An interesting read! I really liked the writing in this, every sentence felt chosen with care, and I would definitely read more by this author. I'm always fascinated by theatres and by theatre costumes in particular, so I was also very into the setting of a theatre wardrobe department as a workplace. However I am not entirely sure I understood everything that was intended with this book, from the slightly odd way the wardrobe employees talked to each other to the complex and sometimes contradictory family relationships, but I feel like that was maybe the point.

The story follows Mairéad, a young Irish girl working in the wardrobe department of a run-down West End theatre.

This is not at all a plot driven book, but it is a such a warm, quiet, moving slice of life. It was a bit of a slow start for me, but once I got into it, it was really easy to get through and to enjoy. I definitely enjoyed the second half a lot more, as it felt like it was all coming together and making more sense. It wasn't anything exceptional, but there are so many bits and pieces of this that stopped me in my tracks and left me to ponder about life. It has a lot of heart, and, to me, it makes up for what it lacks. I did feel like some of the characters were just a bunch of stereotypes glued together, but it wasn't that much of a bother in the general context of the story. Overall, it definitely was a great, interesting read.

Many thanks to Canongate Books & NetGalley for the eARC.

The Wardrobe Department centres around Mairéad, an Irish girl working in the wardrobe department of a West End theatre. She is lonely but struggles to put in the effort to make real connections with those around her. She feels awkward, uncomfortable in her own body and her life in London feels very passive. When she gets a call asking her to return to Ireland for a funeral, it is clear her life there was claustrophobic as everyone knew her family. She knows the patterns of life and what is expected of her. This is not a plot-driven novel but focuses on Mairéad’s relationship with others and herself. It captures the stark contrast between London and her hometown perfectly and her feelings of loneliness. The behind the scenes details of the theatre were excellent. For some it may seem slow but I felt it was well-paced. Garvey is very talented and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

I found The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey very difficult to read. The narrative seemed to flit all over the place (possibly following Mairead's thought processes.) Making reading it very disjointed. Although it is obvious Mairead has some kind of illness it's never made clear what it is. Her symptoms are so diverse and seem to affect her relationships with everyone she meets. I kept leaving and coming back to the book but in the end I'm afraid I had to give up and could not finish the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I was disappointed in this book, it seemed a little flat.

The theatre bits in London are quite interesting and we learn a lot about what the job of a wardrobe assistant involves. It had certainly never occurred to me that dressers have to deal with dirty underwear and stained clothes etc. The second part takes place in Ireland and it is the Ireland of large, meddling families, too close communities and traditional ways.

I felt that i did not get to know Mairead very much, she is lonely, awkward and chaotic and I didn't feel that there was any real development in her character or situation. At the end of the book she is a bit more outspoken but really that is all and there is hope for better things but the book ends at that point and I am really not convinced that Mairead will fit in any better elsewhere in London.

I felt that there was too much that was alluded to rather than addressed in the book - Mairead has some kind of illness, presumably food related, but we never find out what it is, or if we did, I did not notice. Did Mairead actually want to go to London or was she living her mother's dream? Her parents do not get on and later we find out that Mairead's mother did not get on with Mairead's grandmother but we never find out why or really how this has shaped Mairead's life. Maybe it was all too subtle for me.

I feel it is a sign of a good book that, once you have finished it, you wonder about the characters and what might happen to them. I do feel this with Mairead but I am left with the feeling that she should try her luck somewhere smaller and more familiar than London.

I really liked Elaine Garvey's novel The Wardrobe Department. And whilst I enjoyed reading about Mairéad's time working in a West End theatre’s wardrobe department, I struggled a bit to distinguish the myriad of characters. I felt they were sketched, rather than fully drawn, and this made it feel a little generic. I much preferred the story when it moved to Ireland, and sensed the author felt much more comfortable in this setting. So all in all, an enjoyable read, but it felt more like a couple of short stories linked together, rather than a novel.

