How do you navigate your way in a world where nothing is quite as it seems? In her latest novel, Shrines of Gaiety, Kate Atkinson takes us back to London in 1926, a world of gangsters and Bright Young Things, dancing and revelry – all haunted by the horrors of the Great War.
Soho in the Roaring Twenties is a time of change and pain, as people struggle to shake off the past and work towards a brighter future. Amid the chaos stands one remarkable woman fighting for the survival of her family, and knowing that her daughters, in particular, could be in grave danger. They are living in a city where young women have been disappearing. Kate Atkinson is one of the most successful writers of our time, lauded for her historical fiction and her Jackson Brodie crime novels (as well as the latter’s very successful TV adaptation). This novel was described by one critic as a “genre-straddling blockbuster, which combines the colour of a historical drama with the pace of a thriller and the detail of a police procedural … crying out to be the next big Sunday night series”. The book has, however, divided both her fans and the critics, who have veered between fulsome praise and heavy criticism. Let’s see what our Goldster readers think of Shrines of Gaiety, which we hope will excite a fascinating discussion.
Goldster Magazine Book Club events are open to all, whether you’ve had the chance to read the book or not. These events are not recorded, everyone is unmuted and everyone gets the chance to meet other Goldster members. Join Lucinda and fellow Goldster members at 1pm on Tuesday 24 September.