This is a really unusual concept and I still can't believe that its loosely based on a true story.

That being said, I would have preferred more court room drama, and aftermath that lots of pregnancy, births etc.

Intriguing but just wanted more.

A fictionalised retelling of a true (and utterly mad!) story, this is a hugely compelling read- examining womanhood, motherhood, and financial struggles in the early 20th century

Caroline Lea is an auto buy author for me.
She writes well, and she writes interestingly.
This story, based on fact, sounds crazy, and frankly the number of children mentioned in each family was crazy.
Two women from different backgrounds, yet neither really had the choice to say no to more children.
It's set in a cruel time, where it seems everyone suffers, yet the mothers love shines through.
That made this story more than a bit heartwarming, through the doom.
Very enjoyable.

I do love Caroline Lea and her books, they are all varied and so well researched. "Prize Women" is no exception, and excellent. Set in Canada during the '20s and '30s, against the backdrop of the great depression, women are unwittingly competing in the "Great Stork Derby", a twisted initiative set out in millionaire Charles Millar's will. The woman who produces the most children between 1926 and 1936 would inherit his fortune. Things get desperate as the deadline looms with a court case inspecting the validity of each woman's claim. The lead characters are Lea's imagining of two women heading up large families, both with different backgrounds but a close friendship in common. Very touching and educational.

A woman’s price ★★★★☆

Lily and Mae were great friends seemingly from two entirely different social spheres. As Mae struggles with motherhood and get husband’s desire for so many children in quick succession, Lily’s help is invaluable. In turn, Lily was penniless and on the run when Mae took her and her son in.

Ten years later the women’s friendship has been torn apart, the Great Depression has changed their circumstances, and they are both vying desperately for the potential winnings of The Great Stork Derby.

The flippant lawyer who left his fortune to the Toronto woman who could have the most children in ten years had no idea of the impact this would have on women who are already secondary owners of their bodies. Or perhaps he did

Pitted against each other for the sake of their surviving children and trapped by their husbands and by poverty, only Mae or Lily can claim the prize.

A moving and compelling story of friendship, motherhood and the dream of female choice.

When Italian immigrant Lily escapes her abusive husband she fears poverty in Toronto but she is employed by wealthy Mae to look after her children. Lily marries Paolo and both women's families grow. However when the Wall Street Crash occurs in 1929, Mae loses her wealth and both women are struggling to survive. Maybe the Stork Derby could be their saviour?

I had heard about the Stork Derby previously, a bizarre contest with a huge prize for the woman who had the most children in a ten year period. This is a novel based on that fact. The characters are all fictional but based on tales of poor women in Toronto in the 1930s. In fact the premise and most of teh tale is quite good. What didn't ring true to me was the 'relationship' between Mae and Lily, it felt forced and almost as though there was another agenda at play here.