Australian women look forward to reading the latest edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly, it has advice and information, about raising children, fashion, recipes and advertises new products. The Weekly also runs competitions, in 1956, it's a cooking contest and they have a list of ingredients to use, and the major prize is six hundred pounds, the winning recipe will be published in the magazine and it's more money than most of their husband earn in a year.

The story is told from two main characters points of view, Kathleen O’Grady, is married to Peter a mechanic, the couple have five children and live in a modest home in St. Kilda. Ivy Quinn is a war widow, she’s a single mother to her twelve year old son Raymond and she works as a doctor’s receptionist.

Kathleen is a busy housewife, she has a set weekly routine and she hates having to cook tea every night for her hungry family. Ivy works full-time, she and Raymond live on quick and easy meals and often they come out of a can. For both women, winning the money would be life changing, Ivy would be able to spend more time with Raymond and Kathleen could buy a much needed washing machine and some luxury items for herself.

Kathleen and Ivy need guidance and inspiration to expand their cooking repertoire, Kathleen’s mum offers to help her and she’s noticed her daughter is struggling to cope with motherhood, Kathleen is worn out and has lost her spark. Raymond tells Ivy about the competition, she needs to learn some basic cooking skills, a colleague from work offers to help her and she worries Raymond isn’t getting enough vitamins.

As the months pass, the seasons change and so do the lives of Kathleen and Ivy and they start to like the time they spend in the kitchen. Kathleen has been stuck in a rut, she enjoys trying new recipes and preparing food for her family, and she still longs for some time to herself. Ivy and Raymond enjoy preparing food together, she becomes more confident in the kitchen and they spend quality time with Ivy’s cooking coach. Due working at the doctors surgery Ivy realises women are struggling, she wants to help them, this means facing her own past, traumatic memories and taking a big risk.

I received a digital copy of A Woman’s Work by Victoria Purman from NetGalley and Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review. Ms. Purman writes authentic and original historical fiction about the lives of Australian women, her latest novel is set in post-war Melbourne in 1956. During lead up to the first Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere, the national hype around a magazine cooking competition and how winning anything would make most women's lives easier.

The Australian Women’s Weekly had a national focus, regardless of class and age, women from all walks of life could find information, inspiration and guidance between it's pages. Once again another impeccability written and researched narrative by Ms. Purman, set in a time when it was still a man’s world, society had rigid ideas about a women’s roles and Australian men were rather sexist and stubborn, however things were slowly starting to change and for that we should all be very grateful. Five stars from me, I learnt so much from reading this enlightening book by Ms. Purman and she's leading the way by always delivering accurate, empathetic and informative Australian historical fiction.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Melbourne 1956, and Ivy Quinn and Kathleen O’Grady are two mothers who decide to try their luck at winning a cash prize by entering a competition with the Australian Womens Weekly magazine.
Being a woman in 1956 isn’t easy. Women have very little autonomy over their lives, they’re usually at the whim of their husbands. Kathleen is a wife and mother of five children. Her husband Peter is a hardworking mechanic and life is tough. There’s never enough time in the day and she counting the days until her youngest is out of nappies. I did at times want to smack her husband in the head but I grew to appreciate him as well. He loved Kathleen and his children but being a man at that time didn’t always know how to show it.
Ivy is a single working mum to twelve year old Raymond and it’s his idea to enter the cooking competition.
I started out preferring one POV over the other but gradually grew to appreciate the other as well. This is my third book by this author and I really enjoy her writing. I like what she does with her female characters, showing their strengths and vulnerabilities in equal measure.

As always, another great book and read by Victoria Purman. It is about women, for women. It is a story of the life of a woman in the 1950's and it is a wonderful book.

A cooking competition and how its prize can change a life is what two women are after. Ivy and Kathleen have very different reasons to enter this competition but in the end it is all about providing for their families. This is their story.

This is enlightening, powerful and emotional. Even in this day and age I think most women can relate to it. As I would expect from this author it is so well written and researched, it is a story that draws you in and keeps you reading and it certainly tugs at the heartstrings.

Loved it and highly recommend it.

