The Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor

Today I am pleased to welcome Hazel Gaynor to my blog. The Girl from the Savoy is based in the 1920's, an era which I am very interested in.

 The prologue starts in 1916, where Dolly is waving her sweetheart, Teddy, off to war. Teddy believes he will soon be back home with Dolly, however Dolly is not so sure. Fast forward to the start of the story, and Dolly is a housemaid, but has secured herself a job in The Savoy, an upmarket hotel in London. She knows it is one of the best hotels in London and Hazel Gaynor's descriptions of the hotel gives the reader an insight into this expensive and ornate decor and experience of the hotel. I have never been to the hotel, only seeing it on television and on the pages of magazines, but would love to experience The Savoy and through Hazel's narrative I feel I have a sense of a day at The Savoy.

Dolly works as a maid within The Savoy and works in order to pay for tickets to the theatre, where she would love to be, on the stage, entertaining the audience. However, there are lots of girls just like Dolly and it is a difficult occupation to go into.  Along the way Dolly meets with both Loretta, a star of the stage, and Perry, a songwriter, who is also Loretta's brother.  Loretta is hoping that she can make Dolly the new star of the stage, however there is the conflict in Dolly's jobs where she must be invisible at The Savoy whereas she must have a presence and be seen on the big stage.

I really enjoyed this book and I will be looking for more of Hazel's work in the future.

Thank you to the publishers, Harper, for sending me the book to review.