Marina Maxwell
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NOTE!   As of May, 2025, I’m taking a sabbatical from writing reviews, apart from those for future editions of Historical Novels Review, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society, and occasional comments on Goodreads.
This is in order to concentrate on my own new writing project in a different genre.

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I read and review both historical fiction and non-fiction, but also enjoy biographies, crime and some contemporary fiction.
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Please note that unless stated that I have received these books directly from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review, I either purchase my own copies or source them from my local library service. 

​Links to Amazon, Booktopia or Dymocks in Australia are only for the reader's reference.

My reviews for Historical Novels Review can be found online here
​

Old Baggage

15/1/2020

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Matilda (Mattie) Simpkin is an ageing former suffragette who is proud of her achievements (and her police record) and who has no intention of accepting the lot of some simpering middle-aged spinster by disappearing into the sunset. She’s a bit of “old baggage” in the sense that she says what she thinks, is over-assertive, even uncompromising in her beliefs in what is good for her is also good for other people.
 
Mattie needs to find purpose in life and it seems as if the answer is generated following an altercation with a bag-snatcher that results in an unintentional injury to a young woman called Ida. This event gives her the inspiration to create a girls’ group that will involve lots of fresh air and exercise but that will also revive  feminist ideals in the flighty “flapper generation” that doesn’t seem to appreciate the sacrifices and challenges involved by Mattie and her fellow campaigners in gaining them the vote.
 
Mattie lives in comparative comfort with her quieter companion known as The Flea (Florrie Lee) who is involved in health work and giving advice to poor families. Florrie continues to support Mattie, although she can be a trial to live with and Florrie is forever trying to restrain her friend’s outrageous whims and wild schemes.
 
Mattie’s group of Hampstead Heath “Amazons” continues to grow until it finds itself in competition with another enthusiastic youth group, the quasi Fascist Empire League. This gets further complicated when a new girl called Inez joins her group and Mattie loses her focus, going off-kilter in trying to deal with another type of “old baggage” from her past.
 
This is an absorbing and delightful story on all levels, albeit with an ending that some readers may find just a touch saccharine. The writing is brilliant and perfectly conveys the individuals and their attitudes in a style that truly feels as if it were written in the 1920s. There is deliciously quirky humour as well as much deeper psychological and emotional explorations into love, friendship, loyalty and ultimately the benefits of knowing when to admit you were wrong.
  
4 1/2 stars.

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