Ladies in Black by Madeleine St John

If you’re a fan of feel-good novels then you might like to try the enjoyable Ladies in Black. Originally published as Women in Black, this edition has been published to go with the musical and feature film, with the slightly altered title.

Author Madeleine St John was born in Sydney but moved firstly to the USA and then to England. This, the first of her four novels is the only one to be set in Australia.

Sydney 1959 and bookish sixteen-year-old Lesley Miles (renaming herself Lisa) has finished her school leaving exams. With the approaching Christmas rush and the New Year sales, Lisa has found employment at the renowned Goodes Department Store in the centre of Sydney.

Lisa is assigned to the Ladies Frocks Department where she meets Miss Cartwright the buyer, Miss Jacobs, Mrs Williams (Patty), and Miss Baines (Fay) who work in Ladies Cocktail. Just past the cocktail frocks is an archway with the sign “Model Gowns” and presiding over this rose pink cave is Magda “… luscious, the svelte and full-bosomed, beautifully tailored and manicured and coiffed…” Magda is all this and a continental!

Magda takes an interest in the childish looking Lisa and so the life-changing summer begins for not only Lisa but also Patty and Fay. Amusing, witty, and clever, be prepared to be transported back in time to the fifties!

Posted by VT

Catalogue link (book): Ladies in Black

Catalogue link (DVD): Ladies in Black