THE FRIENDLY YOUNG LADIES
by Mary Renault
Category: Fiction

A wry romp through 1930s mores, social and sexual Progressive for its time as well as ours, The Friendly Young Ladies is a deftly witty comedy set in England between the wars. At eighteen, Elsie has had enough of life at her bickering parents’ Cornwall home. She decides to join up with her bohemian older sister, Leo, in the city. Leo’s life is full of surprises—not least her significant other, Helen, a beautiful nurse. As Elsie gets acquainted with Leo’s world, new characters—including a novelist and a doctor deluded enough to chase all three women at once—come into play. With acid humor and a supremely light touch, The Friendly Young Ladies colors in an unseen dimension of the 1930s.