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The Saturday Girls
Perfect for fans of Daisy Styles and Rosie Clarke. If you loved An Education, Good Girls Revolt and Made in Dagenham then this is for you.
It's 1964. England has shaken off its post-war gloom and the world is full of possibilities.
Best friends Sandra and Linda live on a housing estate in Essex. They are aspiring mods: they have the music, the coffee bar and Ready Steady Go! on a Friday night.
Having landed their first jobs, Linda and Sandra look set. But the world is changing rapidly, and both girls have difficult choices to make. As Sandra blindly pursues a proposal, Linda finds herself drawn to causes she knows are worth fighting for.
But when Sandra's quest leads her to local bad boy Danny, she lands both her and Linda in more trouble than they bargained for . . .
It's 1964. England has shaken off its post-war gloom and the world is full of possibilities.
Best friends Sandra and Linda live on a housing estate in Essex. They are aspiring mods: they have the music, the coffee bar and Ready Steady Go! on a Friday night.
Having landed their first jobs, Linda and Sandra look set. But the world is changing rapidly, and both girls have difficult choices to make. As Sandra blindly pursues a proposal, Linda finds herself drawn to causes she knows are worth fighting for.
But when Sandra's quest leads her to local bad boy Danny, she lands both her and Linda in more trouble than they bargained for . . .
480 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 2016
19 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Woodcraft
7 books9 followersElizabeth Woodcraft was born and grew up in Chelmsford. She became a mod at 13, worked in the Milk Bar at 15, and danced to the music of Zoot Money, Georgie Fame and Wilson Pickett on Saturdays. This is the world reflected in the stories in A Sense of Occasion.
She took her suede coat and small collection of Tamla Motown records to Birmingham University where she studied philosophy. She then taught English in Leicester and Tours in France. After that, she moved to London where she worked for Women's Aid, the organisation which supports women who suffer domestic violence. Women's Aid helped to bring about a change in the law - the Domestic Violence Act of 1976 - and Elizabeth's experiences during that time led her to retrain as a barrister.
During her time at the Bar she represented Greenham Common Peace Protesters, Anti-Apartheid demonstrators, striking miners and Clause 28 activists, as well as battered women, children who have suffered sex abuse in and out of their homes and gay parents seeking parental rights.
She has published two crime novels, featuring barrister Frankie Richmond - Good Bad Woman and Babyface (Harper Collins). Frankie Richmond's collection of Stax and Motown records is to die for. Good Bad Woman was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel, and in the US won the Lambda Literary Award. The reviewer in the London Times said about Babyface, 'Move over Rumpole.' A third Frankie Richmond novel - Crazy Arms - is on the way.
Throughout her life, Liz has been writing, plays and stories, and she has always kept a diary. Her book A Sense of Occasion, published in 2014 is a collection of short stories about 4 working class girls living in the 60s. Her latest novel, Beyond the Beehive, continues the story of best friends Sandra and Linda, in the year 1965.
She is an occasional newspaper reviewer on BBC Radio Essex and recently appeared in the BBC East show ‘Living in ’66 – Pop, Pirates and Postmen,' talking about life as a mod girl in Chelmsford. She taught BBC Radio 6 DJ Steve Lamacq how to do the mod jive.
With her partner, she divides her time between Paris and London.
She took her suede coat and small collection of Tamla Motown records to Birmingham University where she studied philosophy. She then taught English in Leicester and Tours in France. After that, she moved to London where she worked for Women's Aid, the organisation which supports women who suffer domestic violence. Women's Aid helped to bring about a change in the law - the Domestic Violence Act of 1976 - and Elizabeth's experiences during that time led her to retrain as a barrister.
During her time at the Bar she represented Greenham Common Peace Protesters, Anti-Apartheid demonstrators, striking miners and Clause 28 activists, as well as battered women, children who have suffered sex abuse in and out of their homes and gay parents seeking parental rights.
She has published two crime novels, featuring barrister Frankie Richmond - Good Bad Woman and Babyface (Harper Collins). Frankie Richmond's collection of Stax and Motown records is to die for. Good Bad Woman was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award for Best First Crime Novel, and in the US won the Lambda Literary Award. The reviewer in the London Times said about Babyface, 'Move over Rumpole.' A third Frankie Richmond novel - Crazy Arms - is on the way.
