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The blurb
A girl, Nell was convinced, should have a good time at seventeen, have met her true love at eighteen, be engaged at nine, and marry at twenty-one
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While her mother regards the Locarno Dancehall as a den of iniquity, for seventeen-year-old, shop-girl, Nell McClusky, it's the centre of the universe. Where else is she going to meet the man of her dreams who'll take her away from the hum-drum realities of life on a council estate in 1950s Edinburgh?
At first Alistair Rutherford doesn't look that promising. He dresses more like a student than Nell's idol, Buddy Holly. But Alistair comes from a wealthy family and is studying to be a lawyer, two things that mean that Nell soon has plans to leave her dance hall days far behind her. But the reality of marriage is far different to Nell's romantic notions....
Life for teenagers in the 1950's was a new and exciting era. Teenagers were living for the weekends and dancehalls, the freedom from their parents and the new wave of Rock and Roll music that their parents thought most unsuitable.
Were they really ready to make life changing decisions? Did their parents actually know best?
Nell believes she will be left on the shelf if she is not married by the age of 21. She is out to find a husband and time is running out. She is almost 18.
The story centres mainly on Nell and her hopes and dreams for her future. Nell and her best friend Carol meet the Rutherford brothers and marry into the Rutherford family for different reasons. Soon it becomes apparent that they are married to the family, not their husbands. With that comes the reality rather than the dreams of married life.
There is a strong theme of family loyalties in the novel. The attitudes towards marriage in the 50's and the actual reality of married life are explored for each of the characters.
I loved the strong characters, and could identify with the niave 17 year old Nell.
May, mother to the Rutherford family was a dominant character who was holding the whole family together and was almost scriptwriting their future.
The Rutherford's were a family with secrets and although both Carol and Nell were expected to show their loyalty to the family, they were also excluded from family matters.
I really enjoyed this fascinating look into marriage that I am sure had threads of the reality many girls of the era faced.
4.5 out of 5 for me!
May, mother to the Rutherford family was a dominant character who was holding the whole family together and was almost scriptwriting their future.
The Rutherford's were a family with secrets and although both Carol and Nell were expected to show their loyalty to the family, they were also excluded from family matters.
I really enjoyed this fascinating look into marriage that I am sure had threads of the reality many girls of the era faced.
4.5 out of 5 for me!
Thank you to Ebury for a review copy
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