Another wonderful Australian themed book by Victoria Purman.
The story centres around two women living in Melbourne in the mid 1950’s. It is a man’s world but a Woman’s Weekly cooking competition strangely gives both women confidence and hope for the future, as they realise they are more than just a mother or a housewife.
There is Viv, a young war widow raising her son Raymond on her own. She works as a Drs receptionist and befriends the new Dr to the practice. There is not much in Viv’s life except her son who she loves dearly and her work. It is baked beans or eggs and sausages for dinner each evening.
Kathleen is married to a mechanic and a housewife raising 5 young children at the age of 30. There is cooking, washing more washing and more housework. She loves her family but surely there is more to life than the weekly routine of ‘Mondays was fried sausages with mashed potato, peas and carrots. Tuesdays was lamb chops with mashed potato, peas and carrots. Wednesdays was stew, usually beef and Tuna Mornay on Thursday night’. Everything is a routine even the washing and baking day.
Life changes for both women as they engage with the cooking competition, the win would be nice but the time spent creating and cooking new recipes is what changes the women’s outlook on life.
I loved that the latter chapters had a recipe from that time period - Cheese and Gherkins scones, Egg Pie, Savoury Tartlets………
This story is a real depiction of the lives of women of that time period; there was no contraception, no outside help or assistance with running a household except from kind family members, no personal space or freedom, no child care and no modern appliances to assist with household chores and there was a very limited income - women were expected to just get on with it.
I couldn’t help but think of my mother with 4 children and a serviceman husband, who was absent due to his work for many months, she was expected to just get on with life and deal with all society’s expectations of her.
A highly recommend this book as not only a great read but also a lesson in social history of women in Australia in the 1950s.

This is a powerful story told from the perspectives of two women living in the same community in 1956 Australia. Each are trying to manage their struggles with family, marriage and work. On top of this, they are dealing with society’s view of women. Women were expected to behave in a certain compliant way and perform flawless domestic duties.

War widow Ivy Quinn has a twelve year son who has never known his father but Ivy goes to great lengths to protect, provide and nurture her child in the best way she knows how. She is independent and works at the local Medical Practice. Her own past traumas make her sensitive to other’s needs and particularly compassionate to the women who walk through the practice’s doors. She is very efficient and organised in her job. The two doctors, one older and one younger, are most appreciative of her professional skills. The senior Doctor and his wife have been longstanding friends with Ivy and even have become substitute grandparents for her son. As secure and accomplished as Ivy’s life is, she carries a secret that could bring her son’s world down. She has to decide at one point who to share this burden with as it may mean helping another avoid serious consequences.

The second woman Kathleen O’Grady is married to a mechanic. They have five children. She is still a young woman but the grind of an everyday homemaker’s life with a large family to care for, has aged and worn her. She has no time for pampering herself for she is always caring for her husband’s and children’s needs. Although she clearly loves each member of her family, she is exhausted and reaching her limits of patience and strength. Her mother sees her pain and sympathises and brings something to her attention that could restore her joy and recharge her exhausted batteries (so to speak). A cooking competition from The Women’s Weekly offers an amazing amount of money that could supply her with some financial independence or at least bonus money for indulgences.

I was filled with so many emotions and thoughts as I read this novel. My heart ached at the internal pain these women endured and the silence they had to maintain to protect their positions. It was very much a man’s world that dictated a harsh reality of what women were supposed to be and what was required of them. There was no freedom or personal space. And although the story is set before my time (1956), it made me conscious of the issues my own mother would have faced. I know from history (and my mother’s comments) this novel is an astonishing and accurate portrayal of women's lives at that time and of the limitations put on them. The burdens and work load they carried proved overwhelming. Especially for those with large families, low incomes, lack of modern conveniences such as washing machines, dishwashers, disposal nappies, etc. The mundane drone of repetitive tasks, day in and day out, wore many women down. In some cases, especially for those confined in the home, there was very little mental stimulation or few adult conversations to promote development. Child care was a twenty-four hour demand with little help from spouse or others.

It is such a perfect novel in its depiction of women in the latter 1950's Australia. We see and feel their trials, limitations and frustrations. Their dark days and restless nights. And although there is plenty of despair, a light trickles through with the Australian Women's Weekly cooking contest and turns things around for these two women by offering them a chance for self-fulfilment. It gives them a goal and a means to achieve personal success. So, although I saw internal anguish visible on these pages, friendship, kindness and hope are very much a part of this story's fabric, too; especially when these two women’s paths cross. They are given a new freedom and strength.

I loved A Woman’s Work. I could not put it down, even to eat as I was so engrossed in these two women's lives. I highly recommend it and happily give it a full 5 Stars. A Woman's Work is deserving of such a mark and more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Many thanks to Harlequin Australia, HQ and Netgalley for a review copy.