Throughout her life, Liz has been writing, plays and stories, and she has always kept a diary. Her book A Sense of Occasion, published in 2014 is a collection of short stories about 4 working class girls living in the 60s. Her latest novel, Beyond the Beehive, continues the story of best friends Sandra and Linda, in the year 1965.
She is an occasional newspaper reviewer on BBC Radio Essex and recently appeared in the BBC East show ‘Living in ’66 – Pop, Pirates and Postmen,' talking about life as a mod girl in Chelmsford. She taught BBC Radio 6 DJ Steve Lamacq how to do the mod jive.
With her partner, she divides her time between Paris and London.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 6, 2020
I enjoyed this as it made a change from the sagas set in the 50s and wartime. Set in the 60s with mods and rockers. Writing style was slightly different but easy to follow all the same.
August 18, 2018
Good. Enjoyed the story even though at times the characters were annoying and I just wanted to tell not to do whatever they were about to do or not to say that to someone. Also the writing was a bit disjointed at times if I wasn't reading this for Reader's First as it was an advance copy I would have not finished. Thank you Reader's First for the proof copy.
January 30, 2020
Had book, didn't enjoy at all
May 30, 2021
I loved this sweet little book about Chelmsford life in the 60s. Nice story too
September 5, 2018
3.5 Stars
I was drawn to this book because of the time period it is set in - I wasn't even a twinkle in my mother's eye during the heyday of the Mods and the Rockers but it still feels almost close enough to touch, almost as if I could have been there. Maybe because my early childhood was set to a backdrop of the Sixties Sounds courtesy of my mum's rather Rocker collection and my dad's rather Mod collection of LPs.
This is really Linda's story and yes, it has a great deal of the coming-of-age saga about it. However, you are not beat over the head with it and the author allows events to unfold naturally on to the page and the characters are complex and multi-dimensional. Initially you are lulled in to a sense of a rather mundane tale of two wannabe-Mod girls who are going to get in to trouble with the company they keep; fortunately this is not what you get.
The story itself takes you from the Corn Exchange to the Aldemaston March, stopping off in Paris, Wethersfield Air Force Base and Wormwood Scrubs. Sandra might only want to get married but Linda wants more from life - she just doesn't know what. Until that is she meets Sylvie, damaged and ostracised by the community it is Sylvie that provides the perfect foil to Linda's story.
Overall I did enjoy the book, the story moves at a leisurely pace and at times I did find my mind wandering away from what was unfolding there. The character interactions are, on the whole, believable and I liked the fact it showed a teenage girl as being both politicised and still interested in fashion, struggling to find her place in the world and seeking to find it through knowledge and personal enrichment rather than through a man.
Don't be misled by the cover, this not a World War II saga, although you can be forgiven for believing it to be of that ilk. It is definitely a saga though and a rather enjoyable one at that and it did leave me wondering exactly what happened to Linda - did she achieve her ambitions? I certainly hope so!
I was drawn to this book because of the time period it is set in - I wasn't even a twinkle in my mother's eye during the heyday of the Mods and the Rockers but it still feels almost close enough to touch, almost as if I could have been there. Maybe because my early childhood was set to a backdrop of the Sixties Sounds courtesy of my mum's rather Rocker collection and my dad's rather Mod collection of LPs.
This is really Linda's story and yes, it has a great deal of the coming-of-age saga about it. However, you are not beat over the head with it and the author allows events to unfold naturally on to the page and the characters are complex and multi-dimensional. Initially you are lulled in to a sense of a rather mundane tale of two wannabe-Mod girls who are going to get in to trouble with the company they keep; fortunately this is not what you get.
The story itself takes you from the Corn Exchange to the Aldemaston March, stopping off in Paris, Wethersfield Air Force Base and Wormwood Scrubs. Sandra might only want to get married but Linda wants more from life - she just doesn't know what. Until that is she meets Sylvie, damaged and ostracised by the community it is Sylvie that provides the perfect foil to Linda's story.
