I'm not exactly sure why I checked out this book at my local public library. It may have caught my eye in a display, or it may have come up in a search for newly-acquired historical fiction in the library catalog. At any rate, The Manhattan Girls by Gill Paul was an easy read.

It's set in New York City in the 1920s, in the midst of Prohibition, and is about four real women, none of whom I knew about. Dorothy Parker was a writer, Jane Grant was the first female reporter for the New York Times and co-founder of The New Yorker magazine, Winifred Lenihan was a Broadway actress, and Peggy Leech was a novelist (and later, a historian).

These four main characters decide to start a bridge club when some of the men in the (real) "Algonquin Round Table." start a Saturday poker game - no women allowed. The story is told in alternating chapters from each woman's viewpoint, always in the order Jane - Dottie - Winifred - Peggy. The book starts in 1921, but moves rapidly (and rather vaguely) though subsequent years.

The book is subtitled "A Novel of Dorothy Parker and Her Friends," perhaps because Parker was the best known of the four. However, I found "Dottie" to be insufferable - selfish, needy, alcoholic, with a number of affairs and suicide attempts. Why her friends were so devoted to her is unclear to me.

The other three women were much more interesting. My parents had a subscription to The New Yorker, and I always loved its covers and cartoons, so it was interesting to read about the start of this magazine and Jane's part in it. Peggy seemed to have the most balanced and happy life of the four women, and was a good friend to all of them in the book. Winifred was the most intriguing of the four to me, not at all like the stereotypical actress.

The book is also filled with other real persons as characters in the story. Some, like Eva Le Gallienne and Neysa McMein, were fascinating; others, like Alec Woollcott and Elinor Wylie, were irritating.

I'm not against drinking, but I was struck by just how much the characters in this book partook. Seems like there were speakeasys and easy-to-get booze everywhere. Perhaps it was Prohibition that made drinking more attractive. It certainly gave a feel for what life was like in big cities in the 1920s - it seemed a lot like Paris in the same era, the setting for so many books about talented (and often free-thinking or free-spirited) people. Besides this and Dorothy's problems mentioned earlier, there are triggers for other sensitive readers.

The one gripe I have about the book was the lack of an author's note at the end to tell me what was real and what was not, as well as sources her information. The library copy I read was a large-print version, so perhaps such a note had been cut to keep the page count (and book weight) down, and I couldn't find an e-book that I could check out to see. I did find an "epilogue" online (it has spoilers) that answered some of my questions, particularly about Winifred. ( )

Set in the 1920s, four women develop a friendship that will see them through some of their worst and best times. Dottie Parker is known for her sarcasm and biting wit and believes herself to be strong and untouchable but discovers that is not the case when her husband decides they need some time apart and she falls head over heels in love with a playboy. As her world falls apart, she depends on her friendships with Jane Grant, the first female journalist for the New York Times, Winifred Lenihan, a Broadway actress, and Peggy Leach, an award-winning novelist. During this story, each woman goes through their own traumas and achievements and learns that sometimes friends are the only people you can count on.

Gill Paul's books always take me on an adventure. They are nice slow burns for me because each character has their own detailed storyline. Dorothy Parker was the only one of the women in this book that I had heard of and I found her story to be extremely sad and heartbreaking. The other women I had not heard of looked forward to learning more about their stories. This book tells a beautiful story about life and the value of friendship. ( )

“Four things I am wiser to know: idleness, sorrow, a friend and a foe.” -Dorothy Parker

The Manhattan Girls by Gill Paul is based on four well known women of 1920’s New York City; Dorothy Parker, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, a poet and writer known for her sharp wit; Jane Grant, reporter and cofounder of the The New Yorker magazine; broadway actress Winifred Lenihan; and novelist Peggy Leech; and tells the story of the friendship that sustained them during a particular period of their lives.

When the men of the Algonquin Round Table decide to form a Saturday night poker club, Jane Grant suggests some of the women instead meet for Bridge, inviting Dottie, Peggy and Winnie to join her. The game, hosted round robin style, quickly becomes a lifeline for the four women as they exchange confidences, hopes, failures and hardships, and provide each other with encouragement and support when it’s needed.

From what I’m able to tell, Paul draws heavily on public records and other factual sources that inform the characters personality’s and events in the novel. While the line between fact and fiction is blurred, Gill’s portrayal of these women, and their relationships, feels genuine.

Though this is very much a character driven novel as the friends face challenges in their personal and professional lives, Gill touches on several serious issues that affect the women, including sexism, self-harm, domestic violence, sexual assault, abortion, gambling, and alcoholism.

Gill ably conveys the spirit of the Roaring Twenties in New York City, capturing the hedonism among the ‘arts’ crowd, epitomised by the notorious members of the Algonquin Round Table, and the changes in society brought about by the end of WWI, the introduction of Prohibition, and the increasing opportunities for women.

Well-written, I enjoyed The Manhattan Girls as a story that explores friendship, loyalty and ambition, and as a glimpse into the private lives of four women whose influence on the arts lingers a century later. ( )

Thank you to the author.

Fiction based on true women are always interesting to me. The only one I knew of was Dorothy Parker. It was set in the 1920s during prohibition when the women and men were going to speakeasies to drink in various non-cocktail glasses. I loved the camaraderie between these women when things were going well and also when they weren't.

I liked learning about the women this book was based at the end of the book written by the author. ( )

I liked this book, but I struggled a bit to get through certain parts of this novel - Dorothy or Dottie Parker attempts suicide twice and struggles with depression throughout. Still, she makes it through with a little help from her friends - Jane (who helps start The New Yorker magazine with her husband Harold), Peggy (novelist), and Winifred (actress). All of these women have remarkable careers in 1920s New York and a social life centered on the arts and literature scene. Overall, a great read, but some parts can be a little hard to read. ( )