![]() ![]() ![]() So now his grandchildren were the principal shareholders in a concern which turned over several million Australian pounds every year, selling the latest London modes, and any modes from other sources which looked likely. Goode, a sharp Mancunian, had opened his original Emporium (“Ladies’ and Gents’ Apparel-All the Latest London Modes”) at the end of the last century, and had never looked back, because the people of the colony, he saw straightaway, would spend pretty well all they had in order to convince themselves that they were in the fashion. Williams, Patty, and Miss Baines, Fay, worked together with Miss Jacobs on Ladies’ Cocktail Frocks, which was next to Ladies’ Evening Frocks, down at the end of the second floor of Goode’s Department Store in the centre of Sydney. Williams was washing out her undies in the handbasin that night she had a sudden sensation that her life was slipping away with the rinsing water as it gurgled down the plughole but she pulled herself together and went on with her chores, while the antipodean summer night throbbed outside all around her. Which was quite true: the great festival being now only six weeks away, the crowds of customers were beginning to surge and the frocks to vanish from the rails in an ever-faster flurry, and when Mrs. “As if we could help it!” said Miss Baines. “She wants to make sure we earn our Christmas bonus.” “She always gets worse at this time of the year,” she pointed out. Williams shrugged and began to powder her nose. Miss Cartright was the buyer, and she never seemed to give them a moment’s peace. Ryder’s not so bad,” said Miss Baines, in reference to the floor manager “it’s that Miss Cartright who’s a pain in the neck, excuse my French.” ![]() Williams of the Ladies’ Frocks Department at Goode’s were complaining to each other while they changed out of their black frocks before going home. ExcerptĪt the end of a hot November day Miss Baines and Mrs. Maisel, The Women in Black conjures the energy of a city on the cusp of change and is a testament to the timeless importance of female friendship. Lisa wants to go to university and dreams of becoming a poet, but her father objects to both notions.īy the time the last marked-down dress is sold, all of their lives will be forever changed.Ī pitch-perfect comedy of manners set during a pivotal era, and perfect for fans of The Marvelous Mrs. Lisa, a clever and shy teenager, takes a job at Goode’s during her school break. A Slovenian émigré, Magda is cultured and continental and hopes to open her own boutique one day. Glamorous Magda runs the high-end gowns department. Sweet, unlucky Fay wants to settle down with a nice man, but somehow nice men don’t see her as marriage material. Patty yearns for a baby, but Frank is always too tired for that kind of thing. Her husband, Frank, eats a steak for dinner every night, watches a few minutes of TV, and then turns in. Patty, in her mid-thirties, has been working at Goode’s for years. But they somehow find time to pursue other goals… The women in black, so named for the black frocks they wear while working at Goode’s department store, are busy selling ladies’ dresses during the holiday rush. “A deceptively smart comic gem.” – The New York Times Book Review John’s novel is a literary boost for the spirits.” -Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air “Tart, beguiling, witty and compassionate, Madeleine St. “The book I most often give as a gift to cheer people up.” -Hilary Mantel ![]()
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