Overall I did enjoy the book, the story moves at a leisurely pace and at times I did find my mind wandering away from what was unfolding there. The character interactions are, on the whole, believable and I liked the fact it showed a teenage girl as being both politicised and still interested in fashion, struggling to find her place in the world and seeking to find it through knowledge and personal enrichment rather than through a man.
Don't be misled by the cover, this not a World War II saga, although you can be forgiven for believing it to be of that ilk. It is definitely a saga though and a rather enjoyable one at that and it did leave me wondering exactly what happened to Linda - did she achieve her ambitions? I certainly hope so!
September 22, 2018
The Saturday Girls evokes that special time in the 1960s when every suburban town had its share of trendy coffee bars and the most important question for teenagers at the time, wasn't about nuclear disarmament or The Cold War, but was, for them, far more significant... are you a mod or a rocker?
Best friends, Linda and Sandra, are typical teenagers, fashionable mods, from their C&A twinsets, to their neatly pressed grey skirts. They enjoy innocent nights out, lust after inappropriate boys and generally have a really good time. However, times are a-changing and when Linda and Sandra start to become more independent, they realise that life isn't always very simple.
The author writes with confidence and enthusiasm, and as she explains in her notes at the end of the book, this was her time and the diaries she kept and her vivid memories have stayed with her. I was too young in the sixties to understand what it was like to be a teenager on the cusp of adulthood, with momentous change all around, and so this story certainly helped to bring time and place alive in my imagination.
I travelled back to a newly progressive time when boys with Lambrettas and girls with beehive hairstyles would meet and chat over coffees to plan their nights out. Futures would be decided and yet, for some, life wasn't always very kind, the ugly stigma of illegitimacy, and the unfairness of being ostracised for being an unmarried mother was still very much in existence, and the race to the altar, to be a wife was, for some girls, their life's ambition.
I really enjoyed being whisked back to suburban Essex in the 1960s in The Saturday Girls and I am sure that the author has more stories of this fascinating time to share.
Best friends, Linda and Sandra, are typical teenagers, fashionable mods, from their C&A twinsets, to their neatly pressed grey skirts. They enjoy innocent nights out, lust after inappropriate boys and generally have a really good time. However, times are a-changing and when Linda and Sandra start to become more independent, they realise that life isn't always very simple.
The author writes with confidence and enthusiasm, and as she explains in her notes at the end of the book, this was her time and the diaries she kept and her vivid memories have stayed with her. I was too young in the sixties to understand what it was like to be a teenager on the cusp of adulthood, with momentous change all around, and so this story certainly helped to bring time and place alive in my imagination.
I travelled back to a newly progressive time when boys with Lambrettas and girls with beehive hairstyles would meet and chat over coffees to plan their nights out. Futures would be decided and yet, for some, life wasn't always very kind, the ugly stigma of illegitimacy, and the unfairness of being ostracised for being an unmarried mother was still very much in existence, and the race to the altar, to be a wife was, for some girls, their life's ambition.
I really enjoyed being whisked back to suburban Essex in the 1960s in The Saturday Girls and I am sure that the author has more stories of this fascinating time to share.
September 1, 2018
Interesting book with a lot of interesting facts.
I am a little unsure about the title of " The Saturday Girls" I was expecting to read about girls working on Saturdays. Although Linda did managed to get a job via her dad and ended up working in a milk bar on Saturdays.
The plot didn't seem to fit but in all fairness I had little to do with Mods and Rockers. All I remember is watching the gatherings at Brighton on the BBC news on our black and white TV.
We had an up to date one but was unable to get ITV in our village so were limited to BBC until my dad obtained a huge oblong ariel that he erected in the garden...it had to be twisted in many directions until a picture finally flickered on the screen!
It is a subject that I have never seen covered so I did find the information and story enlightening and amusing ....I remember well the white wigs we wore, paper nylon petticoats stiffened with sugar water which attracted the flies while drying so you ended up with black spots of flies stuck all over the garment and the ultimate meal of Vesta prawn curry so refined and so different.
This was an exciting period of time to experience and there are many facts not covered in this story which the author may well use in her next book.
The author has also included a recipe for Angel Food Cake at the end which I am definitely going to make.
I am a little unsure about the title of " The Saturday Girls" I was expecting to read about girls working on Saturdays. Although Linda did managed to get a job via her dad and ended up working in a milk bar on Saturdays.
