Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

There were the shrines to memorialize the men lost in the war, and there were the shrines of gaiety were people could lose themselves in wild pleasure and excess to forget the war.

1920s London drew the rich and the powerful to the nightclubs in Soho. And from the suburbs and countryside, young women came to the city dreaming of the stage and fame, only to be reduced to living by their wits, or beds, or if they were lucky, as paid dancers at a night club. The money and tips were good. The recent epidemic of missing dancing girls is not.

Upon the death of her mother, Gwendolyn the librarian discovers she is wealthy. She leaves her quiet life to search for her best friend’s missing daughter who ran off to London with her best friend, sure they would be dancers on stage. Gwendolyn is plucky, an optimist, a risk taker. She has no fear. She was a nurse during the war, already she has seen the worst. She has freedom and money and is keen to embrace life.

Searching for the missing Florence and Freda, Gwendolyn becomes entangled with two men. The proper, melancholy Chief Inspector Frobisher who enlists her to infiltrate Nellie Coker’s clubs. And Niven Coker, war veteran and Nellie’s eldest son. Frobisher is married to a woman bearing the scars of war, and Niven has no plans to settle down.

The delinquent Coker empire was a house of cards that Frobisher aimed to topple. The filthy, glittering underbelly of London was concentrated in its nightclubs…

from Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

Nellie is a self-made woman who has built an empire of nightclubs, from the low-life, drug-addled dens of inequity to the Amethyst where the Prince of Wales and film stars hang out, sometimes joined by local street gangs. She loves sweets and wears furs in all weather, matronly and plain. Her appearance belies her iron will and shrewd business sense. Also, she isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty, especially when protecting her empire.

The Coker children are rich in things and poor in parental love. Edith, her eldest, is the family business bookkeeper, her mother’s second in command. She is entangled with a police officer who gets kickbacks from Nellie, but is up to no good. The younger daughters Betty and Shirley may be Cambridge educated, but they are vacuous and vain. Nellie most despairs of the youngest, Kitty. Then there is Ramsey, an addict with plans to write a novel, confused about his sexual orientation. The eldest of the clan, Niven was a sniper during the war. Like Gwendolyn, he is sick of death and war.

Freda discovers that fame comes with a price, and the naïve Florence disappears. Meanwhile, Gwendolyn searches for the girls.

“You don’t need to go on the stage to act…Life is just one play.” Comedy or tragedy, it depended on how you looked at it, didn’t it?

from Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

Based on real people and places, capturing a society reeling from a devastating war and seeking oblivion in living in the moment, Shrines of Gaiety has a Dickensian scope, delving into a criminal underworld that takes advantage of starry-eyed girls and the world-weary. It’s filled with wit and humor, mystery and suspense, betrayals, and plot twists. It’s a ripping good read.

I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Shrines of Gaiety
by Kate Atkinson
Pub Date September 27, 2022
Doubleday
ISBN: 9780385547970
PRICE $29.00 (USD)

from the publisher

1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.

The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven, whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie’s empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho’s gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.

With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson gives us a window in a vanished world. Slyly funny, brilliantly observant, and ingeniously plotted, Shrines of Gaiety showcases the myriad talents that have made Atkinson one of the most lauded writers of our time.