The Market Girls of Petticoat Lane

by Patricia McBride

With the world at war, three women stitch hope into every seam…

In the bustling heart of London’s East End, Maisie, Amanda and Bethan work long hours at the uniform factory. The pay is poor, the shifts relentless and the bombs fall far too close for comfort ­– but these three women refuse to give in to despair.

For when not at the factory, the girls spend their days on the markets of Petticoat Lane, trying to source material in order to make dresses ­– doing their best to bring any small amount of joy in these troubled times.

When a chance encounter leads them to a bundle of parachute silk, they decide to think bigger. And so, with needles in hand and a dream in their hearts, they begin sewing a beautiful wedding dress in secret.

But in wartime, secrets don’t stay hidden for long. And when Amanda uncovers seedy goings on at the factory, all of their livelihoods may be on the line…

A page-turning tale of friendship, courage and a chance for a better life. If you loved The Library Girls of the East End, be the first to read Patricia McBride's brand new series!

Genres: Historical Fiction, Womens Fiction

286 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2026

Reviews

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, The Market Girls of Petticoat Lane, by Patricia McBride, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Amanda, Bethan, and Maisie are working in London, at a factory during the war. There is a lot going on in this book, war, fraud, weddings, and friendships. This was a nice read.

[linda hole · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a good read. a book with family secrets, heartbreaks but also with dreams and hopes. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a brand new series by Patricia McBride. Having read and loved the authors previous series ‘The Library Girls’, I couldn’t wait to start this new book . It didn’t take me long to get stuck into this story and to get to know all the great characters, especially Amanda, Maisie and Bethan. These three ladies work together at a uniform factory but as well as working together they are best friends and will always look out for each other . Life isn’t however a bed of roses for them and they each have their own problems to deal with . As well as dealing with their own issues the war is still raging on and times are hard for everyone. I felt the author really brought this story to life with her wonderful descriptions of life in London’s East End during the toughest of times . This was a great solid start to a new series and I can’t wait to see what’s in store in the next book .

[Alayne Emmett]

I loved this sweet story. It was set in the second world war and featured women who were making uniforms in a factory and wanted to start their own business and make money by selling their garments on a stall. Very enjoyable. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

[Carol (Reading Ladies) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Persevering and thriving in challenging times is the driving theme in The Market Girls of Petticoat Lane. Maisie, Amanda, and Bethan dream of starting their own business as a way to supplement their meager salaries at the uniform factory. Because they already have basic sewing skills, they begin dreaming and scheming about an alterations and (eventually) dress-making business. Their big break comes in the form of a request to design a wedding dress. Of course, material is scarce and they will need to use (contraband) parachute silk, but this doesn’t deter them. With Amanda as the designer, they begin the project, which, if successful, could supplement their income and establish their reputation.

In addition to the alterations and dress-making venture, each girl faces personal challenges. Suspected criminal activity at the factory adds intrigue and drama to the story. Even with their jobs at risk, Maisie, Amanda, and Bethan support each other in every way possible.

Vivid descriptive details establish a strong sense of place. As Maisie, Amanda, and Bethan go from their homes to Petticoat Lane to their factory work and to the bomb shelters, we feel a kinship with these likable and strong characters.

Thoughtful themes include hope from despair, dreams of a better future, women supporting women, friendship, entrepreneurship, workplace drama, dysfunctional parents, resilience, and wartime hardships.

Fans of WWII home front fiction, women supporting women, and friendship themes will find much to love in this page-turning story. I enjoyed this author’s Library Girls series and I’m eager to follow her new series!

Content Considerations: Addictions (gambling, alcohol)

Thanks #NetGalley @BoldwoodBooks for a complimentary eARC of #TheMarketGirlsOfPetticoatLane upon my request. All opinions are my own.

For more reviews visit my blog www.readingladies.com where this review was first published.

