3.5 upped to 4
I'm a huge fan of Dorothy Parker, one of the wittest and more tragic woman in the XX century literary world.
I even went to see the Algonquin so this book was right up my alley.
It captured my attention since the first pages and kept me hooked till the end. It's well written and it was great to meet these characters even if they're developed according to the author and the author choose her versione of certain facts.
I enjoyed and think it's an interesting book as I hope that some people will discover Dorothy Parker.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Discover the locations in The Manhattan Girls

A novel to transport you deep in the heart of Dorothy Parker’s circle

What a wonderfully fresh and fascinating novel! Oh this isn’t your usual novel, it’s a visit with four new friends, drinkingcocktails, plyaing cards, eating good food, hooking up with dubious men and just loving life!

I was immediately thrust into bustling and glamourous New York. With a cocktail in my hand and my flapper dress blowing in the wind, I ran from one speakeasy to the next before finding my way back to the Alconquin Club to play cards with four new friends. One of these friends is Dorothy Parker – a poet and wit. I knew nothing about this woman to be honest but I feel I really got to know her during this novel. I was there sitting beside her playing cards, laughing at her jokes, hugging her friends and I had a great time!

The Manhattan Girls of the title are Dorothy, Jane, Winifred and Peggy. Jane is the first female reporter for the New York Times, Winifred is an actress and Peggy is an assistant at a magazine. Quite an unikely bunch you might think, but what fun getting to know them! This is the kind of group you really want as friends. Different, but always there for you. They always have your back even if you share different opinions or even morals. What happens in these meetings, stays in these meetings – it’s a bit like Fight Club but with glitz and glamour of the 1920s.

As well as a really good time with some very iconic women, this was a spotlight on the life and times of women in 1920s New York. Whatever your status or wealth, women at this time had struggles. They fought for equality at work and, indeed at home.

What I love about Gill Paul, is the way she takes a real event or person from history and then gives them a voice. Some of this might be imagined but it’s as if she went back in time and sat with Dorothy Parker and had her whisper in her ear. It’s evocative, fresh and fun. A rolicking good read and I need to see this on the big screen!

“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.

Sometimes we all need to escape into a book. It’s a plus when you also have the possibility to go back in time and get acquainted with people you hadn’t heard about before. Gill Pauls latest novel made that happen!

I was transported to the 1920’s in New York, and met four interesting woman who belonged to the Algonquin Round table. We get acquainted with Jane Grant, first female reporter for The New York Times, who is determined to launch a new magazine. The Broadway actress Winifred Lenihan, beautiful, talented, and a casting-couch target. And Peggy Leech, magazine assistant by day, brilliant novelist by night. Dorothy Parker, poet and famous for her wit.


They gossip, they comfort each other, they offer support through the setbacks. But their biggest challenge is keeping their dear friend Dottie safe from herself.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself when reading this novel, and even stopped to look at pictures from the characters so that I really felt connected to them. The four woman came alive and felt real to me. Paul’s writing style is as always easy to follow. I never felt bored or disappointed by the book. The extra drama with Dottie made the book even more interesting, and I’m impressed by Paul’s ability to create a life based on the few facts she found when researching the book. I think he must have captured how it was to live in the 1920’s, the sexism seemed very real and I can imagine that it must have been hard to navigate in a culture where you had to just take men treating women badly (off course there are also descriptions of different men too).

I’m glad I got my escape and will continue to look for it in her next books!

Thanks to Avon books and netgally for this arc!