Presenting a dazzling new historical novel … The Girl
From The Savoy is as sparkling as champagne and as thrilling as the era itself.
‘Sometimes life gives you cotton stockings. Sometimes it gives you
a Chanel gown …’
Dolly Lane is a dreamer; a downtrodden maid who longs to
dance on the London stage, but her life has been fractured by the Great War.
Memories of the soldier she loved, of secret shame and profound loss, by turns
pull her back and spur her on to make a better life.
When she finds employment as a chambermaid at London’s
grandest hotel, The Savoy, Dolly takes a step closer to the glittering lives of
the Bright Young Things who thrive on champagne, jazz and rebellion. Right now,
she must exist on the fringes of power, wealth and glamor—she must remain
invisible and unimportant.
But her fortunes take an unexpected turn when she
responds to a struggling songwriter’s advertisement 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. Loretta and Perry may have
the life Dolly aspires to, but they too are searching for something.
Now, at the precipice of the life she has and the one
she longs for, the girl from The Savoy must make difficult choices: between two
men; between two classes, 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?
I had mixed feelings about this book. I think it tried to be too many things; there was just too much going on and too many plot points. I will say that everything that happens (for the most part) is linked.
But again some of it was too much, especially since I wanted more in depth explanations for some things and less for others.
Told from three different first person viewpoints doesn’t sound like it would work, but it does...to a point. I couldn't completely warm up to everyone equally. A shame because these are really good characters here. Perhaps if the book had been longer?
I know it doesn't sound like I liked this book that much, but I did. Overall this was a compelling, interesting read. Ms Gaynor has a way with her words, immersing you in the story, engaging all of your senses. The time period and environment are so well written I really felt as if I was smelling, hearing, seeing, and touching things.
I'm a fan of old B&W films and Ms Gaynor's cinematic writing style makes this feel like an old time movie. It's brilliant in that regard. If you've read her prior works, I think you'll enjoy this(I read and enjoyed A Memory of Violets).
Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A MEMORY OF VIOLETS and THE GIRL
WHO CAME HOME, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year
award. She was selected by US Library Journal as one of ‘Ten Big Breakout
Authors’ for 2015 and her work has been translated into several languages.
Hazel is a contributing author to WWI anthology FALL OF POPPIES: Stories of
Love and the Great War. As features writer for national Irish writing website
writing.ie Hazel has interviewed Philippa Gregory, Sebastian Faulks, Kate Mosse,
Jojo Moyes and Cheryl Strayed, among others.
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