Ladies' Rest and Writing Room

Winner of the 2023 Finlay Lloyd 20/40 prize'Their eyes met and Clarinda felt a seismic shift of understanding, one she could not name; she held Dotty’s gaze with the silent request: Please, don’t make any further fuss or they might call an ambulance, or the police, and that would be one humiliation far too far. For them both.'But the wild, fiery anger in Dotty’s eyes seemed to have extinguished itself of its own accord; she only frowned again and asked: "Don’t I know you?"From the judging panel: Why this book is differentTwo young women, brought up to expect conventional lives, are thrown together in unexpected circumstances. Each has suffered a devastating loss that challenges their belief in life and themselves. It’s rare to come across a work of deep psychological insight conveyed with such verve and lightness of touch. Why we liked itKelly sweeps the reader into the lives and passions of her two central characters and into the bustling city streets of Sydney in the 1920s. A powerfully moving book that sparkles with vitality.