The Wardrobe Department by Elaine Garvey is a character driven novel where each of the two main locations, London and the rural West of Ireland almost feel like characters in their own right. The deceptively simple story of Mairead, a young woman who has moved to London where she is working in the wardrobe department of a run down West End theatre drew me in because she felt like a living breathing person who sprang to life from the page. I could feel her struggle, the pull of a future in the city and a career in the theatre , the push of a difficult family background back home in Ireland but also the pull of home and family and familiarity against the push of the bullying producer meant that there was no easy decision for her, no route mapped out. I think that is a situation that will resonate with many readers, especially those who have been forced to leave home for economic reasons, an all too unfortunately frequent occurrence in the times we live in. The writing flows and feels very natural, from descriptions to dialogue there is almost a musicality at times that I found very pleasing. This feels like a book that will stay with me, one that I will think about and reach for again and I really hope that it finds its audience.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A different topic to be written about in a sympathetic way. A young Irish girl Mairead moves to London to work as a wardrobe assistant in a west end theatre. The story follows her encounters with members of the the theatres cast and their idiosyncrasies, her life is just work work work and running errands for other members of the cast. The second part of the book deals with Maireads return to Ireland for her grandmothers funeral and explains some of the reasons for her being in London on her own. I wasn't sure about the book at first, but it kept me reading to find out more about Mairead.

There were lovely parts to this novel, especially the sections set in Ireland. The London parts felt from an earlier era than the one intended and I also felt overwhelmed by the number of characters in the theatre setting - I kept losing track of who was who. (Maybe that was just me!). I did have empathy for Mairéad, and was hoping for better things for her in both Ireland and London.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, although I did think it was a little slow in places, still a good read.

This is a brief yet exquisitely written piece of literary fiction that captivates with its atmospheric storytelling. I find it hard to put into words, but this book truly transports me to the vivid locations the narrator describes. Each scene unfolds like a painting, immersing me in the sights and sounds of the world within its pages. I particularly enjoyed delving into the hidden intricacies of glamorous theater life, uncovering the untold stories that lie behind the glittering facade. I enjoy it lots

This is the heartfelt account of a young Irish girl’s attempt to find herself in London. Mairead works in the pressurised wardrobe department of a West End theatre, always under pressure, under-valued and misunderstood.
Silently putting up with criticism, prejudice and reluctant to become like her party-loving colleagues, or succumb to the unrelenting macho advances from the actors, yet desperately not wishing to return to Ireland until a family tragedy pulls her back home.
In many ways her own family life is a dramatic mirror of the theatrical production she works in, and her wish to remain behind the scenes.
I found the endless dialogue of the theatre setting less engaging than the Irish family life, but the character portrayal was vivid and inevitably family secrets reveal themselves to explain her need to feel like she always needs to run away.
Was I gripped by the novel? No. Did I sympathise with her ? Yes. I felt the novel ended abruptly just when she finally found her voice, and it felt like her life might become more interesting.

I was asked to review this book by NetGalley - I was not sure of what to make of this shoert story at first but boy did it pitch a punch!

This is a complex read release date 13 February 2025.

This is the story of a young irish woman called Mairéad. She works in a small London Theatre. This is not glamour as the costumes are always in need of repair, stained and smelly. Although she is not part of the cast and cre - she gets caught up with the bitchiness and patronising people. Oliver the shows producer is overbearing and nasty.

Mairéad feels alone in the theatre and London. She definately feels out of place with the cast and crew. Coming from Ireland, but she has little contact with her family and seems to be esaping something.

Going back to Ireland for a funeral makes her look at herself and in this making some big decisions.

Well written, atmospheric and interesting thought provoking read.

I’m starting the year strong with good intentions. (Well, I’m still not prioritising study for my exam next week!), but I’m working on my NetGalley requests. I luckily received an early release for the Wardrobe Department which is out 13th February and I loved it.

We meet Mairead, who’s from the west of Ireland, living and working in London in a Westend theatre. She’s struggling with her finances, her food binging and the sexual predators in the theatre. She’s well aware of her precarious position within the theatre and so threads very carefully.

