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The Women on Platform Two: A Novel of Ireland
In 1970s Dublin, all forms of contraception are strictly forbidden, but an intrepid group of women will risk everything to change that in this “heartbreaking, powerful, and ultimately uplifting” (Amanda Geard, author of The Midnight House) novel inspired by a little-known true story.
Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that another pregnancy could prove fatal.
Dublin, 2023: A close call makes Saoirse realize that she may never want to be a mother. Little does she know that only a few decades ago, a group of women made this option possible for her. And she’s about to meet one of them…
The Women on Platform Two is an “inspiring novel about the liberating paths blazed by Irish women” (Kirkus Reviews) and how much farther we still have to go.
Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that another pregnancy could prove fatal.
Dublin, 2023: A close call makes Saoirse realize that she may never want to be a mother. Little does she know that only a few decades ago, a group of women made this option possible for her. And she’s about to meet one of them…
The Women on Platform Two is an “inspiring novel about the liberating paths blazed by Irish women” (Kirkus Reviews) and how much farther we still have to go.
335 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 11, 2025
1475 people are currently reading
76977 people want to read
About the author
Laura Anthony
2 books306 followersLaura Anthony is the author of THE WOMEN ON PLATFORM TWO, and the forthcoming novel THE FORGOTTEN MIDWIFE (May 2026). Laura lives in Kildare, Ireland, with her husband, children, and their exceptionally fluffy dog who insists on supervising all writing sessions!
Learn more (or say hi!) at www.laura-anthony.com
Learn more (or say hi!) at www.laura-anthony.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,087 reviews
April 12, 2025
While I normally like to go into books with a sense of the overall synopsis, I wound up going into this one mostly blind and am so glad I did. I, therefore, do not want to say too much about the plot line itself.
At the core of the story is the power of female friendship and the vast achievements that can be gained when we unite for a common cause. It’s beautifully written, incredibly timely, and simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. By the time I reached the final page, I felt emotionally connected to each and every one of the main characters and their outcomes.
🎧 The full-cast narrated audiobook really brought this story to life for me. I highly recommend a combo read so you can enjoy the narrators’ gorgeous accents, without missing the little details that are important to the story overall.
‼️ CW: There are quite a few triggers - miscarriage, abuse, and suicide to name just a few. Please research prior to reading if you are sensitive to these topics.
Read if you like:
▪️1970s Ireland history
▪️women’s fight for bodily autonomy
▪️female friendship
▪️found family
▪️dual timelines and POVs
▪️beautiful writing
Thank you Simon Audio for the advanced copy.
At the core of the story is the power of female friendship and the vast achievements that can be gained when we unite for a common cause. It’s beautifully written, incredibly timely, and simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful. By the time I reached the final page, I felt emotionally connected to each and every one of the main characters and their outcomes.
🎧 The full-cast narrated audiobook really brought this story to life for me. I highly recommend a combo read so you can enjoy the narrators’ gorgeous accents, without missing the little details that are important to the story overall.
‼️ CW: There are quite a few triggers - miscarriage, abuse, and suicide to name just a few. Please research prior to reading if you are sensitive to these topics.
Read if you like:
▪️1970s Ireland history
▪️women’s fight for bodily autonomy
▪️female friendship
▪️found family
▪️dual timelines and POVs
▪️beautiful writing
Thank you Simon Audio for the advanced copy.
February 13, 2025
This is a well written book based on a true story. And while it was harder to read right now given what is happening in my own country with civil rights being taken away it was also especially inspiring given that. This book alternates between 2023 with Saoirse who had a disagreement about having children with her partner and 1969 with Maura who has just gotten married to a doctor and started her life. Maura is on the train and bumps into Saoirse and shares her story which was a fun way to get both timelines. This book is about a group of women who stood up for their rights to their bodies and started some revolutionary things in Ireland. It’s a wonderfully written book full of well written and compelling characters. I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it.
August 7, 2025
WOW!
Couldn’t stop this audiobook! Why did it take me so long to read it??? Full RTC!
Couldn’t stop this audiobook! Why did it take me so long to read it??? Full RTC!
December 9, 2024
4.5stars
I was a young teen back in the mid sixties and I grew up in a strict Irish Catholic family. I am the oldest of seven children and most of our neighbors had many more than seven children in their families. I remember being told it was a mortal sin for women to use contraception. In Ireland it was even worse because it was actually illegal to purchase any form of birth control . Women were told their purpose in life was to bear children. So many families suffered trying to feed and care for all these children and many women died in childbirth.
This is a story of two women, Bernie and Maura, both Irish born. These two women came from very different socioeconomic backgrounds but circumstances brought them together, and they became fast and lifelong friends. Both suffered in different ways due to this antiquated law, but they were strong women who stood up for themselves and for other women too. Maura and Bernie may have been fictional characters but the book describes true events from that time. I found the book to be “unputdownable”. A great story that held my interest throughout.
I was a young teen back in the mid sixties and I grew up in a strict Irish Catholic family. I am the oldest of seven children and most of our neighbors had many more than seven children in their families. I remember being told it was a mortal sin for women to use contraception. In Ireland it was even worse because it was actually illegal to purchase any form of birth control . Women were told their purpose in life was to bear children. So many families suffered trying to feed and care for all these children and many women died in childbirth.
This is a story of two women, Bernie and Maura, both Irish born. These two women came from very different socioeconomic backgrounds but circumstances brought them together, and they became fast and lifelong friends. Both suffered in different ways due to this antiquated law, but they were strong women who stood up for themselves and for other women too. Maura and Bernie may have been fictional characters but the book describes true events from that time. I found the book to be “unputdownable”. A great story that held my interest throughout.
March 17, 2025
Have you ever started reading a book and known from the very first page that it was not only going to be 5 stars, but also a story that would hit the heart and all the emotions hard? That’s what happened when I started listening to The Women on Platform Two on my way to work the other morning.
This is just one of those books where I can’t even get my emotions and head right to write the words this book deserves for a review.
Truly, I felt each character’s life all the way down to my bones as I alternated between listening and reading. I was there as a mom feeling everything we moms feel, there as a woman who has be ability to choose what happens to her body and knowing others still don’t have this, there as a woman who has endured abuse, and there as a woman who will always support other women. I seriously can’t express how this book is not just something you read…it’s something you experience.
This was a story that was also about friendships between women, and the unbreakable bonds forged as we share a lot of the same experiences, even though our backgrounds are different.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
Based on a true story
Multiple POV
Women’s reproductive rights
Women supporting women
Equality for women
Friendship
Dual Timelines
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲?
This was a fast paced story that I couldn’t put down.
𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸?
This book is an absolute must read and/or listen, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. We women are still fighting for the rights to our body in the United States and now seeing how fragile those rights are, we need to stay vigilant.
This is just one of those books where I can’t even get my emotions and head right to write the words this book deserves for a review.
Truly, I felt each character’s life all the way down to my bones as I alternated between listening and reading. I was there as a mom feeling everything we moms feel, there as a woman who has be ability to choose what happens to her body and knowing others still don’t have this, there as a woman who has endured abuse, and there as a woman who will always support other women. I seriously can’t express how this book is not just something you read…it’s something you experience.
This was a story that was also about friendships between women, and the unbreakable bonds forged as we share a lot of the same experiences, even though our backgrounds are different.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
Based on a true story
Multiple POV
Women’s reproductive rights
Women supporting women
Equality for women
Friendship
Dual Timelines
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲?
This was a fast paced story that I couldn’t put down.
𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸?
This book is an absolute must read and/or listen, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. We women are still fighting for the rights to our body in the United States and now seeing how fragile those rights are, we need to stay vigilant.
June 16, 2025
The Women on Platform Two is one of the most impressive novels I’ve ever read!💚🩵🩶 If I wasn’t crying my eyes out😭 I was raising my fists🙋♀️🙋🏻♀️ in support of the women of Ireland! It’s important to note this book was inspired by a little-known true story.
Consider this… In 1970, The United States and Canada were experiencing rapid change. “Flower Power” was a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence, and women everywhere were burning their bras. Yet, in Ireland, women continued to live a servile, backward existence that hadn’t been seen in other first–world countries for decades. In Ireland, ALL forms of contraception were illegal—strictly forbidden! The same for divorce—illegal. On top of that, it was illegal for women to work once they were married! This was, presumably, to ensure they’d have to stay home to care for their husbands and homes.🙄
But, since then, each year, on the 22nd of May, Maura Davenport boards the train in Dublin and travels to the end of the line—Belfast, Northern Ireland, where even then, contraception was LEGAL! And each year, she chooses one fellow passenger to relate the story of how she helped to form the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement (IWLM), to improve the lives of all people in Ireland.
As the book begins, Maura is young, single, and still working in an upscale Department Store where one day she meets a tall, dark, handsome man who flirts with her and tells her how much she looks like a young Doris Day (she hears it all the time). He invites her out, and the relationship builds quickly. When her parents learn he’s a doctor, they’re over the moon and insist she must invite him home for dinner. Once dinner is over—and while Maura and her mother clear and wash the dishes—Dr. Christy Davenport stays behind to speak with her father, to ask for Maura’s hand in marriage. Maura (and her mother) was giddy with happiness, feeling like a princess in a fairytale. But, of course, once they were married, this princess would be forced to stop working.
And the fairytale would be short-lived. The abuse begins on their wedding night when Maura has the audacity to wear trousers!! (TROUSERS!? Horrors!!😱) “How dare you embarrass me like that?” he growls at her as they leave the reception. His first slap merely bruised her cheek and eye. The next time, it would be a punch to the gut, and result in the loss of the child she’s been carrying—the child Christy so badly wants. He blames her, though, for her clumsiness in “falling down the stairs”. In the first 14 months of their marriage, she would experience four miscarriages—three because her husband couldn’t control his temper and one because (thankfully!) Mother Nature intervenes.
The final straw will come soon, along with an extended hospitalisation. But Maura stops caring as it gets more and more difficult to hide or camouflage the bruises and broken bones. Christy might finally understand. Perhaps he'll realise that soon all of Dublin will know that this highly respected doctor beats his wife. How will that look? So, on the same fateful night, he flees their home and Maura is chosen to be one of three faces of the IWLM. The movement’s first major action is about to happen.
Of course, I have to admit you’ll find some very difficult situations in this book. On more than a few occasions I cried many, many tears. It brought back some awful memories and it could do the same for you. But I must also say that, ultimately, it made me feel SO GOOD and SO PROUD of the Irish women who, 55 years ago, made the lives of ALL Irish women (and MEN!) so much better by their actions!! The book is so bloody inspiring I wish everyone would read it!
Needless to say, the book includes two very strong triggers. Aside from domestic abuse, there is a segment about suicide.
5 “Princesses:–Be–careful–what–you–wish–for” stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(but I'd give it 1000 stars, if I could❣️)
Consider this… In 1970, The United States and Canada were experiencing rapid change. “Flower Power” was a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence, and women everywhere were burning their bras. Yet, in Ireland, women continued to live a servile, backward existence that hadn’t been seen in other first–world countries for decades. In Ireland, ALL forms of contraception were illegal—strictly forbidden! The same for divorce—illegal. On top of that, it was illegal for women to work once they were married! This was, presumably, to ensure they’d have to stay home to care for their husbands and homes.🙄
But, since then, each year, on the 22nd of May, Maura Davenport boards the train in Dublin and travels to the end of the line—Belfast, Northern Ireland, where even then, contraception was LEGAL! And each year, she chooses one fellow passenger to relate the story of how she helped to form the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement (IWLM), to improve the lives of all people in Ireland.
As the book begins, Maura is young, single, and still working in an upscale Department Store where one day she meets a tall, dark, handsome man who flirts with her and tells her how much she looks like a young Doris Day (she hears it all the time). He invites her out, and the relationship builds quickly. When her parents learn he’s a doctor, they’re over the moon and insist she must invite him home for dinner. Once dinner is over—and while Maura and her mother clear and wash the dishes—Dr. Christy Davenport stays behind to speak with her father, to ask for Maura’s hand in marriage. Maura (and her mother) was giddy with happiness, feeling like a princess in a fairytale. But, of course, once they were married, this princess would be forced to stop working.
And the fairytale would be short-lived. The abuse begins on their wedding night when Maura has the audacity to wear trousers!! (TROUSERS!? Horrors!!😱) “How dare you embarrass me like that?” he growls at her as they leave the reception. His first slap merely bruised her cheek and eye. The next time, it would be a punch to the gut, and result in the loss of the child she’s been carrying—the child Christy so badly wants. He blames her, though, for her clumsiness in “falling down the stairs”. In the first 14 months of their marriage, she would experience four miscarriages—three because her husband couldn’t control his temper and one because (thankfully!) Mother Nature intervenes.
The final straw will come soon, along with an extended hospitalisation. But Maura stops caring as it gets more and more difficult to hide or camouflage the bruises and broken bones. Christy might finally understand. Perhaps he'll realise that soon all of Dublin will know that this highly respected doctor beats his wife. How will that look? So, on the same fateful night, he flees their home and Maura is chosen to be one of three faces of the IWLM. The movement’s first major action is about to happen.
Of course, I have to admit you’ll find some very difficult situations in this book. On more than a few occasions I cried many, many tears. It brought back some awful memories and it could do the same for you. But I must also say that, ultimately, it made me feel SO GOOD and SO PROUD of the Irish women who, 55 years ago, made the lives of ALL Irish women (and MEN!) so much better by their actions!! The book is so bloody inspiring I wish everyone would read it!
Needless to say, the book includes two very strong triggers. Aside from domestic abuse, there is a segment about suicide.
5 “Princesses:–Be–careful–what–you–wish–for” stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(but I'd give it 1000 stars, if I could❣️)
April 11, 2025
Dublin, 1969: Maura Flynn works in a department store, one day a man comes into buy a present and she’s can't believe is when Dr. Christopher Davenport asks her out on a date, they quickly get engaged and married.
Maura’s disappointed she has to stop working, but her mam assures her she will be too busy looking after her husband and family and she wants to be a mother. Maura is shocked how Christy changes after the wedding, he’s controlling and a bully and becomes violent and she’s worried he would hurt a child.
Bernie McCarthy is married to Dan a butcher, she has three adorable girls, and she’s told another pregnancy could kill her, contraceptives are illegal and she and Maura become friends and support each other through tough times.
Dublin, 2023: Saoirse lives with her fiancé Miles, he wants to have children and after a pregnancy scare she realizes she’s not ready to be mother and never will be and how can tell the man she loves the truth.
The dual timeline story explores what it was like to be a women in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the late 1960’s and 2023 and told from the perspectives of Maura, Bernie and Saoirse.
I received a copy of The Women on Platform Two from Edelweiss Plus and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
The reader is taken on an insightful and thought provoking journey inspired by real women and events by Laura Anthony as Maura explains to Saoirse what happened to her, how they had to stand up and fight for their rights and change the rules about the use of contraceptives and the brave ladies faced danger, abuse and ridicule from the church, doctors, men and people too scared to say what they thought.
Five stars from me, if you enjoyed Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall, and I highly recommend reading The Women on Platform Two and it would be a great choice for women’s history month or a book club as well.
Maura’s disappointed she has to stop working, but her mam assures her she will be too busy looking after her husband and family and she wants to be a mother. Maura is shocked how Christy changes after the wedding, he’s controlling and a bully and becomes violent and she’s worried he would hurt a child.
Bernie McCarthy is married to Dan a butcher, she has three adorable girls, and she’s told another pregnancy could kill her, contraceptives are illegal and she and Maura become friends and support each other through tough times.
Dublin, 2023: Saoirse lives with her fiancé Miles, he wants to have children and after a pregnancy scare she realizes she’s not ready to be mother and never will be and how can tell the man she loves the truth.
The dual timeline story explores what it was like to be a women in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the late 1960’s and 2023 and told from the perspectives of Maura, Bernie and Saoirse.
I received a copy of The Women on Platform Two from Edelweiss Plus and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
The reader is taken on an insightful and thought provoking journey inspired by real women and events by Laura Anthony as Maura explains to Saoirse what happened to her, how they had to stand up and fight for their rights and change the rules about the use of contraceptives and the brave ladies faced danger, abuse and ridicule from the church, doctors, men and people too scared to say what they thought.
Five stars from me, if you enjoyed Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall, and I highly recommend reading The Women on Platform Two and it would be a great choice for women’s history month or a book club as well.
October 21, 2025
Hard to believe that as late as 1970, any type of contraception was illegal in parts of Ireland. A few women dared to step up and challenge that, and this is their story.
Want to read
November 21, 2024Inspired by a true story. Set in Dublin in the 1970's where all forms of contraception are outlawed, some women on a train have an idea......
January 17, 2025
I’m not usually a fan of historical fiction, but this may be one of my top 10-15 favorite books. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
The Women on Platform Two is a though provoking, emotional, and breathtaking story about how 47 women stood up for women’s rights in Ireland in 1972.
The story follows Saoirse as she meets an interesting woman at a train station. The woman drops a piece of paper when getting on the train, Saoirse runs on to return it, and we embark on the woman’s history. There’s a special reason why she’s riding that train on that day.
The story speaks on how women fought for contraceptive rights and freedom for their body. I haven’t stopped thinking about these women and how this came to be. It’s very timely and heartbreaking. It makes me thankful for all of the amazing women who came before us.
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.
The Women on Platform Two is a though provoking, emotional, and breathtaking story about how 47 women stood up for women’s rights in Ireland in 1972.
The story follows Saoirse as she meets an interesting woman at a train station. The woman drops a piece of paper when getting on the train, Saoirse runs on to return it, and we embark on the woman’s history. There’s a special reason why she’s riding that train on that day.
The story speaks on how women fought for contraceptive rights and freedom for their body. I haven’t stopped thinking about these women and how this came to be. It’s very timely and heartbreaking. It makes me thankful for all of the amazing women who came before us.
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.
September 4, 2025
The Women on Platform Two
takes readers along on a historical train ride with Maura, and a troubled walk with Saoirse as she works through love v motherhood v what-she-wants-to-do-with-her-own-life. Other characters having to do with those two threads are added and grow the light on the universal questions faced by women everywhere. The very nature of their fecund bodies tempts their creeds, cultures and natal societies to strip them of personhood, and limit most if not all opportunities of free will for the sake of progeny and perpetuating humanity.
While that all sounds very weighty - and it is - the author lyrically spins her story of these women - to be or not to be (a mother) - and those who love it, those who don't, those upon whom it's been thrust and the community's stories weave up into a lovely showing of sisterhood in support of each other and the larger cause.
Truly one of my favorite reads of this year! All the stars for Laura Anthony!
25|52:10g
While that all sounds very weighty - and it is - the author lyrically spins her story of these women - to be or not to be (a mother) - and those who love it, those who don't, those upon whom it's been thrust and the community's stories weave up into a lovely showing of sisterhood in support of each other and the larger cause.
Truly one of my favorite reads of this year! All the stars for Laura Anthony!
25|52:10g
March 12, 2025
The Women on Platform Two, by Laura Anthony, discusses reproductive rights through the interconnected lives of three Irish women.
It's an interesting story overall, with a dual-timeline structure, but contains some slightly forced moments. The modern timeline follows Saoirse, a young woman considering if she even wants to have kids, and she bumps into Maura, an older woman taking a train ride with her scrapbook of photos, in commemoration of her own fight for reproductive rights. Ok, so it's pretty contrived. There are way too many perfect coincidences in this book, which really hurts the plot and the overall message.
In the 1960s storyline, a young Maura leaves her job for a marriage to a rich and handsome doctor. Her parents are proud of her for making such a good match, so she's isolated when her perfect husband turns out to be controlling and abusive. Maura becomes friends with Bernie, a butcher's wife who already has daughters and is facing another dangerous pregnancy. (The friends just randomly bump into each other one day, because Maura holds the world record in meet-cutes.) Neither woman wants a pregnancy, both for very strong reasons. Yes, OK, it feels like more of a test case than a novel having the two besties both in need contraception for the most sympathetic, not-a-slut, reasons, but then they randomly bump into a knocked-up teenager who also has a blameless and tragic need for birth control.
Then Maura meets a group of feminist activists fighting for access to contraception, which was illegal in Ireland then, and is suddenly not shy about her abusive marriage anymore, and she immediately becomes the face of the movement, even going on TV to share her story of spousal abuse under her real name. Of course, this causes her parents to react with shame, and she seems caught off guard, which didn’t feel entirely believable. Her husband, Christy, was dangerous and irredeemably awful, but after she goes public, he just disappears from the story. There’s no confrontation or resolution between them, and then, in another too-convenient coincidence, Christy dies just days before he was about to sell their house, leaving Maura financially secure and free from him forever.
It's all a bit much, although I do like when a female protag decides she'll be happy not having children (even if she has to randomly bump into a birth control activist carrying a photo album of her activism to reach this self-discovery). I appreciated the book’s focus on the courage and resilience of these women, but the coincidences and tidy resolutions made parts of it feel a bit forced.
It's an interesting story overall, with a dual-timeline structure, but contains some slightly forced moments. The modern timeline follows Saoirse, a young woman considering if she even wants to have kids, and she bumps into Maura, an older woman taking a train ride with her scrapbook of photos, in commemoration of her own fight for reproductive rights. Ok, so it's pretty contrived. There are way too many perfect coincidences in this book, which really hurts the plot and the overall message.
In the 1960s storyline, a young Maura leaves her job for a marriage to a rich and handsome doctor. Her parents are proud of her for making such a good match, so she's isolated when her perfect husband turns out to be controlling and abusive. Maura becomes friends with Bernie, a butcher's wife who already has daughters and is facing another dangerous pregnancy. (The friends just randomly bump into each other one day, because Maura holds the world record in meet-cutes.) Neither woman wants a pregnancy, both for very strong reasons. Yes, OK, it feels like more of a test case than a novel having the two besties both in need contraception for the most sympathetic, not-a-slut, reasons, but then they randomly bump into a knocked-up teenager who also has a blameless and tragic need for birth control.
Then Maura meets a group of feminist activists fighting for access to contraception, which was illegal in Ireland then, and is suddenly not shy about her abusive marriage anymore, and she immediately becomes the face of the movement, even going on TV to share her story of spousal abuse under her real name. Of course, this causes her parents to react with shame, and she seems caught off guard, which didn’t feel entirely believable. Her husband, Christy, was dangerous and irredeemably awful, but after she goes public, he just disappears from the story. There’s no confrontation or resolution between them, and then, in another too-convenient coincidence, Christy dies just days before he was about to sell their house, leaving Maura financially secure and free from him forever.
It's all a bit much, although I do like when a female protag decides she'll be happy not having children (even if she has to randomly bump into a birth control activist carrying a photo album of her activism to reach this self-discovery). I appreciated the book’s focus on the courage and resilience of these women, but the coincidences and tidy resolutions made parts of it feel a bit forced.
July 15, 2025
The Women on Platform Two is a new favorite historical fiction book for me. This book was recommended to me and I’m so glad I did pick it up, because wow what a powerful story. This book is based on a real-life event which occurred in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the early 1970s, about women who brought safe and legal contraception to the women of Ireland. What a story, I cried through half of the book and it was just such a strong story about trailblazing women who reshaped Irish history.
Told in dual timeline in a way where I loved both timelines happening, the present day timeline follows Saoirse who happens to take a train and meet Moira who starts telling her story while on their journey. And then in the past timeline, we follow Moira in 1969 and into the early 70s. We see her go from a department shop girl to being in a whirlwind romance to a doctor and then life changes quickly when she gets married and immediately realizes she has an abusive husband. He immediately changes once they’re married, becoming very possessive, abusive (physically and verbally), and controlling with how she looks, acts, and what she wears and says. We follow her life, her friends, the time in Dublin for women, and eventually get into women wanting control over their own bodies and choices and eventually leads them to bringing contraceptives into Dublin (which was I’ll eat at the time).
I was so invested in these characters and their lives and the storytelling. It definitely has hard and heavy content and the story is just so powerful and riveting. The women’s rights and social justice of this story was everything. I definitely looked up the times/movement of the “contraceptive train” as it became known, the trailblazing women, and a country reluctant to change. “Control over your own body is not a sin.”
CW: domestic abuse, violence, sexism, physical abuse, sexual assault, miscarriages (mentioned and on page), loss, birth complications, suicide, abortion, toxic relationship, infertility
Told in dual timeline in a way where I loved both timelines happening, the present day timeline follows Saoirse who happens to take a train and meet Moira who starts telling her story while on their journey. And then in the past timeline, we follow Moira in 1969 and into the early 70s. We see her go from a department shop girl to being in a whirlwind romance to a doctor and then life changes quickly when she gets married and immediately realizes she has an abusive husband. He immediately changes once they’re married, becoming very possessive, abusive (physically and verbally), and controlling with how she looks, acts, and what she wears and says. We follow her life, her friends, the time in Dublin for women, and eventually get into women wanting control over their own bodies and choices and eventually leads them to bringing contraceptives into Dublin (which was I’ll eat at the time).
I was so invested in these characters and their lives and the storytelling. It definitely has hard and heavy content and the story is just so powerful and riveting. The women’s rights and social justice of this story was everything. I definitely looked up the times/movement of the “contraceptive train” as it became known, the trailblazing women, and a country reluctant to change. “Control over your own body is not a sin.”
CW: domestic abuse, violence, sexism, physical abuse, sexual assault, miscarriages (mentioned and on page), loss, birth complications, suicide, abortion, toxic relationship, infertility
March 18, 2025
The perfect book to read during Women's History Month and especially on International Women's Day!! I went into this one blind and so enjoyed learning more about Irish women's fight to make birth control legal (something that didn't happen until 1980!).
This was a moving and at times hard to read story about a doctor's wife who endures domestic violence and multiple miscarriages at the hands of her husband as well as other women who deal with unwanted pregnancies with little or no recourse and a TON of stigma and shame should they attempt to do anything about it.
Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Heather Marshall! Many thanks to @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
This was a moving and at times hard to read story about a doctor's wife who endures domestic violence and multiple miscarriages at the hands of her husband as well as other women who deal with unwanted pregnancies with little or no recourse and a TON of stigma and shame should they attempt to do anything about it.
Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Heather Marshall! Many thanks to @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
March 22, 2025
I love a story with strong women.
April 8, 2025
The Women on Platform Two is based on true events that took place in the Republic of Ireland between 1969 and 1971. The formation of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement and the fight for their right to contraception. It is written in dual timeline format with most of the story told in the historical narrative with Maura and Bernie. Maura is married to an abusive man, and is fearful of raising children in that environment. Bernie is married with children, and has other reasons for wanting the right to contraception. The current day timeline features Saoirse, a woman in her 30s who is not remotely interested in ever becoming a mother. This lack of desire is causing major issues in her relationship.
I enjoy a well done dual timeline and this fits the bill. I’m glad most of the story took place in past as it was definitely the more interesting of the two timelines. I knew very little about this particular piece of Irish history. It was, in all honesty, riveting. The story was so well told and the characters were extremely engaging and likable. I would highly recommend this novel if you are a fan of historical fiction or women’s history. This is a debut novel by Laura Anthony author and I look forward to more.
I enjoy a well done dual timeline and this fits the bill. I’m glad most of the story took place in past as it was definitely the more interesting of the two timelines. I knew very little about this particular piece of Irish history. It was, in all honesty, riveting. The story was so well told and the characters were extremely engaging and likable. I would highly recommend this novel if you are a fan of historical fiction or women’s history. This is a debut novel by Laura Anthony author and I look forward to more.
June 3, 2025
The bones of this book are a five star but the book itself is a two star. The writing is flat and the first section is too long and grows tedious and gratuitous. If there is better historical fiction out there about this same topic, it should be read. If there isn’t, then this is a good substitute.
January 16, 2025
This is an amazing and very well written book. It is a story of an Irish woman in 1970s who appeared to have a perfect life - beautiful, well groomed, living in an upscale home, and married to a much respected doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor was abusive and the woman lost 3 pregnancies due to his abuse. Her friend had 3 children in close proximity and almost died during the delivery of her fourth child. The child did not survive. It was illegal in Ireland at the time to use contraception but legal in Belfast Northern Ireland.
This book was an Advanced Reader's Addition and will be on sale next March 11, 2025. It should have been available before the November 2024 election.
Loaned to me from Abbie.
This book was an Advanced Reader's Addition and will be on sale next March 11, 2025. It should have been available before the November 2024 election.
Loaned to me from Abbie.
November 28, 2024
While trying to make decisions about her life in present day, Saoirse encounters Maura who tells her the remarkable story of the women who fought to give other women a choice with their selves and their bodies in Ireland. In the 1970s, women weren’t allowed to work after marriage and contraception was illegal, even though it was readily available in Northern Ireland. A brave group of women banded together and one day they rode a train to Belfast and returned with contraception, thus paving the way for Irish women to have control over their lives. Maura, who married "well" but whose husband turned out to be an abuser, recounts her life along with Bernie’s, a beloved wife and mother of three who is told that she could die if she conceives another child.
While the characters are fictional, this book is based on true events.This is an important story. So many younger people don’t realize what it was once like and the sacrifices that brave young women and some men made to give them the life, freedom, and choices that they are living now.
This is a well written story that takes you in and won’t let go. I found it heartbreaking, charming, poignant, infuriating and I couldn’t put it down, reading well into the night to finish it. With well developed and captivating characters, these women's resilience is inspiring. This is a story that needs to be recounted no matter where you reside for women the world over have to be aware of the history that provided their present day freedoms and how easy it is to have their options limited.
This story moved me to tears as I recognize the forces in the country in which I live who want females to go back to, as the author describes it, “the dark ages.”
I highly recommend this book. It is truly a #Timely #CautionaryTale.
Thanks to #NetGalley and @GalleryBooks for the DRC.
While the characters are fictional, this book is based on true events.This is an important story. So many younger people don’t realize what it was once like and the sacrifices that brave young women and some men made to give them the life, freedom, and choices that they are living now.
This is a well written story that takes you in and won’t let go. I found it heartbreaking, charming, poignant, infuriating and I couldn’t put it down, reading well into the night to finish it. With well developed and captivating characters, these women's resilience is inspiring. This is a story that needs to be recounted no matter where you reside for women the world over have to be aware of the history that provided their present day freedoms and how easy it is to have their options limited.
This story moved me to tears as I recognize the forces in the country in which I live who want females to go back to, as the author describes it, “the dark ages.”
I highly recommend this book. It is truly a #Timely #CautionaryTale.
Thanks to #NetGalley and @GalleryBooks for the DRC.
March 31, 2025
In 1970s Ireland, all contraception is forbidden, but a group of women is determined to change the laws.
Based on a true story, the timeline alternates between the 1970s and 2023. The story begins in 2023 when Maura meets Saoirse while marking the anniversary of their historic train ride to purchase contraception and shares the story with her. Saoirse is already struggling with whether or not she wants to be a mother so this story is eye opening as she realizes that thanks to Maura and her friends, it is actually her choice to make.
Parts of the ending were tied up a little too neatly, but overall, it was a great debut and an interesting story!
If you'd like to read more about the inception of the birth control pill, then I would highly recommend The Briar Club (4 stars) by Kate Quinn!
Trigger Warnings:
Location: Dublin, Ireland
I received an advance copy of this book from BookishFirst. All opinions are my own.
Based on a true story, the timeline alternates between the 1970s and 2023. The story begins in 2023 when Maura meets Saoirse while marking the anniversary of their historic train ride to purchase contraception and shares the story with her. Saoirse is already struggling with whether or not she wants to be a mother so this story is eye opening as she realizes that thanks to Maura and her friends, it is actually her choice to make.
Parts of the ending were tied up a little too neatly, but overall, it was a great debut and an interesting story!
If you'd like to read more about the inception of the birth control pill, then I would highly recommend The Briar Club (4 stars) by Kate Quinn!
Trigger Warnings:
Location: Dublin, Ireland
I received an advance copy of this book from BookishFirst. All opinions are my own.
March 9, 2025
Who would think that contraception was illegal in the 1970's Dublin? There were no exceptions for married couples or medical necessity. But as Maura Davenport and Bernie (Bernadette) McCarthy would soon learn, it takes a village to enable change.
Inspired by a true story, The Women on Platform Two is an emotional read that touches upon a number of women's issues. From domestic abuse, abortion, and contraception, the novel highlights the courage of two women who embark on a passage of transformation.
The story unfolds through multiple points of view with Maura and Bernie being the primary voices of the story. They are well developed as are the secondary characters. Maura and Bernie will take you on a poignant journey full of suspense, heartfelt emotion, trauma, and heartache. Five stars.
I received a physical ARC from Gallery Books through the Bookish First Raffle. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.
Inspired by a true story, The Women on Platform Two is an emotional read that touches upon a number of women's issues. From domestic abuse, abortion, and contraception, the novel highlights the courage of two women who embark on a passage of transformation.
The story unfolds through multiple points of view with Maura and Bernie being the primary voices of the story. They are well developed as are the secondary characters. Maura and Bernie will take you on a poignant journey full of suspense, heartfelt emotion, trauma, and heartache. Five stars.
I received a physical ARC from Gallery Books through the Bookish First Raffle. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.
October 20, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Unputdownable!
A powerful fictionalized account of the fight for contraception and equal rights waged by the women of the Republic of Ireland in the 1960s/1970s. So relevant as American women are battling for their own reproductive rights in our upcoming election.
I will recommend this book far and wide!
Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC
Unputdownable!
A powerful fictionalized account of the fight for contraception and equal rights waged by the women of the Republic of Ireland in the 1960s/1970s. So relevant as American women are battling for their own reproductive rights in our upcoming election.
I will recommend this book far and wide!
Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC
March 24, 2025
An important commentary on the need for both women’s history celebrations AND reproductive freedoms: both of which have been suppressed for too long. Also relevant as a reminder of how far we’ve come, how far we’ve yet to go, and how scary the far right’s religious regressive policies actually are with regard to women’s rights.
Scarily relevant these days, I’m sad to say.
“Control over your own body isn’t a sin.”
Three plus stars.
Scarily relevant these days, I’m sad to say.
“Control over your own body isn’t a sin.”
Three plus stars.
March 15, 2025
I couldn't put this down. Set in 1970's Dublin- when all forms of contraception were outlawed. Reading about these resilient women who banded together to make change was just what I needed right now.
March 11, 2025
Courage and despair!
Poignant story set in Ireland in the late 60’s early 70’s. Attitudes towards women in Dublin are . Contraception is not allowed. Pregnant girls are thrown out onto the streets. Let’s not even talk about the Magdalene Laundries. Girls die from backyard treatments. Women are their husband’s chattels, abuse in marriage is common but never talked about.
The story of a group of women for various reasons who challenge the law is based on a true story, heroic and life changing. The law is different across the border in Northern Ireland. The women take a stand.
We join Saoirse in 2023 Dublin. She’s just discovered she and her partner Miles aren’t pregnant. She needs to getaways to think. She ends up on a train bound for Belfast with an older woman Maura Davenport bound for Belfast, and is enthralled by the story Maura tells. So much so that she ends up staying on the train.
A courageous look at these times and those women who took action, paving the way for future generations.
A Gallery Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Poignant story set in Ireland in the late 60’s early 70’s. Attitudes towards women in Dublin are . Contraception is not allowed. Pregnant girls are thrown out onto the streets. Let’s not even talk about the Magdalene Laundries. Girls die from backyard treatments. Women are their husband’s chattels, abuse in marriage is common but never talked about.
The story of a group of women for various reasons who challenge the law is based on a true story, heroic and life changing. The law is different across the border in Northern Ireland. The women take a stand.
We join Saoirse in 2023 Dublin. She’s just discovered she and her partner Miles aren’t pregnant. She needs to getaways to think. She ends up on a train bound for Belfast with an older woman Maura Davenport bound for Belfast, and is enthralled by the story Maura tells. So much so that she ends up staying on the train.
A courageous look at these times and those women who took action, paving the way for future generations.
A Gallery Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
September 19, 2025
Review to follow shortly
September 3, 2025
Trigger warning: domestic violence, sexual assault, pregnancy loss, contraception
Laura Anthony’s The Women on Platform Two is an emotional and unforgettable historical novel that weaves a powerful tapestry of female resilience, love, and the fight for autonomy in Ireland. The story begins in 2023, where we meet Saoirse, a pediatric nurse uncertain about starting a family with her fiancé. After a deeply personal disappointment, a chance encounter on a train platform leads her to an older woman named Maura Davenport. Captivated, Saoirse impulsively boards a train to hear Maura's extraordinary story, a journey that transports readers back to the late 1960s. We discover a young Maura Davenport, recently married to the prominent Dr. Christy Davenport. She is forced to quit her beloved department store job, a sacrifice expected of a married woman. But the glossy facade of her marriage soon shatters, revealing her husband’s vicious temper that threatens her dreams of a safe home and a family. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three married to her love and the local butcher, faces a frightening dilemma. Her medical condition makes another pregnancy life threatening, but in 1970s Ireland, contraception was illegal even with a medical diagnosis. Set against the historical 1970's struggle in Ireland where contraception was banned by law, and the powerful Catholic Church used its influence to enforce this ban and silence women's voices on reproductive health. Anthony gives a powerful tribute to the women who risked everything for the right to control their own bodies and destinies. They dared to speak out against the state's laws and the Church's moral authority, which had joined forces to prevent women from having autonomy over their reproductive health, especially those who were poor or lived in rural areas. The Women on Platform Two is a moving and deeply relevant story that proves that the struggles for reproductive freedom are not just a matter of history, but a timeless fight for human dignity. 4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Laura Anthony’s The Women on Platform Two is an emotional and unforgettable historical novel that weaves a powerful tapestry of female resilience, love, and the fight for autonomy in Ireland. The story begins in 2023, where we meet Saoirse, a pediatric nurse uncertain about starting a family with her fiancé. After a deeply personal disappointment, a chance encounter on a train platform leads her to an older woman named Maura Davenport. Captivated, Saoirse impulsively boards a train to hear Maura's extraordinary story, a journey that transports readers back to the late 1960s. We discover a young Maura Davenport, recently married to the prominent Dr. Christy Davenport. She is forced to quit her beloved department store job, a sacrifice expected of a married woman. But the glossy facade of her marriage soon shatters, revealing her husband’s vicious temper that threatens her dreams of a safe home and a family. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three married to her love and the local butcher, faces a frightening dilemma. Her medical condition makes another pregnancy life threatening, but in 1970s Ireland, contraception was illegal even with a medical diagnosis. Set against the historical 1970's struggle in Ireland where contraception was banned by law, and the powerful Catholic Church used its influence to enforce this ban and silence women's voices on reproductive health. Anthony gives a powerful tribute to the women who risked everything for the right to control their own bodies and destinies. They dared to speak out against the state's laws and the Church's moral authority, which had joined forces to prevent women from having autonomy over their reproductive health, especially those who were poor or lived in rural areas. The Women on Platform Two is a moving and deeply relevant story that proves that the struggles for reproductive freedom are not just a matter of history, but a timeless fight for human dignity. 4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 8, 2025
What an excellent story - it made me laugh, it made me smile and it made me teary!
The narrative structure is excellent - a woman running away from a discussion with her partner boards a train and meets a lovely old lady, Maura, who tells her of her past - her abusive husband and her plight to make contraception legal!
There are some full on parts to this story and some horribly graphic domestic violence scenes/discussions - so go in prepared.
But what an excellent historical story about the plight of Irish women to illegally gain contraception.
5 stars - recommend!!!
The narrative structure is excellent - a woman running away from a discussion with her partner boards a train and meets a lovely old lady, Maura, who tells her of her past - her abusive husband and her plight to make contraception legal!
There are some full on parts to this story and some horribly graphic domestic violence scenes/discussions - so go in prepared.
But what an excellent historical story about the plight of Irish women to illegally gain contraception.
5 stars - recommend!!!
December 21, 2025
It’s hard to imagine that Ireland now has more reproductive freedoms than parts of the US. Sad.
This book was about a time when Ireland prohibited contraception and a group of women who worked to change it.
I was interested in that story, but somehow the telling of it felt a bit simplistic.
The protagonist has other issues she’s dealing with and that storyline also ends in a way that seems less than believable.
Still we need more stories about what it was like before because we are heading in a bad direction in the US.
This book was about a time when Ireland prohibited contraception and a group of women who worked to change it.
I was interested in that story, but somehow the telling of it felt a bit simplistic.
The protagonist has other issues she’s dealing with and that storyline also ends in a way that seems less than believable.
Still we need more stories about what it was like before because we are heading in a bad direction in the US.
March 27, 2025
Thank you Gallery Books for my #gifted finished copy and thank you Simon Audio for my #gifted listening copy of The Women on Platform Two!
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐓𝐰𝐨
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
𝟓★
This book was so powerful and one that I fell in love with from the very beginning. With women’s rights in question now, this book is so timely. The friendship between the women in this book was truly heartwarming. I found myself so emotional at times while listening. There were moments I was almost in tears, and others I was so angry. Despite it all, the way the women in this book came together and their resistance and resilience brought me so much joy.
💚Multiple POVs
💚Dual Timeline
💚Based on a True Story
💚Women’s Reproductive Rights
💚Friendship
💚Women’s Equality
💚Set in Ireland
💚Timely & Powerful
🎧I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Jessica Regan, Shakira Shute, and Maeva Smyth. All of these women were phenomenal and I loved my time listening. I loved how they brought Maura, Bernie, and Saoirse to life and made me want to not stop listening to this audiobook once I started. I highly recommend this one on audio!
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐓𝐰𝐨
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
𝟓★
This book was so powerful and one that I fell in love with from the very beginning. With women’s rights in question now, this book is so timely. The friendship between the women in this book was truly heartwarming. I found myself so emotional at times while listening. There were moments I was almost in tears, and others I was so angry. Despite it all, the way the women in this book came together and their resistance and resilience brought me so much joy.
💚Multiple POVs
💚Dual Timeline
💚Based on a True Story
💚Women’s Reproductive Rights
💚Friendship
💚Women’s Equality
💚Set in Ireland
💚Timely & Powerful
🎧I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Jessica Regan, Shakira Shute, and Maeva Smyth. All of these women were phenomenal and I loved my time listening. I loved how they brought Maura, Bernie, and Saoirse to life and made me want to not stop listening to this audiobook once I started. I highly recommend this one on audio!
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