The plot didn't seem to fit but in all fairness I had little to do with Mods and Rockers. All I remember is watching the gatherings at Brighton on the BBC news on our black and white TV.
We had an up to date one but was unable to get ITV in our village so were limited to BBC until my dad obtained a huge oblong ariel that he erected in the garden...it had to be twisted in many directions until a picture finally flickered on the screen!
It is a subject that I have never seen covered so I did find the information and story enlightening and amusing ....I remember well the white wigs we wore, paper nylon petticoats stiffened with sugar water which attracted the flies while drying so you ended up with black spots of flies stuck all over the garment and the ultimate meal of Vesta prawn curry so refined and so different.
This was an exciting period of time to experience and there are many facts not covered in this story which the author may well use in her next book.
The author has also included a recipe for Angel Food Cake at the end which I am definitely going to make.
March 23, 2019
Its the 60's and this book is about two girls Sandra & Linda growing up within that era, the music, culture, fashion, relationships, friendships & trying to find a place to fit!. I enjoyed reading about the music- Mods and Rockers and the dances but at times I struggled to keep engaged with the story.
My thanks go to the publisher, author and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for a honest review.
My thanks go to the publisher, author and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for a honest review.
April 23, 2019
For me this was an ok read. It read almost like a diary, a year in the life of Linda from Chelmsford in the early 1960's.
I didn't know much about mods, and its not really a period of time that interests me, I prefer stories set between 1850 and 1950. It wasn't bad just wasn't inspiring for me.
I didn't know much about mods, and its not really a period of time that interests me, I prefer stories set between 1850 and 1950. It wasn't bad just wasn't inspiring for me.
January 16, 2021
This is Exactly the same book as Beyond the Beehive , same author, different publisher, exactly the same text. Do not buy if you have the former, I did, and there is no reference to its other publisher/ title, so you are being scammed!
Read
July 16, 2021Ok. Bit too name dropping of places in chelmsford
August 10, 2025
A witty and honest tale of life on a Council Estate in Chelmsford, Essex during the !960's. Brilliant read. I loved it!
January 5, 2019
With this story you are invited to a journey along a British youth's everyday life in the 60's , with the life lessons it imparts. And an author who clearly knows what she is talking about. It surprised me because I liked it more than I thought I would.
With detailed (sometimes a bit too busy) descriptions that give you a great feel of the mod culture and the era. The narrative is conversational like Linda is sharing her day with us. It draws you in and you read a lot more than you realize.
At the beginning you will think of the protagonist as shallow, but then you will change your mind and grow to like her. You will also enjoy characters you didn't expect to, like Sylvie.
The beauty of friendship, the stigma of being or doing something different or not 'socially acceptable', this story delves into the want and need for change. This is the springboard Linda jumps off to the rest of her life.
Charming and inviting like you've run into an old friend but you are still comfortable with them, this is a quiet but powerful story
With detailed (sometimes a bit too busy) descriptions that give you a great feel of the mod culture and the era. The narrative is conversational like Linda is sharing her day with us. It draws you in and you read a lot more than you realize.
At the beginning you will think of the protagonist as shallow, but then you will change your mind and grow to like her. You will also enjoy characters you didn't expect to, like Sylvie.
The beauty of friendship, the stigma of being or doing something different or not 'socially acceptable', this story delves into the want and need for change. This is the springboard Linda jumps off to the rest of her life.
Charming and inviting like you've run into an old friend but you are still comfortable with them, this is a quiet but powerful story
August 21, 2018
So I was particularly looking forward to reading this book as I've not read anything set in the 60s before but, not going to lie, I was quite disappointed. First impressions: I thought it was going to be a light-hearted romance possibly with some aspects of real life from the author. A lovely little insight to one person's view of the 60s. Though I almost got that I found the pace slow, writing a bit odd (when someone is explaining a story to another character they still say "blah blah blah" he said. Like they are writing the book which is not like actually conversational story telling at all so it completely through me off) and the story lacking in any adventure, mystery, romance, anything really. It was like there were multiple possibilities for a really good story (eg. the life of Sandra and Danny, the life of Sylvie, or the romances of Linda) and instead it was trying to hard to include everything. There were a few moments where I really appreciated the story regarding Tap and a romance almost blossoms on Linda's birthday at his work but then on the night he see's Ray, he's not really mentioned again for quite a few pages. In fact I think it was around 100 pages. I guess some people may like this book but I'm sorry, this one just wasn't for me. I found it really difficult to keep on reading when really I just wanted to put it down and pick up another and because I stopped myself from doing that, I'm now in a reading slump.
