Peninsula Records & Books
The Radio Hour - Victoria Purman
The Radio Hour - Victoria Purman
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Book Title: The Radio Hour
Author: Victoria Purman
Step back to 1956 Sydney with The Radio Hour, the charming and insightful new novel by bestselling author Victoria Purman. With wit, warmth, and a keen eye for detail, Purman shines a light on the unseen women behind the golden age of radio broadcasting, offering a delightful tale for fans of Lessons in Chemistry and Hidden Figures.
Martha Berry, a fifty-year-old spinster, is one of the countless women who keep Australia’s national broadcaster running smoothly without recognition. But when she’s assigned as a secretary to a failing new radio serial, As The Sun Sets, Martha’s sharp mind and knack for storytelling come to the rescue. Secretly ghost-writing scripts, she transforms the show into a hit that resonates with its audience of loyal women listeners.
However, when her hidden role is threatened with exposure, Martha must decide whether to retreat into the shadows or seize the chance to step into the spotlight. With a vibrant cast of characters, sharp humour, and poignant moments, The Radio Hour is a celebration of resilience, creativity, and the power of women's voices.
Read if you like: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus or The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Album Match: Tango in the Night by Fleetwood Mac.
Blurb
Blurb
From the bestselling author of The Nurses' War comes this charming, funny, pointed look at the golden years of radio broadcasting in post-war Australia, celebrating the extraordinary unseen women who wrote the radio plays that held a nation captive. For readers of Lessons in Chemistry.
Martha Berry is fifty years old, a spinster, and one of an army of polite and invisible women in 1956 Sydney who go to work each day and get things done without fuss, fanfare or reward.
Working at the country's national broadcaster, she's seen highly praised talent come and go over the years but when she is sent to work as a secretary on a brand-new radio serial, created to follow in the footsteps of Australia's longest running show, Blue Hills, she finds herself at the mercy of an egotistical and erratic young producer without a clue, a conservative broadcaster frightened by the word 'pregnant' and a motley cast of actors with ideas of their own about their roles in the show.
When Martha is forced to step in to rescue the serial from impending cancellation, she ends up secretly ghost-writing scripts for As The Sun Sets, creating mayhem with management, and coming up with storylines that resonate with the serial's growing and loyal audience of women listeners.
But she can't keep her secret forever and when she's threatened with exposure, Martha has to decide if she wants to remain in the shadows, or to finally step into the spotlight.
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