When her grandmother suddenly dies and she returns home for the funeral, (coincidentally the same time as when the Queen mother died), Mairead is confronted with what life is like back home and reinforces for her why she originally went to London, why she chose this career path and if she would ever fit in.

It was a great exploration “behind the seams” of the wardrobe department in a westend theatre back in the early 2000s, pre-MeToo. It was the perfect Irish read full of self-deprecation, masochism, struggling with identity and a funeral to boot, but I may be a little bit biased as I’m definitely the market for it.

Set in a London theatre in the early years of the 21st century, this very short novel promised much as I began to read. The narrator is a young Irish girl, Mairéad, who has escaped from Ireland to work in the wardrobe department, but who has to return home to Ireland for the funeral of her grandmother.
Written in a terse, short sentenced narrative, the book soon became tedious and all the many characters slightly overwhelming as I tried to remember who was which and what role they were playing either when in touch (literally and figuratively) with Mairéad or when on stage in 'Uncle Vanya,' the play which is alluded to in a rather hazy way.
I found that it all became tedious and jerky due to style as well as content. I felt no empathy with or for the characters, and was rather relieved to reach the end. Had it not been an ARC for which to write a review, I don't think I would have bothered to read to the end, alas. Obviously just not my 'thing.'
With thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read the ARC.

I really wanted to like this, but it's too much of a "good in parts" experience for me...

Loved the backroom setting, with its sneaky peak at the glamour of the theatre but weighed down by the unappreciated hardworking and general spite. However, not keen on the old "country bumpkin", "fun London", "no-one cares London" chestnuts not so subtly handled. The Ireland-set scenes felt so much more vibrant as if the author felt more secure in writing them. The frequent references to Cromwell are irritating; the reader needs more background here unless they are already very familiar with Irish history and politics; can everything be blamed on Cromwell?

I wanted to know more about the other characters - especially those in Ireland (particularly Iggy) - and less about Mairead, who was too much of a drama queen for my tastes.

In essence, a very promising book which failed to deliver for me.

Wonderful descriptive settings in London and Ireland lend a hand to giving the story it's appeal.
There are some beautiful moments, as we explore human nature in its various forms.
However, at times I struggled to engage with the characters and the storyline.
The verdict is out for me on this one......it is worth a read, and I award it a steady 3 stars.

‘The Wardrobe Mistress’ is a novel which is set in two very different worlds – that of early twenty first century London, where Mairead works in the wardrobe department of a London theatre, and the family home in rural Ireland where she returns for her grandmother’s funeral.
I struggled to engage with Mairead and her life in London. Perhaps the drab descriptions and muted feelings are meant to suggest Mairead’s disaffection. The depiction of her mundane days in ‘theatreland’ drags and, for some reason, this world feels as if it exists in post-war London rather than the very recent past. The theatrical stereotypes encountered don’t help either.
When she returns to Ireland, we begin to understand why Mairead is as she is through the familial relationships that are developed in this half of the novel. However, I’m not sure that this development redeems the narrative overall. Elaine Garvey can clearly write well but ‘The Wardrobe Mistress’ gave me nothing new or better portrayed than other recent novels I’ve read that have focused on difficult family dynamics and the damage they cause.
My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Mairéad is a young woman between a rock and a hard place. Small town, small mind Ireland is not for her but then she’s adrift in the metropolis of London too.

Her character is not fully developed and some of her co-characters appear to be stereotypes of the theatre scene. And we are left with a question unanswered - what is her ‘sickness’? Margaret suggests one thing but there is no evidence for that in the rest of the novel.

More flesh on the bones needed.

I have to be totally honest and say that as I started to read this book, I thought it wasn’t for me. But, after a couple of chapters, I was drawn into the story and became enthralled with the life of Mairéad behind the scenes in the wardrobe department of a struggling London theatre. Most of the story is set in London, but when she returns to Ireland for her grandmothers funeral, a lot of Mairéads characteristics fall into place and we understand a lot more about her and her life choices. On the whole, I would say this is a good book and well worth a read. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.