The story of three woman living in flats in Dove Street, London in the 1950’s.
Each of these women living a sad life and looking for a new beginning and a brighter future.
A good story that made me care about the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin, Random House for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve heard good reviews about the author’s last novel, and so I was excited to read 73 Dove Street. Thankfully, it did not disappoint!

I won’t spoil the plot for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. The story focuses on three women who live in a boarding house in London, 1958 – Phyllis, the landlady, Edie and Tommie, her lodgers. They rarely interacted, which I would imagine is commonplace in a landlady/lodger situation.
I enjoyed how the characters back stories were told in flashbacks which were relevant to how they ended up living together, whilst also moving the narrative forward. Descriptions of people and places were well written, and you could picture the characters, and almost smell the air of the city or alcohol in the bars. It made some of the themes a bit more uncomfortable (including domestic violence, abortion, and death) as you were immediately invested in the stories of the women.
The ending felt that it was left open ended, but deliberately so, as if to say that everyone just carried on and got on with their lives.

The story was engaging, and I found that once I started reading, I did not want to put it down.


*Thankyou to #NetGalley and the publisher Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the advance copy of #73DoveStreet

I loved this authors first book, so always a tad nervous walking into second book territory. I needn't have worried, as within the first few pages, I knew I was in safe hands.

Edie's story touched me from the off, and I was fully invested the whole way through. Tommie took some warming up for me, and Phyllis I was left a tad disinterested. That being said, Edie's story is one that hooked me, and had emotional power behind it. Moving, touching and oh so desperate.

There was a lot of time hopping, which I have to be honest, took me to about halfway through before I settled into it. I also would have liked to have seen more of London and where they were. A fire at the start brings it to life but then the general area gets lost- maybe deliberate due to Edie and her naivety.

Overall a good read, reflective of that time and one I'd recommend.

Thank you for letting me read this, The London setting is so evocative and wonderfully done and I was immediately swept up by the lives of the three main characters, their hopes and dreams. I felt for their losses too, family, freedom and love. But there was always hope and that’s what I felt so glad about at the end. Julie Owen Moylan creates the most astonishing female characters and I’m so honoured to have met all these women.

73 Dove Street has such a strong emotional pull. There are echoes of Graham Greene’s ‘Brighton Rock’ with some of the characterisation. Really connected with Edie and rooted for her all the way.

I’ve just finished reading 73 Dove Street, a book I just couldn’t stop reading until I finished so did just that. Edie, Phyllis and Tommie all had their own sadness, all had their own way of dealing with this. The characters were so believable, their stories so sad but I felt at the end sunshine might just be there for them. A fabulous read about real women.

I devoured this in two days! Meticulously crafted, it felt like I was stepping back in time to the 1950s. I could hear the hiss of gas, taste the Milk Tray lime barrel chocolate, and recall the Gold Top milk. As a child of the 60s, some of these things still lingered.

The story itself is a stark reminder of how different, and difficult, women's lives were, just over 60 years ago. Women were expected to marry at a young age, and "obey" was taken seriously. Working class women invariably had to give up work and were dependent on their husbands giving them housekeeping money.

Parents often abandoned their daughters if they fell pregnant out of wedlock so many had to go through shot gun weddings. The concept of husbands beating their wives was viewed as a joke or a sport by men down the pub, referring to giving the missus a bit of a slap.

We meet three very different women at 73 Dove Street, all with toxic experiences of men. Edie has been cowed by her brutal husband. Finally brave enough to run away from home, she needs the steadying arm of Tommie to take her real steps to freedom. I love the rebuttal that Tommie gives when her on/off boyfriend describes her as "broken". Yes, she has had some traumatic life events, but he has been lucky that he hasn't, and will no doubt go through some eventually. Phyllis is the landlady, concealing her grief and humiliation at finding her husband in bed with another woman.

The book avoided the usual "instant BFF" ploy that's often employed when writers talk about women meeting, and finding their female soulmate.

I loved the spotlight that Owen Moylan brings to these times, so recent and yet so distant. My grandmother had a hard life but she made the best of it. The fight for equality and abortion rights is not over yet. We can see how far we have come since the 50s, but Roe/Wade shows us that we could still revert to dark times.

Thanks to NetGalley, Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House for the ARC.

4.5 rounded up

The publisher describes this as “An emotionally, gripping novel set in 1950s, London“. Yes, that’s exactly what it is, and I’ll add in that it is beautifully written.