[Donna McCaul Thibodeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

In London's East End, Maisie, Bethan and Amanda work long hours at the uniform factory. Maisie has her hands full with a younger brother and sister, an indifferent father, and an alcoholic mother. Bethan has dreams of marrying a handsome GI and moving to America. And Amanda is trying to save money, so she can rent a room and escape from her gambler father. Is there a happy ending in their futures?
I loved this book. World War II historical fiction is my favorite genre, and I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next for these girls. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

[C.R. Comacchio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood for an ARC of this novel.

Patricia McBride is among my wry my favourites authors on Boldwood’s expansive list. Although many of her stories, on their own and as sections in multi-book sagas, are set in poor communities during difficult times, she highlights the cheerful resilience and Soldiering on’ of her mostly female main characters. But she does this in a manner that reveals how their courage and resourcefulness are choices that they make when the circumstances of their lives could as easily have pointed them toward despair. The ‘market girls’ of the title are three young seamstresses who are fully aware of the hardships that their struggling families must endure, now compounded by the duty and sacrifice demanded by the Second World War.

Maisie, Amanda and Bethan, fast friends, neighbours and co-workers at an East End factory producing uniforms for the British forces—all while the Blitz pounds their neighborhood nightly. They spend long daylight hours at physically demanding work, underpaid and constantly under pressure to produce more. Their supervisor is a horrible woman, quick to find fault and loud in her criticism. Yet, as working class girls knew too well, they have no choice but to keep at it. Amanda dreams of leaving home to get away from a father who gambles away every cent she makes while being abusive to her and her mother. Maisie is basically raising her two younger siblings while her mother’s alcoholism is killing her; Welsh-born Bethan has a loving family but longs to escape to the United States once she finds and marries a wealthy and handsome GI.

With the clever and talented Amanda in the lead, they decide to hire themselves out to do small sewing jobs by joining one of the most successful and flamboyant sellers at the market in bustling Petticoat Lane. They describe themselves, tongue-in-cheek but accurately, as being in the business of ‘stitching hems while London burned.’ There are plenty of complications, relationship issues, worries about their families, romantic disillusionments, and fears about the shape of the postwar world. But there are moments of fun, of joy, of success and most of all moments of sustaining female friendship. This a meaningful and believable story.

[Bev Walkling · Rating 4 out of 5]

There seem to be quite a large number of books set in the East end of London, perhaps because the area has been known to be economically one of the poorest parts of London, and also an area that was badly damaged by the bombings of World War 2. The main characters are 3 young women who work at the local uniform factory. They are good friends and provide support to each hour both at work and in their off time hours. Amanda is good with figures and her job has her working on the accounts. She is also a skilled seamstress and designer. Her goal is to save enough money to move away from home so her gambler father can't steal her hard earned funds. Maisie also lives in a dysfunctional home. Her father is rarely around and her mother is an alcoholic. When she comes home from work she is typically met by her two younger siblings squabbling, and dinner to be prepared. Bethean is the extrovert. She comes from Wales originally and her family seem pretty normal. She has dreams of falling in love with an American GI and moving to America, where she believes life will be "lush".

The novel follows the ins and outs of their daily lives including all the drama with a mystery folded in to make life interesting. To try and achieve their dreams, the girls join to share part of a local market stall where they can take turns offering up their sewing skills to earn some coins.

The part of the novel which got to me the most was the telling of a disaster that took place in Bethnal Green during an air raid. Two of the girls were affected by this. The story was told in a way that made me feel that I was there helplessly watching. The effects lingered on indefinitely for the girls. This was a real event which I knew about before reading the book.

I enjoyed getting to know these three young women and look forward to book # 2. I believe this book will be of interest to those interested in WW2 fiction, especially as it relates to London

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own.