August 24, 2018
Having received my copy on Saturday, I began reading this book with an open-mind, being new to this genre. From my first impression I knew that this book had potential, but was also concerned that it could be a complete hit and miss. Thankfully, this book was the complete opposite!
Not having much prior knowledge of this decade in particular, I was worried that I wouldn’t understand a lot of the important details of this time but Elizabeth Woodcraft did an incredible job of describing those details in the most effective way so that even someone like myself could fully engage with the book.
Being a young woman, I feel as though my personal experiences resonate a lot with Linda’s character, and the issues discussed by the author are so incredibly applicable to today’s society and truly highlight the issues of being a young woman with very little idea of what she wants to do, or where she wants to go.
One thing I will note as a little negative (if you could call it that), was that the plot was a little disjointed at times and became a little confusing when there seemed to be big jumps in time with no explanation, but most of those are cleared up later on in the story.
Overall, a very enjoyable read!
- a converted fan of this genre
(When read as an advanced copy, this book was coined the name 'the Saturday Girls')
Not having much prior knowledge of this decade in particular, I was worried that I wouldn’t understand a lot of the important details of this time but Elizabeth Woodcraft did an incredible job of describing those details in the most effective way so that even someone like myself could fully engage with the book.
Being a young woman, I feel as though my personal experiences resonate a lot with Linda’s character, and the issues discussed by the author are so incredibly applicable to today’s society and truly highlight the issues of being a young woman with very little idea of what she wants to do, or where she wants to go.
One thing I will note as a little negative (if you could call it that), was that the plot was a little disjointed at times and became a little confusing when there seemed to be big jumps in time with no explanation, but most of those are cleared up later on in the story.
Overall, a very enjoyable read!
- a converted fan of this genre
(When read as an advanced copy, this book was coined the name 'the Saturday Girls')
December 30, 2018
I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book.
It’s set after the war and the synopsis doesn’t really give you much information on what to expect.
But I’m glad I read it. It’s an easy read which I got through in two sittings. The story flowed nicely and the author done a good job in making you feel and understand what life was really like in the 60’s / 70’s
Set in Essex two young girls (best friends) basically dream of being in the ‘cool crew’ which are called the ‘Mods’. They hang around at dances on weekends and bars & coffee shops in the area and talk clothes and boys,which most girls at their age would be doing but I didn’t connect with either of them. If I’m honest..I didn’t actually like either of the girls . One I found to be really bossy and all she did was put her friend down. And the other one was kind of mean and shallow.
I still enjoyed reading about that era and all the music they listen to and the dances they attended. The was a boyfriend called Danny who was in and out of prison and was such a handful but quite funny. And a few other interesting characters. But it’s not my usual style of book. Still worth picking up I’d you like a quick easy read!
It’s set after the war and the synopsis doesn’t really give you much information on what to expect.
But I’m glad I read it. It’s an easy read which I got through in two sittings. The story flowed nicely and the author done a good job in making you feel and understand what life was really like in the 60’s / 70’s
Set in Essex two young girls (best friends) basically dream of being in the ‘cool crew’ which are called the ‘Mods’. They hang around at dances on weekends and bars & coffee shops in the area and talk clothes and boys,which most girls at their age would be doing but I didn’t connect with either of them. If I’m honest..I didn’t actually like either of the girls . One I found to be really bossy and all she did was put her friend down. And the other one was kind of mean and shallow.
I still enjoyed reading about that era and all the music they listen to and the dances they attended. The was a boyfriend called Danny who was in and out of prison and was such a handful but quite funny. And a few other interesting characters. But it’s not my usual style of book. Still worth picking up I’d you like a quick easy read!
August 24, 2018
This book is set in Chelmsford Essex in the early 1960s and I did think it was good to have a book set in this area and to have places near where I live and grew up mentioned (Hatfield Peveral, Witham, Braintree).
