The Radio Hour is an engaging historical fiction novel from bestselling author Victoria Purman who has found her niche within the genre by focusing on women’s personal and professional lives in mid 20th century Australia.

Set in Sydney, we are introduced to Martha Berry, a fifty year old spinster who has worked as a floating secretary for ABC Radio for decades. It’s 1956 and with the launch of television in Australia imminent, the broadcaster is determined to hold onto their listeners by repeating the success of their long-running popular drama serial, Blue Hills*. They’ve hired young up-and-comer Quentin Quinn to make a success of his proposed new serial, As the Sun Sets, and assigned Martha as his secretary. It quickly becomes evident that Quinn, despite his ego, is completely out of his depth, and Miss Berry (not Mrs Barry!) has no choice but to take matters into her own hands.

Gender inequality and discrimination are two of the major themes Purman explores in The Radio Hour. Women, especially those in public service, were subject to a ‘marriage bar’ until 1966, and required to give up their jobs when they married. Professional workplaces were generally a bastion of misogyny and harassment and women had no right to protection or recourse. Women were usually poorly paid with little prospect of promotion, and their contributions were routinely overlooked, or appropriated.

Martha risks everything when she begins to ghost write the series, she’s worried, justly, that should her secret be discovered she will lose her job, with which she supports her widowed mother and herself. It’s eminently satisfying as the program meets with success under Martha’s direction, but infuriating as Quinn takes credit for all her hard work.

Purman also touches on a number of other issues affecting women during this era including the lack of educational opportunities, the challenges of ageing, and attitudes to women’s health. She also references the effects of post war changes to Australian society, including the arrival of new immigrants. Every element of the setting, including the culture and operation of the ABC, feels like a genuine reflection of the times.

Add in the authentic characters and well-crafted story, The Radio Hour is an entertaining, interesting and inspiring read.

*FYI: Blue Hills was a real radio program that ran for 27 years (5975 episodes) on the ABC between 1949 and 1976, written and produced, rather extraordinarily for the times by a woman, Gwen Meredith. ( )

For lovers of Historical Fiction; this is a must read.
I loved this book.
Set in the era when Australia is on the verge of introducing television, the radio serial is the main source of entertainment across the country.
Women at that time were paid a pittance compared to their male counterparts and expected to fetch coffee and other mundane tasks for their ‘boss’ , while suffering the insults and ‘harmless fun’ of their male associates. Many of these women were far more talented than their bosses and in a lot of cases were the real force behind the productions while never being acknowledged.
This is the story of one such woman and her refusal to remain forever in the shadows.
An excellent book! ( )