[Heather Copping · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 1943 and a group of twenty women are busy making uniforms for the troops, Amanda is one of these women and it's a job she can do with her eyes shut as its so repetitive. Maisie is working nearby on her workbench and going so fast they jokingly say she is trying for a world record. Together with their best friend Bethan they're all the best of friends. Amanda is doing everything she can to save enough money to get her own place, a single room would be lovely. Maisie doesn't have happy home life, her mum spends all her time in the local public house, coming home completely drunk and Maisie has to look after her younger brother and sister and try to scrape together a meal from whatever scraps she can find.
But the three girls have an idea how they can make some money and better themselves, that's to do alterations to clothes, as the rationing makes it difficult for anyone to buy new clothes and second hand things need alterations and mending to give it some appeal. When a local market stall owner let's them have a corner of her stall could this be the start of a lucrative business venture.
But nothing runs smoothly, and when a major incident happens nearby the girls are asked to help, but it really affects them afterwards, then when Maisie's mother collapses and gets taken to hospital, it's Maisie who has to take the brunt of it and try to sort things at home, she certainly feels like she has the world on her shoulders. More importantly can Maisie trust her mum never to drink again?

A truly lovely story set in WW2 London, featuring three girls who are hard working and determined to make their lives better, and still keeping their friendships strong.
A great five-star read and a great start to a new series about the market girls of Petticoat Lane in London.

#Netgalley
#PatriciaMcBride
#TheMarketGirlsOfPetticoatLane
#BoldwoodBooks

[Trudy Dowling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Market Girls of Petticoat Lane has a little bit of everything to keep the reader reading past their bedtime. Amanda, Bethan and Maisie are the best of friends as they stitch together military uniforms. Goodness, I felt as if I was in the factory experiencing the noises, the heavy air and the cloth dust, things I could never have imagined on my own. The girls are working full time but are struggling.

As was practice, most money went to help the family. I wanted to weep as the girls handed over money that then went to drink and gambling instead of putting food on the table. I must admit I didn't think about how adults would escape the horrors of war. This book got me thinking a lot about what the people must have gone through.

Romance is frequently in the air. Sometimes forced as on of the gals has a goal of snagging a yank. The trip to Rainbow Corner was a thrill. Some of the other situations that she experienced with GIs not so much. I do like how they don't give up on love and how they find escapes from the horror of war.

Grab the tissues. Two of the girls will be recruited from a bomb shelter to help clear a disaster. The Bethnal Green Tube Disaster would keep them busy for hours as they tried to save as many lives as they could. So many lives lost. So many lives changed. The girls have the biggest hearts. They not only saved lives that night but they helped those that survived by raising funds.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Market Girls of Petticoat Lane by Patricia McBride is a slice-of-life novel feating three young women: Amanda, Bethan, and Maisie, all of whom worked in a factory making uniforms during World War II (England). Amanda wanted to leave home but was having trouble saving the money. Maisie’s mother was a drunk and her father was seldom home. It was up to her to take care of her younger brother and sister as well as support the household. Her mother’s money went to drink and her father’s to gambling. Bethan is determined to marry a GI and return with him to America. Fortunately she was careful with herself and didn’t give in to pressure. Amanda kep the inventory at the factory and something was wrong. There was more fabric coming in that uniforms going out. She didn’t know what to do.

Amanda did outside sewing for extra money and convinced the other two to open a small business, of sorts, while still working at their job.s Interesting, typical young women on the cusp of their lives. Bethan had to learn that dreams change; Maisie learned that relationships could be different than her parents; and Amanda managed to break away from her parents, and inspired her mother, as well. It was an enjoyable story, from a time and place different than what I know.

I was invited to read The Market Girls of Petticoat Lane by Boldwood Books. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #BoldwoodBooks #PatriciaMcBride #TheMarketGirlsOfPetticoatLane

[Louise Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the bustling heart of London's West End, Maisie, Amanda and Bethan work long hours at the uniform factory. The pay is poor, the shifts relentless and the bombs fall far too close for comfort - but these three women refuse to give in to despair. For when not in the factory, the girls spend their days on the markets of Petticoat Lane, trying to source material in order to make dresses - doing their best to bring any small amount of joy in those troubles times.

Set during WWII in the East End of London. Maisie, Amanda and Bethan work in the uniform factory. When they're not working, they all like to go to Petticoat Lane market to see if they can get material to make dresses. We learn of the girls family members. They all have a desire for a better future.

