Victoria Purman first came on to my radar as an excellent writer of romantic fiction, but she’s just as talented (if not more) when it comes to historical fiction. Her historical fiction is always full of detail, including little known aspects about women’s roles. In The Women’s Pages, she takes the reader to Sydney just as World War II ends. To the modern reader, this day has always been portrayed as a day when joy returned to the lives of Australians but Purman explains that for some women, new dramas were just about to start.
The main character Tilly is a war correspondent for a Sydney newspaper. Being a woman, she’s never been allowed outside the country (just another taunt that her male colleagues can add) but she’s happy in her job. The end of the war means that she will be moving to the women’s pages – beauty, fashion, social events and gossip – all things Tilly detests. The end of the war means that Tilly’s husband, a prisoner of war should be on his way home soon. For Tilly’s friend Mary, it means that her husband will be coming home from Changi prison– but despite the much-heralded return of the first POWs, bonny and well fed, her husband is a shell of himself mentally and physically. Tilly’s sister is hoping and waiting that her husband will return home to his family…eventually. Even at home, Tilly’s father is fighting unions as the dock workers ask for a pay rise and strike action occurs. And Tilly’s unshakeable war correspondent colleague Cooper is shocked at what he finds in the prisons and war trials. It seems that the end of war doesn’t mean the end of pain and suffering.

The Women’s Pages is intricately researched down to the last detail. I don’t think I’ve read a book that describes everyday life so well for the average woman. Occasionally, the story is more detail with less action, but I think Purman should be proud of what she’s discovered (and historical fiction is the main way I learn my history). Tilly is a fascinating character, straddling the middle class with working class roots. This background gives the reader an insight into how the immediate post-war period was for many Australians, with government support to war widows being cut and these women being unable to provide for their family. (Even working women were paid less than a man for the same job and many were displaced or lost their jobs as the soldiers returned home). Tilly is a gutsy character in the workplace, but vulnerable in her personal life as multiple tragedies occur. What I liked about The Women’s Pages was the realism as characters dealt with multiple blows as the fairy-tale post-war period they had imagined didn’t come true. The women and men demonstrated courage and a plodding determination to work through this, as they had during the war years.

But the story is not all doom and gloom. There are stories of rising above adversity and a romance, plus a nice plot twist that shows just how important inside information can be. The Women’s Pages is a well written, easily readable and worthy addition to Australian historical fiction. It covers women’s lives in a way history books don’t.

Thank you to Harlequin for the ARC. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

The Women’s Pages is another captivating novel of historical fiction from best-selling author, Victoria Purman.

Set in Sydney, Australia as World War II draws to a close, Tilly Galloway is an official Women’s War Correspondent for The Daily Herald, and though she has found it frustrating that as a woman she has been restricted to reporting from the home front, she loves her job. While the end of the war is cause for celebration, for Tilly the occasion is bittersweet when her boss insists she returns to writing for the women’s pages to make way for returning serviceman, and prepare for her own husband’s homecoming.

Seamlessly merging historical facts with fiction, Purman’s focus is on exploring the post war experiences of women in this enjoyable, moving, and interesting novel. Though the end of the war brings relief, it also creates new challenges for Australian women.

Many women suddenly find their working life abruptly altered or terminated to benefit returned serviceman, and struggle with the loss of their independence. Tilly acknowledges she is lucky to still be employed, but disappointed to be reassigned to cover gossip and social events, especially when she feels strongly that there are issues women are facing which are more urgent and meaningful to report on.

Other women expect to settle back into a life of domesticity with their demobbed husbands only to discover, as does Tilly’s best friend, Mary, that their men are virtual strangers, struggling with physical injuries or mental health issues from their wartime experiences. Few men returned unchanged from the war, and women bore the brunt of the aftermath with no, or little guidance, and Purman portrays these challenges with clear-eyed compassion.

Some women, like Tilly, and her sister, Martha, discover after years of waiting, that that their husbands may not be returning at all. Tilly is increasingly anxious as there is no word of her husband, who is a Japanese prisoner of war. Martha’s husband survived the war, but has deserted her, leaving her to raise their three sons on her own without any financial support.

These are just a few of the issues for women Purman explores in The Women’s Pages, she also touches on the government’s failure to adequately provide for war widows and their now fatherless children, the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, and the divide between the experiences of working class and upper class women. Through the members of Tilly’s family, Purman also highlights the postwar Union struggle for fair wages and working conditions, particularly on the waterfront, and its effect on women, like Tilly’s mum.

Heartfelt and poignant, with appealing characters, The Women’s Pages is an excellent read which presents an engaging story that also illuminates the real history of post-war Australian women ( )