My friends over at William Morrow offered me a review copy of THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY as they knew I love historical fiction. This was a fun read with interesting characters, following the life experiences of a young girl who comes, post WWI, to work at the Savoy Hotel, but who really wants to be a star of the stage.

‘Sometimes life gives you cotton stockings. Sometimes it gives you a Chanel gown …’

WILLIAM MORROW is thrilled to publish New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Hazel Gaynor’s third novel, THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY. Gaynor’s previous novels, The Girl Who Came Home (2014), and A Memory of Violets (2015) beautifully illustrated the harrowing era of the Titanic and the gritty streets of London in the 1800s. Now she takes readers back in time to the 1920s and envisions what it was like in one of the most dazzling ages; all while beautifully capturing the sadness of post-war Britain..

“these ordinary girls had been thrown into the most extraordinary experiences during the war, and, for many, the expectation to return to the domestic subservience of the prewar years was almost impossible. After the fear and desolation of war, is it any wonder they wanted to laugh and sing, dance and dazzle?”

– Hazel Gaynor

 Here’s the overview:

In THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY, we meet Dolly Lane, a dreamer but a downtrodden maid fractured by the Great War. Memories of the soldier Dolly loved, of secret shame and profound loss, by turns pull her back and spur her on to make a better life. But once Dolly makes her way as a chambermaid at London’s grandest hotel, The Savoy, she takes a step closer to the glittering lives of the Bright Young Things who thrive on champagne, jazz and rebellion.

Soon after Dolly makes her way to The Savoy, her fortunes take an unexpected turn when she responds to a struggling songwriter’s ad for a ‘muse’ and finds herself thrust into London’s exhilarating theatre scene and into the lives of celebrated actress, Loretta May, and her brother, Perry. In the end, Dolly must choose between everything she knows and everything she dreams of. A brighter future is tantalizingly close—but can a girl like Dolly ever truly leave her past behind?

A deeply compelling and emotional rags to riches story, Gaynor makes the dazzling era of the 1920s come alive within the pages of THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY.

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I loved this well-written story, which inspired a variety of emotions in me, from amusement to poignancy. While lengthy (over 400 pages), it read quickly, and I found myself easily engaged in Dolly’s story, primarily, but in the other characters, too. Of course, I always love to read about theater as well.

A recommended historical fiction read if you enjoy this time period.

Thank you for my review copy!