The Manhattan Girls: A Novel of Dorothy Parker and Her Friends

The Manhattan Girls

Gill Paul

Publication Date: August 16, 2022 by William Morrow

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 4 🍷🍷🍷🍷

Summary: It’s a 1920s version of Sex and the City, as Dorothy Parker—one of the wittiest women who ever wielded a pen—and her three friends navigate life, love, and careers in New York City. Perfect for fans of Fiona Davis, Beatriz Williams, and Renée Rosen.

NEW YORK CITY 1921: The war is over, fashions are daring, and bootleg liquor is abundant. Here four extraordinary women form a bridge group that grows into a firm friendship.

Dorothy Parker: renowned wit, member of the Algonquin Round Table, and more fragile than she seems. Jane Grant: first female reporter for the New York Times, and determined to launch a new magazine she calls The New Yorker. Winifred Lenihan: beautiful and talented Broadway actress, a casting-couch target. And Peggy Leach: magazine assistant by day, brilliant novelist by night. 

Their romances flourish and falter while their goals sometimes seem impossible to reach and their friendship deepens against the backdrop of turbulent New York City, where new speakeasies open and close, jazz music flows through the air, and bathtub gin fills their glasses. 

They gossip, they comfort each other, and they offer support through the setbacks.  But their biggest challenge is keeping their dear friend Dottie safe from herself.

In this brilliant new novel from the bestselling and acclaimed author of Jackie and Maria and The Secret Wife, readers will fall right into Jazz Age New York and into the inner lives of these groundbreaking, influential women.

My Thoughts: You don't need to know the name Dorothy Parker to be able to appreciate this book. In this slow building story, author Gill Paul gives us the tale of four women. Four women who are all attempting to navigate what it means to be a woman in the 1920s. What should they wear, what should they drink, where should they drink (it is the era of prohibition after all), who should they socialize with, should they work or stay home and have families, who can/should they love? Dorothy Parker and her friends Jane Grant, Winifred Lenihan, and Peggy Leach form a bridge club after their male counterparts snub them from joining their newly formed poker nights. The bridge club turns out to be more than just a fun night with the girls, it gives the women the support system they need as they navigate through their lives. Jane, Winifred, and Peggy each learn the strengths and weaknesses of each other as they team up to keep Dorothy from self destruction. 

This is one of those books that gets better as it moves on. The characters needed some quality development before they become relatable to the reader. About 1/3 of the way in the book really has the solid ground it needs and the story takes off from there. It was enjoyable reading about women who I knew nothing about. 

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley.