Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room

by Kim Kelly

Christmastime, 1922. Sydney is at last waking from the nightmare of the Great War, and rekindled hope brings a burst of new energy to the city.

Dotty Bluebrook does not share the shift in mood. Drifting through her rich-girl routine of shopping and social engagements, she is secretly mourning the loss of a forbidden lover who went off to fight and never returned. He’s been missing in action for four long years – and she’s losing her mind. Clarinda Littlemore is grieving losses of a more concrete kind. Her beloved father and brothers are unquestionably dead – leaving her and her mother in poverty. Taking a job in the Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room of an elegant department store, Clarinda is craving a life beyond filling inkpots and replenishing stationery supplies.

One hot summer morning, when Dotty sweeps into the rose-pink haven of the writing room to pen a letter to her non-existent man, Clarinda watches her, and a recognition flares with resentment at her privilege. But soon she senses that Dotty’s in some desperate trouble of her own and, with recognition ever deepening, Clarinda takes a chance to rescue them both.

*Winner of the 20/40 Finlay Lloyd Prize*

Genres: Historical Fiction, Novella, Australia, Audiobook

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2023

About the author

‘Why can’t more people write like this?’ – The Age
‘colourful, evocative and energetic’ – Sydney Morning Herald

Kim Kelly is author thirteen novels. Among them are the bestselling, The Blue Mile, and critically acclaimed, Wild Chicory. Her novella, The Rat Catcher, was longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize, and her latest, Ladies' Rest and Writing Room, was awarded the Finlay Lloyd 20/40 Prize.

Also a well-known book editor, Kim has a Master of Creative Writing from Macquarie University, for which she earned the Fred Rush Convocation Prize for writing. She is currently undertaking a PhD in literature at Macquarie.

Reviews

[Wendy Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella is written in this author's usual deep style and has the characteristic streak of dry humour. She captures the times well. The plot is well structured and perfectly paced.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room is an intriguing premise with a unique setting, but it falls short in developing the characters. With the story moving at a quick pace, I didn’t feel there was enough time to truly connect with the characters or become emotionally invested in their journeys. The narration was pleasant, and the plot had potential, but the lack of deeper character development left me feeling detached. It’s a decent listen if you’re looking for a light, quick read, but I struggled to feel invested in the story.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed the book. I listened as an audio book.
It had some lovely historical references. It is a novella so not very long. So you coul read and enjoy over an afternoon or day

[Claire Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Kim Kelly has taken me from the here and now and this time transported me to Sydney in the 1920s. It is here I met Clarinda and Dotty, two very different women on the surface, and both of whom I connected with immediately.

I don't want to give too much of this wonderful story away which makes it hard to know what to write.

Dotty and Clarinda's lives intersected the first time when they were at school, though they weren't friends, then came the war and with it many losses and much grief, neither woman's life has gone the way they thought it would. A chance interaction at the Ladies' Rest and Writing Room of Farmer's Department Store sets off a string of events that has the potential for healing, understanding and a shot at happiness that neither expected.

I have to say I loved the ending, I finished with a feeling of hope for a better future for both Dotty and Clarinda.

I definitely recommend picking up a copy of Kim Kelly's award-winning novella and meeting Dotty and Clarinda for yourselves.

*audiobook
As I've come to expect from Caroline Lee she does a great job of bringing the characters and story to life. A great listen

[KC (Lit in Byron) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room by Kim Kelly isn’t trying to show off technically. What it does instead is far trickier. It builds two characters at speed, with wit and warmth, and somehow makes their emotional lives feel fully stocked despite the book’s slim spine.

The premise is simple and contained, a small historical moment, a tight setting, two women meeting in a space carved out for pause and possibility. But Kelly loads that container carefully. Every exchange does double duty. Dialogue establishes personality, power, humour and vulnerability all at once. There’s no flab. No scene exists without purpose.

What really works here is emotional compression. Kelly understands how to layer feeling quickly without rushing it. You get curiosity, longing, tenderness, grief, hope, all stacked neatly, never chaotic. The characters arrive almost fully formed, not because they’re overexplained, but because their voices are sharp and distinct from the first page. You know them by how they speak, tease, hesitate.

The wit helps. It keeps the story buoyant even when heavier history presses in, and it makes the eventual twist land harder. That cheeky surprise genuinely caught me off guard and reframed what I thought I was reading. It also left me with that lingering itch to go and pick up a full WWII novel, which feels like a quiet magic trick for a story this short.

If there’s a limitation, it’s only that you may wish it were longer. But that’s also the point. This book knows exactly when to stop.

This is for readers who love character-first storytelling, who trust implication over exposition, and who appreciate when a short work punches well above its word count. It’s beautifully written, emotionally generous, and absolutely deserving of its accolades.

My take. A small book with a big heart and a wicked sense of timing.

[Desney King · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exquisite jewel of a book, Ladies' Rest and Writing Room deserves every accolade that comes its way. No wonder it was a winner of the inaugural Finlay Lloyd 20/40 prize.
Every time I read a Kim Kelly book, it becomes my favourite, at least for a while. So right now I'm in love with this, her latest offering.
Kelly's meticulous research flows invisibly through every moment of Dotty and Clarinda's story, immersing us in the post-war world of 1920s Sydney. Each woman is immediately captivating in her own way, strong characters both of them, despite (or because of?) the grief and loss that shapes their world.
As always, though, Kim Kelly writes about love. Her trademark quirkiness is a unique love language that I'm addicted to: how does she come up with that word, that turn of phrase, that unlikely twist?

Could this novella have grown into a full-length novel? Perhaps. Would it have been as perfect in any other form? I don't think so.
For it is a slim volume rich with layers and textures, perfect for reading again and again.
I love it.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ladies Rest and Writing Room features two women made bereft not only by the loss of loved ones in WW1 but also by a change in circumstances. Dotty Bluebrook is wealthy and privileged, but she’s had to change her surname because of hostility against people of German origin, and she’s lost her grip on life and reality along with her identity. Clarinda Littlemore, who went to the same exclusive school, now lives in reduced circumstances because of a family tragedy. She is embarrassed to find herself tending to a distraught Dotty in the Ladies’ Rest and Writing Room, a refuge for women wearied by shopping in Farmer’s Department Store.

To see the rest of my review please visit
https://anzlitlovers.com/2023/10/28/2...

[Mary-Lou Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This resonant and beautifully written novella by Kim Kelly was the winner of the 2023 Finlay Lloyd 20/40 prize and deservedly so.
The Ladies' Rest and Writing Room takes us back to a time that I'm very familiar with because of own my research for and writing of The Chocolate Factory – the aftermath of WW1.
Kim Kelly paints a sumptuous picture of Sydney giddy with the fervour of Christmas and the desperate wanting to forget. Her two protagonists, Dotty and Clarinda, are scarred by the tragedies of the Great War. Their lived experience of grief rings through the novella like crystal. The two young women, raised for a future that no longer exists, find themselves united by more than their loss.
The Ladies' Rest and Writing Room is a moving story told with skill. Brava Kim.

[Robyn Mundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this novella in two sittings. Such a clever, heartfelt story set in Sydney during the closing days of the Great War. A journey of loss and profound grief, from both sides of the wealth/poverty track. A story of kindness, compassion and wholly unexpected new beginnings. I was held from start to finish.

[Lisa Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all of Kim’s books, this novella is a skilfully told and warm story. Set in 1920s Sydney, it captures the sense of loss from the war through the delightful characters of Dotty and Clarinda, two very different young women, both learning to live again after grief.

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully heartfelt short story, set in post-war 1920’s, about two women drawn together in unexpected circumstances in Sydney Australia. I appreciated the historical elements and the immersive plot.

Format: Audiobook through Borrowbox

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This charming cameo of a particular time and place is a delightful discovery and my introduction to an Australian author whose major works I'll be seeking out.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely neat little story which went somewhere I did not expect…

[Tracy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short novella weaving two characters together, rich girl and poor girl.

[Jen]

DNF Audiobook. Really liked the description but could not get past first half hour, not keeping my attention.

[Ruth Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable short read that went somewhere different to what I expected.

[Lisa of Hopewell]

I learned of this book via this post: https://whisperinggums.com/2025/01/04...

[Kerryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was just not time in a novella to develop the characters or plot enough.

[Perry Middlemiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clarinda Littlemore works in the Ladies' Rest and Writing Room, which is a part of the fictional Farmers Department Store in Sydney. It is 1922 and the wounds of the Great War still run open and deep. Clarinda, and her mother, have fallen on hard times after her two brothers were killed in the war, her father's business collapsed and he committed suicide. Clarinda had attended an exclusive girls' school and had been destined for greater things. One day an old classmate of hers, Dotty Bluebrook, comes to the Writing Room but doesn't recognise her. Dotty is too involved in writing a letter to her fiance Digby who was pronounced missing-in-action in 1916. She leaves the undeliverable letter for Clarinda to post and heads off to spend more money, which is the way she keeps her depression in check. A few days later Dotty returns to the Room but this time she is in full-blown nervous distress, aiming to write one last letter to Digby before she kills herself. Luckily for her Clarinda takes control and shuffles her out of the city to the beach where she can at least regain a sense of calm.

This novella won the 2023 20/40 Publishing Prize from Finlay Lloyd publishers and sparkles with excellent writing and atmosphere. Kelly is able to show the full extent of the grief surrounding these two young damaged women, and the impact the First World War had on those left behind, especially the women. R: 3.8/5.0