They are best friends - Julia and Mattie - who escape dreary suburban lives for the streets of London, a city that promises to fulfill all their dreams of glamour, fame, and love. After a night spent huddled in front of the Savoy Hotel, they begin their great adventure, dancing the night away in smoky Soho clubs, crashing parties and gallery openings, and meeting men who weill teach them their power - and frailties - as women.
From Publishers Weekly
In the late 1950s, Julia and Mattie, two English teens, flee the stifling confines of their suburban homes for the excitement of swinging London. Over the span of three decades, Thomas ( The White Dove ) makes their lively friendship glow with rude life. From the dim dance floor of the Rocket Club to the streets of Soho and on into the English countryside, the two charm and bluff their way into parties, hearts and careers. As an actress in a gritty modern play, Mattie strikes gold first. Julia drifts aimlessly into marriage with a member of the landed gentry, but a ruinous fire and an unassuaged longing for the love of an elusive aviator sends her back to London to carve out a niche for herself. Thomas has a gift for breathing life into settings and situations that in other hands might be overly familiar.
From Library Journal
A big, juicy novel, this is the story of Julia and Mattie, two vivacious English girls who run away to London in 1955. Recklessly rebellious Mattie, escaping childhood poverty and sexual abuse, wants to be an actress. Julia, stylish and smart, just knows she must get away from her repressive parents. The girls' hunger for life sets the tone for the novel, as we follow them through the sleaziest and most glamorous parts of London; through three decades of relationships, marriages, career struggles, mother-daughter conflicts, and a friendship that wavers but never dies. Thomas has an appealing writing style and knows how to reach beyond the basics of light fiction to involve the reader as her characters grow in strength and maturity. From the author of The White Dove (LJ 5/15/86), this is a "good read" in the best sense of the term.
In the late 1950s, Julia and Mattie, two English teens, flee the stifling confines of their suburban homes for the excitement of swinging London. Over the span of three decades, Thomas ( The White Dove ) makes their lively friendship glow with rude life. From the dim dance floor of the Rocket Club to the streets of Soho and on into the English countryside, the two charm and bluff their way into parties, hearts and careers. As an actress in a gritty modern play, Mattie strikes gold first. Julia drifts aimlessly into marriage with a member of the landed gentry, but a ruinous fire and an unassuaged longing for the love of an elusive aviator sends her back to London to carve out a niche for herself. Thomas has a gift for breathing life into settings and situations that in other hands might be overly familiar.
From Library Journal
A big, juicy novel, this is the story of Julia and Mattie, two vivacious English girls who run away to London in 1955. Recklessly rebellious Mattie, escaping childhood poverty and sexual abuse, wants to be an actress. Julia, stylish and smart, just knows she must get away from her repressive parents. The girls' hunger for life sets the tone for the novel, as we follow them through the sleaziest and most glamorous parts of London; through three decades of relationships, marriages, career struggles, mother-daughter conflicts, and a friendship that wavers but never dies. Thomas has an appealing writing style and knows how to reach beyond the basics of light fiction to involve the reader as her characters grow in strength and maturity. From the author of The White Dove (LJ 5/15/86), this is a "good read" in the best sense of the term.