The story centres around Linda a teenager attending Chelmsford High School, growing up as a mod, living on a council estate and her dad is a local Labour councillor in the town. She is asked by her mum to befriend a young unmarried mother Sylvia or Sylvie as she likes to be known. Things are so much different in the 60s and attitudes towards Sylvie are unkind. Sylvie is unwell with the baby blues and has even been put in Severalls Hospital in Colchester. Linda looks after Sylvies baby Mansell for short periods, getting two biscuits as payment! This is a book about growing up, music, boyfriends, cultures and friendships. I don't think things have really changed through the years it doesn't matter if you grew up in the 60s, 70s, 90s or present day although many things may change friendships are still there and choices to be made. A lovely nostalgic read.
The story centres around Linda a teenager attending Chelmsford High School, growing up as a mod, living on a council estate and her dad is a local Labour councillor in the town. She is asked by her mum to befriend a young unmarried mother Sylvia or Sylvie as she likes to be known. Things are so much different in the 60s and attitudes towards Sylvie are unkind. Sylvie is unwell with the baby blues and has even been put in Severalls Hospital in Colchester. Linda looks after Sylvies baby Mansell for short periods, getting two biscuits as payment! This is a book about growing up, music, boyfriends, cultures and friendships. I don't think things have really changed through the years it doesn't matter if you grew up in the 60s, 70s, 90s or present day although many things may change friendships are still there and choices to be made. A lovely nostalgic read.
August 18, 2018
A beautifully post-war story with nostalgic warmth
I read this with the title: The Saturday Girls. Set in times after the hard goings of the tragic war, this story sees us follow the young life of Sandra and Linda. I loved the main characters, it is a tale that is so relatable - times of getting first jobs and teenage troubles of boys but this books brings the drama while still managing to capture the feel of post-war nostalgic times.
Personally, I love the style of writing, beautifully written to encompass growing up in a female-repressed society where times are changing yet still we have the relatable human problems of modern times such as getting involved with a 'bad boy!'
I'm so glad to have finally found an author that writes of times gone by while still capturing the life problems that everyone can understand through their own perspective.
I read this with the title: The Saturday Girls. Set in times after the hard goings of the tragic war, this story sees us follow the young life of Sandra and Linda. I loved the main characters, it is a tale that is so relatable - times of getting first jobs and teenage troubles of boys but this books brings the drama while still managing to capture the feel of post-war nostalgic times.
Personally, I love the style of writing, beautifully written to encompass growing up in a female-repressed society where times are changing yet still we have the relatable human problems of modern times such as getting involved with a 'bad boy!'
I'm so glad to have finally found an author that writes of times gone by while still capturing the life problems that everyone can understand through their own perspective.
August 18, 2018
For me there was no real storyline. It felt like a passage of time, a very long and drawn out diary entry. Elizabeth’s style of writing is ok, easy to read, she has a very good knowledge of the mod era, being that she is was brought up at that time, which she has reintegrated well in the book. As I turned each page I was expecting the pace to pick up, something drastic to happen, but I was let down. This book is about two girls, best friends, hitting womanhood and each deciding what they want to do with their lives, and whether or not their choices are the right ones to make. Sandra is happy to settle down early and be a housewife, Linda has bigger ideas of travelling the world and getting out of Chelmsford. However friendship often stands in the way.
August 23, 2018
I found this book easy to read and a pleasure to do so! The writer summons up images of the period and you find yourself transported back in time to the 1960s. The characters become your friends as you follow their journey with them, either cheering them on, shaking your head in disbelief or feeling their paon. It is reminiscent of your own coming of age even though mine was two decades later. Deliciously nostalgic and very real. I loved the relationship between the two girls a time when friendships were everything. The story keeps pace throughout although you are willing them to make the right decisions. Sandra and Linda win your heart in this beautifully written trip down memory lane. Lovely!
June 14, 2018
An entertaining story not my normal genre but i liked the look of this book but sadly found it hard to get into.Although other readers might love it so i will not give a bad review.
March 13, 2022
Had no idea what was going on. Gave up with this book in the end. Second time trying to read it too.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews