A Woman's Age

by Rachel Billington

Stepping into the world of country houses and nannies at the turn of the century, we follow the life of Violet Hesketh – from childhood, through two world wars, the roaring twenties, the depression, through years of social and political upheaval, to the fulfilment of her ambitions as a leading public figure and politician in the 1970s. As the lives of Violet, her daughter, her friends and lovers, interweave over 70 years, we see reflected in their ambitions and desires, their hopes and fears, the changing face of a nation.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Rachel Billington has written twenty one novels and eleven books for children. She is also a journalist, feature writer and reviewer. She is a regular contributor and Associate Editor of Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners and a Vice-President of English PEN. In 2012 she was awarded an OBE for Services to Literature.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually started reading this a long time ago and then got distracted. Picking it back up, i've had to start from the beginning again. It's a book that travels through like 3 generations of women, and was too complicated to just simply pick up where i left off!

Book is good enough that i never tossed it off to someone else...but not great enough that i couldn't put it down and forget about it for awhile!

A good car book, to read when you're killing time, waiting in appointments, and between errands.

[Gośka A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly, very possibly this is the worst book I've read. I got (how?? How??) to 249 page. I feel ashamed I got that far.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really love meaty satisfying multi-generational sagas. Unfortunately this really wasn't one, and a more unpleasant group of women in whose heads to be in I cannot imagine.