This is a highly readable, commercial bookclub novel set in 1960s London, told in the third person, and centred on the constraints placed on women seeking purpose, autonomy and creative fulfilment. It combines a feel-good historical tone with a bookish premise and the contemporary appetite for spicy fiction.
Mitzy Barlow is an average housewife, married to factory worker Ron and raising their two young children. Trapped in a loveless marriage and the stifling monotony of domestic life, she longs for the person she used to be. To supplement the household income she begins hosting Tupperware parties, much to Ron’s irritation; he is proud, financially strained, and deeply uncomfortable with his wife working or spending time outside the home. Mitzy has always loved romance novels and once wrote humorous stories under her childhood nickname, Queenie.
When she spots an advert for a copywriting role, Mitzy applies in secret. Although she stands up to the sexist interviewer and assumes she has failed, she is unexpectedly offered the job, provided she can source her own typewriter. Her friend Nancy — far more emancipated than the other women in their circle, happily cohabiting with her supportive partner Arthur — lends her the money and encourages her to write creatively alongside the paid work.
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