This is a novel about three resilient women. Edie Budd clutches her small, shabby suitcase and makes her way to 73 Dove Street, a scruffy neighbourhood in West London. Number 73 is a sight for sore eyes as bizarrely there’s a bonfire outside on the pavement, a mattress and assorted belongings burning away. These objects belong to landlady Phyllis Collier‘s husband who has betrayed her. Phyllis insists she keeps a respectable house and as she shows Edie her small attic attic room, she meets another resident in whirlwind Tommie. She works for wealthy eccentric Mrs Vee but there’s way more going on in Tommies life than meets the eye. At first, these three women have a little contact but eventually secrets, lies, and fear bring them all together and forcing life changing decisions.

I liked ‘That Green Eyed Girl’ but I love this latest book from Julie Owen Moylan. The characterisation of these hurt if not broken women is excellent. I like the way the Edie’s story is told via backtracking to 5 years ago and bringing it up to date and it makes you want to weep. Phyllis and Tommie seem to wear armour, the latter being vibrant and alive but both bear scars too. They have many things in common such as loss and betrayal but there’s psychological and physical damage too as well as obsessive love. However, rising above all these issues is a growing deep friendship which shines through the dark times. Parts of the story are bleak and one of the aspects that makes me sad is the shame and blame some carry for things that are not their fault. This is a very character driven novel and is a slow burner but that suits the tense and escalating storyline. There are shocks, surprises (some awful ones), there are some good plot twists too. At times, it’s funny and witty which contrasts well with the present day circumstances. I love the parts of the novel that are set in Soho which the author brings alive. The 1950s is one of the stars of the show and it’s captured so well. The fog, the chill, the gas fires, the gender specific roles, the dancing and the taffeta dresses. Wonderful!

Overall, I so enjoy being transported back to this period of time in this immersive and compelling novel. I can’t wait to read what the author imagines next. Highly recommended.

When Edie Budd arrives at a shabby West London boarding house in October 1958, carrying nothing except a broken suitcase and an envelope full of cash, it's clear she's hiding a terrible secret. And she's not the only one; the other women of 73 Dove Street have secrets of their own . . .

Tommie, who lives on the second floor, waits on the eccentric Mrs Vee by day. After dark, she harbours an addiction to seedy Soho nightlife - and a man she can't quit.

Phyllis, 73 Dove Street's formidable landlady, has set fire to her husband's belongings after discovering a heart-breaking betrayal - yet her fierce bravado hides a past she doesn't want to talk about.

At first, the three women keep to themselves. But as Edie's past catches up with her, Tommie becomes caught in her web of lies - forcing her to make a decision that will change everything . . .

I loved this book! It's the story of three women in late 1950s London and gives a very real picture of what life was like for ordinary working class women of the time. The War wasn't long over and both men and women had been damaged and left changed from the experiences of that time and women's equality was a long way off ( still is). Domestic violence was an everyday occurrence for many and people turned a blind eye to it. Few jobs were available to a married woman.

I loved the detail and the love and respect shown to these three women and the understanding that their lives formed us too. Searching for and deserving love and respect from a male partner was so hard. Unwanted pregnancies were resolved by a visit to a kind woman with a crochet hook. These times are described as when women looked out for each other and I hope that's still true today.
Fabulous characters, great descriptions of London and a time that is oh so familiar.

Just great

absolutely loved the author previously book and I think I loved this book more what a wonderful powerful story this book tells of the three women set in the 1950's without giving any spoilers away all i can say is this book is outstanding and I will be ordering a copy of this book for my gran to read when it comes out as she love it like I did.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for my copy of this book

This is such a beautiful book about three ordinary women living in 1950s London. I particularly like the setting of 1958 because so much is written about the swinging 60s, when a few years earlier everything was very different.

I was a huge fan of Julie Owen Moylan's first book, and this one has been the perfect follow up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for an advanced copy.

73 Dove Street is a historical novel of women's lives in post-war London, weaving together the stories of three women who briefly live in a boarding house together.

This is more a novel of themes rather than plot, exploring subjects such as domestic violence, grief and dependency. While there's a mystery at its heart, none of the characters are ever really curious enough to engage the reader - and I found the eventual reveal pretty underwhelming. The structure isn't strong enough to hold it all together as one story: I was waiting for a step change to bring the three characters' narratives closer together, but it never came.

