I’m really delighted today – at long last! – to be joining the blog tour and sharing my review of The Manhattan Girls by the wonderful Gill Paul. Published by Avon Books on 18th August, it’s now available as an ebook, in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
I was already distinctly over-excited when I heard this book was on its way (as I am about every book by one of my very favourite authors…) – so excited that I was thrilled to be able to share the news and a first glimpse of that wonderful cover (you can read that post again here). Gill has a totally uncanny knack of choosing subjects I love for her books. The Romanovs have always been something of a personal obsession – and I entirely loved both The Secret Wife (review here) and The Lost Daughter (you’ll find that review here). Wallis Simpson has always fascinated me too – and Another Woman’s Husband was everything I wanted it would be (you’ll find my review here). And, even without asking me “who would you like me write about next?”, she then turned to Onassis, the Kennedys, and Maria Callas – The Second Marriage was totally enchanting (you’ll find that review here). And then, not long after I’d fulfilled an ambition by managing to visit the Tutankhamun exhibition in London just before the first lockdown, came The Collector’s Daughter (you’ll find my review here) – just perfect!
And as for Dorothy Parker – well, although I’m very familiar with her writing and her rapier wit, I’ve never known much about her life, and I was certainly more than happy to be whisked away to Jazz Age New York…
NEW YORK CITY, 1921
An impossible dream.
The war is over, the twenties are roaring, but in the depths of the city that never sleeps, Dorothy Parker is struggling to make her mark in a man’s world.
A broken woman.
She’s penniless, she’s unemployed and her marriage is on the rocks when she starts a bridge group with three extraordinary women – but will they be able to save her from herself?
A fight for survival.
When tragedy strikes, and everything Dorothy holds dear is threatened, it’s up to Peggy, Winifred and Jane to help her confront the truth before it’s too late. Because the stakes may be life or death…
A new novel from the internationally bestselling author, Sex and the City meets the 1920s in this sweeping tale of love, loss and the everlasting bonds of friendship.
We perhaps all feel we know a little about the life and times of Dorothy Parker – her legendary wit (and I certainly have my favourite quotes), the circles she moved in, perhaps a few details about the key moments in her sometimes troubled life. About New York in the prohibition era too – it’s been the background for plenty of stories I’ve enjoyed. But Gill Paul is a writer with a remarkable ability to breathe life into her characters and to transport her readers into that world – she uses her meticulous research to create a world I felt entirely part of, emotionally involved in the lives of her characters, through a compelling story of female friendship and support that blends historical fact and her extraordinary imagination.
At the centre of the story is Dottie herself – a fascinating portrait of supreme poise and control, surrounded by other luminaries of the literary world, enthralling everyone as she holds court at the table in the Algonquin, always ready with the next clever riposte to wound or delight. But we also see her less than perfect life – her disintegrating marriage, her loneliness, her unwise relationships, her inability to manage her life, the fragility of her mental health and her cries for help – and her extraordinary vulnerability.
The author frames her story with those of the other members of the occasional bridge club they hold in their apartments, and the other individuals’ lives are every bit as fascinating. Jane Grant is the first female reporter for The New York Times – moving into a dilapidated house on the wrong side of town, she and husband Harold are living off one salary while trying to launch their own magazine (and you might just have heard of it – The New Yorker). Winifred “Winnie” Lenahan is a Broadway actress, talented and beautiful, awaiting her big break: and Margaret Leech is an assistant at Condé Nast, working on their magazines but with aspirations to become a best selling author. Combining fact and fiction – and the author’s fascinating afterword sets out where one starts and the other comes in – we follow their lives too, their different struggles, their highs and lows, their setbacks and triumphs, their private moments and their lives as they unfold.
I loved every moment of this wonderful read, entirely immersed in the world the author created. Its setting – the era, the lifestyle, the society, the speakeasies, the free-flowing bootleg alcohol, the presence of the criminal underworld, the changing place of women – becomes so much more than background, instead a world you completely experience. The relationships between the four women are superbly drawn, the support they provide to each other both moving and convincing – and each of their lives provides a compelling story of its own, whether focused on their personal lives or their public achievements. There’s a magnificent supporting cast too – every well-drawn individual playing their part in the wider story, although the focus is always firmly on the four women at its core.
And the story-telling – because this is, after all, a work of fiction grounded in the fact – is sublime, the time and place perfectly captured, the pacing flawless as its threads tangle and unwind, the emotional depth and the extent to which you become involved in their lives simply stunning. Quite wonderful – perhaps the author’s best yet, and a book I’d highly recommend to others.
About the author
Gill Paul is an author of historical fiction, specialising in the twentieth century and often writing about the lives of real women. Her novels have topped bestseller lists in the US and Canada as well as the UK and have been translated into twenty languages. The Secret Wife has sold over half a million copies and is a book- club favourite worldwide. This is her twelfth novel. She is also the author of several non-fiction books on historical subjects. She lives in London and swims year-round in a wild pond.
Gill has an excellent website, and can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And you might also like to sign up for her newsletter…
