Ashton recommends that Stark send an extra copy or two of every book to the booksellers for the clerks to read. Ashton learns that thirty percent of all books that are bought are purchased as gifts, and she is surprised.

She tells Stark that she has been “made over” by Susan Scott, who reminded her that the war is over and she can do more. After overcoming her guilt, Ashton gets her hair done and buys some new beauty products and one stunning dress; she no longer feels like a “listless, bedraggled thirty-two-year-old.” Now she feels like a chic thirty-year-old who has spent nearly a year’s worth of clothing coupons. It is odd to her that there is more stringent rationing now than during the war, and she is just a bit resentful that so many of the hundreds of thousands of people in Europe who must be housed, clothed, and fed are Germans.

Ashton still has no idea for a new book.