73 Dove Street is a novel with potential, but ultimately I found it a little underwhelming.

What a lovely book with harsh topics but so gently written about. I felt like I knew all three ladies- the characters were so interesting and true-to-life. The pain and struggles felt so real. I sprinted through the final quarter with my heart racing!

I really enjoyed this book on many levels. It is the story of three women in the 1950s and the author has managed to portray post war London and three ordinary working class women, Edie, Tommie and Phyllis perfectly.
The plot is great and the story has pace and a few twists and turns along the way.
This is the second book I've read by this author and I'm looking forward to the third!

Set in London in the 50's. Three women all now live at the boarding house at number 73 Dove Street. Phyllis, the landlady, had recently found her husband in bed with one of her guests. Tommie has been there a while and enjoys the nightlife of the area. Edie has just arrived with a wad full of money and plans to escape London.

The story follows the three women, dipping in and out of their pasts. With an eye opener to the dark times they were living in.

Set in London in the 1959’s this will be an eye-opening read for many women, and men. In our modern world, we accept that pay equality and gender equality should be the norm, that women have rights to work, to chose whether it not to have children.

73 Dove Street (which I have waited for sine reading the ARC of #ThatGreenEyesGirl) shows us how life was when these rights, opportunities and choices were not available to women. This is very much a book about these women in the past, their powerlessness, pain and suffering. How men held so much of the power, money, and control.

Let it remind us of our progress and how poverty controls and shapes the mindset, and how we must stand together to prevent any erosion of our progress.

This is not a time I would have enjoyed living through, and the strength of those who did, cannot be understated.

A Great read. And many thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

We are introduced to 3 main characters and as the book progresses, we see life events from their point of view. 

Edie is alone, and seemingly in hiding from persons unknown. She has found herself a room to let in a house full of strangers, in London. 

Tommie seems to be a happy-go-lucky type of person who takes each day as it comes.

Phyllis is their landlady, dealing with issues of her own. She came home one day to find her husband naked in the room of one of her tennants. She duly threw them both out of her home and life.

Edie is on the run from whoever she believes to be chasing her. Tommie is madly in love with a man who doesn't really have time for her. Phyllis can't seem to see a way out of her pit of despair.

As odd as it may seem, Edie and Tommie strike up a friendship despite having such different personalities.

Thanks a slow moving but gripping story of friendship, love and heartbreak.

73 Dove Street is a thoughtful, poignant, powerful read and I absolutely LOVED it!

It tells the story of three women - Edie, Tommie and Phyllis - who lived in a boarding house in West London in the 1950s. You think you’ve got the measure of each woman’s personal story until the layers of their lives are peeled away revealing so much more.

The book was so evocative of the time. I could almost feel the London fog closing in, hear the clippies on the buses, smell the open fires… Each scene was so skilfully created that I was completely submerged in the world of 1950’s London and there was certainly no escaping the difficult realisation of how women were viewed as second-class citizens at that time.

The moving backwards and forwards between timelines was really clever. It was like fitting pieces of a complicated jigsaw together - each piece slotting into place as the chapter was finished.

Julie Owen Moylan develops her characters brilliantly. Phyllis and Tommie were so much more than their hard outer shells and Edie’s shy, nervous demeanour hinted at what she might be running from. At times, particularly during Edie’s story, I felt myself racing through the pages desperate to know the outcome.

This is a story of determination, resilience and friendship. Moylan has written a beautiful, evocative book, which brings to life some of the many struggles working class women of that post-war era had to endure. It is a captivating read and I just couldn’t put it down

A book that reads as three different stories, two of which overlap towards the end. It was rather depressing the way that the women's lives seemed to totally revolve around the men they're involved with; I understand that this is a book set in the 50s but surely there was more to life than this. Also I was hoping for more description of the Notting Hill/Portobello Road area where the book is set but there was more emphasis on Soho rather than the area where the women lived. Unfortunately none of the characters really engaged me but it was an OK read nonetheless.

London 1958.
3 women, and 3 different lives intertwined as they live in a boarding house in 1950’s London.
Edie, Phyllis, and Tommie each have there own secrets.
A mixture of unrequited love, pain and sorrow of a family loss and domestic violence makes up some poignant scenes in this book.
The women in this book have had a variety of injustices thrown at them. In a time when women were seen as the weaker sex, they often showed incredible resilience.
Trigger warning as there is a graphic description of a back street abortion in the book.