Ladies Rest and Writing Room

Winner of the inaugural 20/40 Publishing Prize 2023

Two young women, brought up to expect conventional lives, are thrown together in unexpected circumstances. Each has suffered a devastating loss that challenges their belief in life and themselves.

It’s rare to come across a work of deep psychological insight conveyed with such verve and lightness of touch. Kelly sweeps the reader into the lives and passions of her two central characters and into the bustling city streets of Sydney in the 1920s.

A powerfully moving book that sparkles with vitality.