“They’re the best outings, aren’t they, without the fellahs. They can’t get in your way and stop you having a laugh.”
Discos, tap dancing, morris dancing, belly dancing; cinema, theatre, hen nights, The Chippendales; holidays, health clubs, weekends away; betting, exercising, learning, partying ... A Night Out With the Girls is a raucous, lively and entertaining look at what women get up to when their men aren’t around.
Women without men aren’t lonely, miserable or wasting time — they’re having great fun, supporting each other, but above all resolutely overthrowing social restrictions imposed on them as women.
Gilda O’Neill’s remarkable interviews with women from all backgrounds, combined with her sparkling and accessible social commentary, provide a thought-provoking and highly enjoyable oral history of popular culture in action.
A Night Out With the Girls is an affectionate and moving collection of individual stories which reveal the fierce and irreplaceable bonds of female friendship.
‘Every page is a delight’ – Daily Mail
‘Terrific. A delightful foray through nineteenth century murder and mayhem’ – Spectator
‘Packed with shocking and tragic tales’ – Big Issue
‘A world of hunger, squalor, disease and pain’ – Daily Telegraph
‘[Gives a] voice to memories of a changing East End’ – The Guardian
'A shocking book which, for once, should dispel the myth that life in the East End was one long knees-up' – Daily Express
'O'Neill chronicles the filth and poverty with leery aplomb, then sobers things up with sharp social commentary' – The Scotsman
Gilda O’Neill (1951-2010) took three university degrees and was awarded an honorary doctorate for her work on the East End. In 1990 O’Neill began writing full-time. She published thirteen novels and six works of non-fiction, including East End Tales. She also broadcasted, gave talks and wrote articles about east London history. She tragically died in 2010 from a sudden illness.
Thank you to Netgalley, Bookoutre and Colleen Coleman for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance reader copy of this book.
You can find my review on both Goodreads and Amazon. On goodreads.com/karenwhittard and on Amazon under k.e.whittard from publication date.
This is a delightful collection of individual stories that reveal the inner workings and fierce and unbreakable bond of female solidarity.
This collection is often at times through provoking but is always highly enjoyable.
The fact that these are true stories that Gilda gleaned from interviews with woman of every nationality just makes it even more special. Gilda's own sparkling personality can been seen in this book that shows a timeline of a changing London.
This book has all sorts of stories in it. Cinema trips, hen party antics, chippendales, girls holidays, exercising, and lots and lots of partying and dancing.
Wonderful collection that will make you want to reminisce with old friends and reinstate female solidarity.
A night out with the Girls is a fun collection of stories from Girls nights out.
What makes this book so special is the time and research it took Gilda to gather all the stories together.
She states " I would like to give my affectionate thanks to all the women who contributed to this book by speaking to me, recording interviews, writing and telephoning, including" then she goes on to list the names of all the women who have contributed to this beautiful fun book.
The introduction..... when you have an introduction like this you know your in for a fun read..... she states ..... " Fun? I get a lot of pleasure out of life, but you’re never too old to have ambitions for a bit more . I’ve still got two — one’s to have a tassel on each boob and have them going in different directions. The other’s to go on the Orient Express, even if it was just to Ipswich or somewhere. There you are, just two. That’s not too much to ask out of life."
This book tells a story of how much fun women like to have when they are out with their friends, alone at home, or girls nights in.
Whether they are letting their hair down, "pigging out" on naughty but nice food, enjoying the thrill of acting entirely how they want to be without being judged, going on Hen Parties, Ann Summers type parties involving sexy lingerie & naughty toys or enjoying time out on their own.
This book embraces it all. By the end of the book you will be surprised how many of the stories you can relate to or want to do if only you had the confidence or time.
It's about embracing life and having fun!
A really enjoyable read, with plenty of laugh out loud moments, some emotional moments and lots of fun.
My only critiscm is that the style of writing could be a little confusing. It is written in part interview, part story. With initials for each person telling their stories. This can come across as confusing as you need to flip back on occasions to see who said what. For this reason alone I gave a 3.5
I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy General fiction, Women's Literature, Chick Lit.
I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via Netgalley.