Oh wow, Victoria Purman has excelled herself with her latest offering!
I was hooked right from the first sentence.
I'm only a few years older than Martha Berry, so I found it really easy to relate to her. Unlike Martha, I am married, but I didn't meet my husband until I was 39.

I love how each chapter of the book begins with a precis of what to expect, just like the radio serials did. The story just flows effortlessly. There are no superfluous words.

The characters are just so believable. I found myself loathing Quentin Quinn, the egotistical young producer hired to create the new serial As The Sun Sets. I was right behind Martha, cheering when she steps up to save the day by writing the scripts herself, drawing on her own experiences to create the wonderful characters.

Her poor mother Violet suffers in silence with her arthritis. One of my Mum's friends was like this and her poor fingers were all curled up on themselves, but she never once complained. Like Violet she just got on with things.

Victoria has really covered the way things were for young women back in the 1950's and earlier. Not being able to work once they married due to the marriage bar, only being employed as secretaries or similar, wage inequality and sexual harrassment just to name a few.

This truly was a delight to read. Thank you to #NetGalley and #HarlequinAustralia for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley, Harlequin Australia, HQ (Fiction, Non-Fiction, YA) & MIRA, and author Victoria Purman, for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review. Publication date is currently set for May 01, 2024.

Australian author, Victoria Purman has written a stunning historical fiction read which has reinvigorated my memories for this period.

The Radio Hour rewinds the clock, back to 1956. The setting is Randwick, which is in the south-eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Fifty-year-old spinster, Martha Berry is one of an army of polite, invisible women who go to work each day and get the job done, without fuss, without acclamation, or reward.

"Martha Berry was quite used to people talking about her as if she wasn't there - invisible and indispensable."

For the last 20-something years, Martha has worked tirelessly for the country's national broadcasting network. She has seen and worked for many talented people during her time with the broadcaster, but when her boss asked her to work as a script typist for Quentin Quinn - the writer and producer of a new radio serial called 'As the Sun Sets' - she had no idea how, in that moment, her life would change.

The beginning of each chapter is introduced with a short precis of events which are about to take place. Much like how I would imagine would occur at the beginning of each radio serial about to be aired that day. Imagine the voiceover if you will. Serious. Masculine. "On today's episode of Diary of a Worm, Mr Wigglesworth digs a tunnel". But in all seriousness, I thought it was a good add, however, in a few instances, they acted more like spoilers, so I ended up deciding to skip them altogether.

Purman has written relatable characters. Some are appealing - Martha, her mother, and their neighbours; together with Martha's work friends - April, May, and June (whom she lovingly refers to as 'the calendar girls'). Some are not as pleasant - writer and producer Quentin Quinn and sound technician Hansy Hooper. The storyline is simple - the writing and production of a radio serial. However, Purman's attention to detail with the historical narrative, together with the fact that she 'shows' the reader throughout the story, makes this a very enjoyable read.

When the outside world is still impacted by the lingering effects of war, rationing, sickness, and the mental health of returning soldiers, no wonder these radio serials were so popular. Get together with your friends, your neighbours, put the kettle on, have your cheese and pickle sandwiches ready, and together you all listen in for 15 minutes each day to what's happening in someone else's world.

To those of us who are old enough to remember this time - this story is a fantastic reminiscence. To those of you who were not blessed to have been acquainted with this time - The Radio Hour will be a most satisfying introduction.

Victoria Purman, The Radio Hour, Harlequin Australia, HQ & Mira, 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

The Radio Hour is an absolute delight. Victoria Purman’s skill in writing historical fiction is just one of the delights. The way in which she weaves historical information throughout a plot that depicts Australian Broadcasting Commission radio in the 1950s, while also delving into the past, is thoroughly engaging. Purnam’s skill is formidable – so rarely is historical fiction written with such excellent attention to the adage ‘show, don’t tell’ that this book really stands out. ‘Show don’t tell’ is usually used in relation to film scripts, so for the writer of a novel to be able to slip the facts into the narrative so seamlessly is special. Together with a meticulous historical narrative which deals with serious issues there are charming (and not so charming) characters, a simple but effective story line and humour.

Each chapter is introduced with a precis of the events that will take place. As well as giving the narrative the flavour of the time, this device is reminiscent of the way in which the radio serial that is to become the focus of the plot is introduced. It will follow the familiar Blue Hills to which audiences all over Australia listened as it was played in its 1.00 and evening timeslots on each weekday. In chapter 1 Miss Martha Berry, who has been filling in for a secretary who is on holiday, is advised that she will be working for a new radio producer. Quentin Quinn is to be the writer and producer of As the Sun Sets.

Martha Berry lives with her mother who, with her friends, listens avidly to Blue Hills, both the afternoon and evening versions. At work, Martha is friendly with a group of young women, April, May and June with whom she lunches, and mentors where possible. Less friendly and less pleasant are Quentin Quinn and Hansy Hooper, the sound technician. Increasingly familiar are Jack, Vera and Betty Percy, the family of As the Sun Sets, and the actors who play them. Some real ABC characters appear, most are imaginary, but all bring to the narrative a real understanding of the ABC and its programs, the world of radio and the place of women. The comparison with men’s progression through the ranks – not for them being known as the tea girl, the secretary, or the script girl if she is lucky, or suffering the marriage bar or unequal pay – is well made.

The world outside the ABC, still impacted by two world wars, the flu epidemic, rationing, the Depression and sexual discrimination is wonderfully observed. From the fear of the impact of television, Barossa Pearl (so awful) to celebrate, audiences’ pleasure in serials such as The Lawsons, Blue Hills and, on the commercial stations of course, When a Girl Marries, Portia Faces Life and Doctor Paul, an array of historical information is imparted. Often the rendition is amusing, sometimes it is heartrending, but it is never dull.

The Radio hour includes a note on where the narrative has departed from authenticity (one event took place at a different period from that in the book but is based on a real event) and a list of books that were used for research. Two of these are on my own bookshelf – and well worth a read for those for whom the novel is history. For many readers, me included, Blue Hills was part of their childhood; radio was the entertainment of choice until the advent of television, and as Purnam describes, a wooden cabinet on legs. For all those who can remember, this is a wonderful look into the past, with the realities of discrimination against women as an additional focus; for those for whom this is history, what a delightful way to learn. And most importantly for both audiences, what a truly captivating novel.