Title: The House on Boundary Street
Author: Tea Cooper
Publisher: 4th July 2020 by Escape Publishing
Pages: 306 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: historical fiction, romance
My Rating: 3 cups
Synopsis:
The House on Boundary Street is a revised and expanded edition of the novel originally published as Jazz Baby
From a bestselling Australian author comes a tale of double-dealing, adventure and the dark underbelly of 1920s Sydney...
In the aftermath of World War I, Sydney is no place for the fainthearted. Sly grog shops thrive, the cocaine trade flourishes and brothels abound. Into this big dark city comes fresh-faced country girl, Dolly Bowman, ready to risk everything in pursuit of her dreams. After all it's the 1920s - time to turn her back on her terrible childhood and search for her future.
Cynthia Burton's life changes irrevocably the day she steps over the threshold of the house on Boundary Street. Determined to survive the only way she can, she breaks into the world of money and matinee idols in order to fulfil a promise she made and now there's no going back.
As Dolly and Cynthia lives entangle they find themselves drawn into a far-reaching web of lies, intrigue and double dealing. Could it be that the house on Boundary Street, once their safe haven, offers nothing more than a dangerous facade?
The House on Boundary Street is a revised and expanded edition of the novel originally published as Jazz Baby.
My Thoughts
Tea Cooper has provided many engaging historical reads for her fans. On this occasion she presents a revised edition of her original novella, ‘Jazz Baby’ released some years ago. Retitled, ‘The House on Boundary Street’ it now tells the expanded story of life in Sydney during the 1920s.
Overall Tea presents a glimpse into the seedier side of a society from the Roaring 20s - very little glitz and glamour here. This is more a look into the winners and losers from the fallout of both WW1 and the Spanish Flu epidemic. Seen through the eyes of four key characters it delves into life in a high class brothel, extreme poverty with the drinking and cocaine (snow) use and abuse. Therefore, this is indeed a most unique insight into this period of Australian history recounted from an interesting perspective.
I found the story of Jack and Dolly to be rather bland whereas Ted and Cynthia’s story was far more engaging. The synopsis leads you to think this is the story of a country girl coming to the city but Dolly really does not feature that much. Cynthia has a story that is far more interesting for the readers and I wish Tea had made that more of her focus. Overall, this story was satisfactory, just not up there with some of Tea’s other books.
‘How had she got herself into this mess? All she’d wanted was to come to Sydney and make a life for herself.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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