Published 6th January 2026

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #PatriciaMcBride for my ARC of #TheMarketGirlsOfPetticoatLane in exchange for an honest review.

[Katie Awdas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Start of a great series! Being a dressmaker myself I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of the girls work in the factory and their seamstress work outside work. The girls were all very easy to like and to relate too each with their own strong character and differing personal lives. I think stories like this make you appreciate how hard life was for people during the war both at work and how life at home was often a challenge with little money. The girls were very entrepreneurial with their idea and I was glad it worked for them and they could bring happiness to others. The factory storyline too kept you guessing and hoping justice would prevail in the end.

I very much look forward to the next book in the series and getting to know the girls more and would recommend the series to others.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for allowing me to read and review an Arc copy.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Market Girls of Petticoat Lane, has Amanda who is trying to save enough money to move out of home away from her abusive father, Bethan who is trying to find a American husband and Maisie who is looking after her younger brother and sister while also worrying about her alcoholic mother. I like all three girls and the struggles in their lives make me more invested in their wellbeing. This is all happening while the war is ongoing and the rationing is getting tougher. I am so thrilled that this is a new series so hopefully there is plenty more books to come.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gritty story of hardship and friendship in World War 2. Three friends work in a factory, but hope for better things. Between dysfunctional parents, the stress of war and bombings and skullduggery at work, they all manage to find their way in life. This story has a feel of authenticity, and attention to detail of every day life that makes it a pleasure to read. It is the start of a series that I intend to follow. Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for introducing me to this author.

[Jeanette Fallon]

Three co-workers who became very close friends. All trying to make it day by day, with hopes of better days ahead.


Amanda, Bethan and Maisie doing what they can to improve their lives.  All three struggling at the uniform factory.  Changes are coming that will have a major impact on their lives.


I love the friendship between the girls. They were brave and supportive of each other. It's amazing what they had to do to survive.  But survive, they did. 

[Sue Rouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent start to the Petticoat Lane series. Amanda, Bethan and Maisie work in a factory which as war has started makes army uniforms. However on the side they dream of starting their own business but with so much happening in the their personal lives can they find time and money to carry this off. Loveable characters and a great storyline. I can’t wait for the next book. Thanks to Patricia and her publisher.

[Joyce tuffs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story.

This is another enjoyable read from Patricia McBride. This is about three friends who work in a sewing factory and also started their own business sewing for other people.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely story in which we meet friends Amanda, Maisie and Bethan. They all work together in the sewing factory making uniforms for the troops.

If you would like to read my full review please visit my blog at:

https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable

[Sue Riemersma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first read by Patricia McBride. The Market Girls is about three friends who work together in a WWII uniform sewing factory. They all have excellent sewing skills and want to earn money on the side. They decide to take in extra sewing to earn money. The three lady's lives are interwoven brilliantly. The only reason this is not a 5 star is it started very slow. I almost didn't finish it but I kept going and glad I did.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great start to new series and as with her previous books Patricia McBride writes characters with so much depth and individuality. Set In London’s East End this follows friends Maisie, Bethan and Amanda. They all work together at the uniform factory where the hours are long and the pay is poor. As the story develops we find out more about each of their lives, hopes and dreams. When they start to do alterations for people they soon see a way to make some extra money but when they are lucky enough to get hold of some parachute silk they start to see how things could develop into so much more. Then there are the Yanks who are turning heads, as well as things not being quite right at the factory………. This has friendship, family dynamics, romance and drama as well as an insight into life in the East End during WW2. Really looking forward to the next book in the series

[Caroline Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet and charming story about three friends looking for opportunity during WWII. It was hard to determine whether the characters were in Wales or in London and when during the war the story was taking place between the tightening of rations and the V rocket.

[Kacey/Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The resilience of three women who deal with working under poor conditions and poor pay during a war. They try to make the best of what the way have and endure the life they live.