The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John

The Women in Black by Madeleine St. John

Women in Black by Madeleine St. John is a charming traipse through old time 1950s Sydney society. It follows the lives of women working in a department store as they navigate through various things from growing up, finding love, and their friendships with one another. St. John’s decision to set her novel in the 1950s also enables her to write her way through some important moments in Australia’s history. That is, the way Sydney’s societal landscape shifted to accommodate new roles for women and European migrants (particularly from Eastern and Central Europe).  

The novel makes a conscious choice to keep things light, painting a version of events that sees relations between women, men, migrants, bosses, and others, through a breezy and humorous lens. It does not seem to be striving to make a serious social commentary, rather, only using its historical setting to add some additional layers of intrigue to the plot. It largely succeeds in this endeavour, St. John strikes often with razor sharp and witty observations of her characters and the world in which they inhabit   

I would recommend Women in Black to anyone who would enjoy a novel that is historical, lively, and entertaining 

 

Women in Black by Madeleine St. John 


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