Daisy Chain: a novel of The Glasgow Girls

by Maggie Ritchie

'A wholly delightful novel' Allan Massie, Scotsman
Lily Crawford and Jeanie Taylor, from very different backgrounds, are firm friends from their childhoods in Kirkcudbright. They share their ambitions for their futures, Lily to be an artist, Jeanie to be a dancer.

The two women's eventful lives are intertwined. In the years before the First World War, the girls lose touch when Jeanie runs away from home and joins a dance company, while Lily attends The Mack, Glasgow's famous school of art designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. A chance meeting reunites them and together they discover a Glasgow at the height of its wealth and power as the Second City of the Empire - and a city of poverty and overcrowding. Separated once again after the war, Lily and Jeanie find themselves on opposite sides of the world. Lily follows her husband to Shanghai while Jeanie's dance career brings her international fame. But the glamour and dissolution of 1920s Shanghai finally lead Lily into peril. Her only hope of survival lies with her old friend Jeanie, as the two women turn to desperate measures to free Lily from danger.

Inspired by the eventful and colourful lives of the pioneering women artists The Glasgow Girls, particularly that of Eleanor Allen Moore, Daisy Chain is a story of independence, women's art, resilience and female friendship, set against the turbulent background of the early years of the 20th century.

Genres: Historical Fiction

384 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2021

About the author

I was born in India and grew up in Zambia, Spain and Venezuela before settling in Scotland, where I live with my husband and our son.

After graduating from Edinburgh University with a degree in English, I became a journalist working for a range of national newspapers. I’ve been freelance for the last 15 years writing features for the Scottish and national press.

I graduated with distinction from the University of Glasgow’s MLitt in Creative Writing, where I was awarded the Curtis Brown Prize in 2012, and was runner up for the Sceptre Prize. My debut novel, Paris Kiss, was longlisted in the Mslexia First Novel Competition in 2014.

My short stories have been published in magazines and in New Writing Scotland, and I’m now working on my second novel, which is set in Africa.

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved all the characters. Great plot, well written in timing.

[Rosie Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daisy Chain is the story of two girls who grow up to be life-long friends. Written for historical fiction fans, this book takes place between 1909 and 1929. The story opens in a country village in Scotland; Lily and Jeanie come from differing social classes, but they are firm friends. Lily loves to paint and Jeanie wants to be a dancer.


As they reach adulthood, Lily attends art school in Glasgow, while Jeanie finds her way onto the stage. Both girls work hard and excel in their chosen careers. After the war, Lily marries and moves to China with her husband, while Jeanie goes on tour with her dance company.

Both women are very likable characters, and there is just the right amount of scene-setting about Lily's art world and Jeanie's dance company to compliment the characters and add interest. There are many well-written secondary characters; some I wanted to know much more about. I really enjoyed the parts of the book that took place in Shanghai; 1920s China is a time and place that I know very little about, and I was very interested to read that the author was awarded a grant from the Society Of Authors to travel to Shanghai to complete the research for this book.

This was an easy, compelling read set in a time of ground-breaking changes for women, and it certainly kept my attention throughout.

[Shirley Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read, filled with love, art, violence, and more, all makes for a really good read. Enjoy.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Daisy Chain, Maggie Ritchie paints a vivid picture of 1920s Glasgow – a time when life for women was undergoing lots of change. It follows the stories of Lily and Jeanie – childhood friends from Kirkcudbright – whose lives take them in very different directions but always bring them back together again.
Lily is a talented artist and attends Glasgow School of Art, but finds it much harder than the men to make her mark on the art world. Jeanie runs away from home and lives with show people, until she gets her big break as a dancer. While Jeanie is dancing and raising her daughter with Victor, Lily ends up living in Shanghai with Hugh, her missionary husband. This was a time and place I knew nothing about and so found this part of the story especially fascinating and informative.
The story is told from both Lily and Jeanie’s point of view, in the present and in flashback, and the characters are well rounded and believable. I was attracted to this book partly by the striking cover art – a portrait of Anne Finlay by Dorothy Johnston from Aberdeen Art Gallery – and partly by the subject matter. I enjoyed the various references to places and people associated with art history such as Kirkcudbright, Cockburnspath, the Glasgow School of Art building and the cameo appearance by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (did you spot it?). I have not read anything by this author before but will certainly look out for her next book having enjoyed The Daisy Chain very much.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, interesting period and settings, needed better editing.

[Roderick Clyne · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a writer of historical fiction, it pays to understand the period in which a book is set. Maggie Ritchie singularly fails here. She uses many Scotticisms, which is of course good - but then gets them slightly wrong. For example, the word bairns is not used in Glasgow or the south-west in general, where children are know as weans. It's as if Ritchie has read a few Walter Scott works and realises that when a plot is dragging the Scottish characters should take a trip to London, but has failed to pick up on Scottt's narrative genius. Whereas Scott made history constitutive of character and plot, for Ritchie history is just a backdrop, and a little-understood backdrop at that.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was a delight. It's a riveting tale of female friendship and adventure that's satisfyingly readable and whose characters are enchanting.

It also doesn't shy away from being dark at times. Trigger warnings for moderate rape scenes and domestic violence. There's also sadness in this book, but despite those aspects it's thoroughly uplifting and hopeful.

It also just shines a light on a fascinating period of history with a unique perspective that champions unsung women artists.

It was also great to read a novel about my hometown! I've read so few Scottish books and authors and I loved being able to picture the characters in real life places.

[Linda Lawrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found I couldn’t put this book down. An easy read and a great story.
It was around a long lasting friendship through 1909 to 1929
One becomes an artist the other a dancer. Lots of trials and tribulations for them both
The author states it was inspired by the eventful lives of the artists known as the Glasgow Girls. Lovely novel

[Gail Addis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in a couple of days, which to me is a sign of a well-written book.
The threads of art, dance, Shanghai & Glasgow are all attractive to me, and the story didn't disappoint.
A really good read.

[Sofia Furrh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun read! It was exciting from start to end, full of twists and turns that really captured an encompassing image of the world at the beginning of the 20th century! Female friendship is the best!!!

[Deirdre Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

V enjoyable and easy read

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't quite the book I was expecting. I was hoping for more of the Glasgow School Art scene and whilst there is a little of that, it's more a tale of the diverging lives of two school friends.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very easy read. It was less about art than I'd hoped and the story was a bit too far-fetched at times.

[Janine Urquhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd not heard of this author or the book but liked the idea of finding out a bit more about 1920s Glasgow and looking at the influence of women within the arts community.
For anyone in any doubt, this is about The Glasgow Girls in the early twentieth century not The Glasgow Girls in the early twenty first century - that would be a very different story, although similarly interesting!!
The book has 372 pages, split into 74 chapters which seems a lot for a book that is not a thriller or crime novel. I do love the cover of the version I had which is mauve with some purple art nouveau decoration. Unfortunately I suspect that the published version is different.
We hear the story from two perspectives - Jeannie and Lily - who grow up as best friends, then meet up again later in life, destined to be connected by common experience.
It's an easy book and I read it in just couple of days. The characters are straight forward and the story is similarly uncomplicated. It is set in the early part of the century in Glasgow but could be any time and any place with its universal themes of friendship and love.
Nothing is this book make it stand out as but there is nothing to dislike.
I was slightly disappointed that I didn't learn more about the art movement of the period although it is always in the background. It was clear that the author had done extensive research and I felt a little cheated that she didn't communicate her passion.
The progression of the plot is fairly predictable but comforting to read all the way through and I felt soothed by reading this book.
It's good in it's genre of historical romance but isn't one I will particularly recommend to anyone.