The Women in Black: A Novel - Softcover

St John, Madeleine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1982134089 ISBN 13: 9781982134082

Publisher: Scribner, 2020

Synopsis

“The book I most often give as a gift to cheer people up.” —Hilary Mantel

An irresistibly charming debut novel set in a department store in Sydney in the 1950s.

The women in black, so named for the black frocks they wear while working at an upscale department store called Goode’s, are run off their feet selling ladies’ cocktail dresses during the busy season. But in Sydney in the 1950s, there’s always time to pursue other goals...

Patty, in her mid-thirties, has been working at Goode’s for years. She’s married to Frank, who eats a steak for dinner every night, watches a few minutes of TV, and then turns in, leaving Patty to her own thoughts. She wants a baby, but Frank is always too tired for that kind of thing. Sweet Fay, wants to settle down with a nice man, but somehow nice men don’t see her as marriage material.

The glamorous Magda runs the high-end gowns department. A Slovenian émigré who met her Hungarian husband in a refugee camp, Magda is clever and cultured. She finds the Australians to be unfashionable, and dreams of opening her own boutique one day.

Lisa, a teenager awaiting the results of her final exams, takes a job at Goode’s for the holidays. She wants to go to university and secretly dreams of being a poet, but her father objects to both notions. Magda takes Lisa under her wing, and by the time the last marked-down dress has been sold, all of their lives will be forever changed.

Perfect for fans of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, this delightful and uplifting novel portrays the roles of women in the 1950s and the timeless importance of female friendship.

About this title

About the Author

Madeleine St. John was born in Sydney in 1941. In 1965 she moved to the United States and attended Stanford, and later moved to England to attend Cambridge University. In 1993, she published her debut novel in Australia, The Women in Black. She is author of three other novels including The Essence of the Thing, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. St. John was the first Australian woman to receive this honor. Madeleine St. John died in 2006.

Review

"A little gem... shot through with old-fashioned innocence and sly humour." 
—Vogue

"A highly sophisticated work, full of funny, sharp and subtle observations...a small masterpiece." 
—Sunday Times (UK)

"There is something special about...The Women in Black. St John's tone is... a joy: brisk, perfectly managed and, in its disdain for clutter, oddly life-affirming. She casts an airy spell with the deftness of her prose, which moves gracefully, swiftly and with perfect manners... [St John] conjures a Sydney on the cusp of modern promise; a place where her characters can meet the future with a bright face and step out of the past like an old dress, where limits can be lightly shaken off." 
—Delia Falconer, Australian

"Seductive, hilarious, brilliantly observed, this novel shimmers with wit and tenderness." 
—Helen Garner, author of Monkey Grip and The Spare Room

"A delicious book. Funny and happy, it's like the breath of youth again."
—Jane Gardam 

"A witty little gem of a tale... instantly transports readers back to a more genteel era." --Kirkus

 

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 1982134089
• ISBN 13: 9781982134082
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224