this book is a delight to read and is very hard to put down I would recommend this book to everyone who wants a trip back to 1928. wonderful book.

I was sent a copy of Old Baggage by Lissa Evans to read and review by NetGalley. I loved this book! It was beautifully written with proper use of the English language, as I remember being taught as a child - many moons ago! It is a tale primarily of middle aged former suffragette Matilda Simpkin who is still striving for change, wanting to make a difference to the lives and futures of women and girls alike. The novel is witty and heart-warming with well rounded characters of all classes with plenty of historical anecdotes of women’s suffrage, which is never laborious or dry. The author creates a real sense of time and place and somehow manages to get across the feelings of those concerned without affectation. A thoroughly enjoyable read – I’m actually quite sad I’ve finished it and will certainly search out Lissa Evans’ other titles, especially Their Finest which I really enjoyed as a film adaptation.

Read this, and feel warm and fuzzy with joy. I absolutely loved "Crooked heart" but when I finished it, I wished I could find out more about the glorious Mattie, and here we have that story in all it's glory , just loved it . 100% recommend it.

I primarily read crime and urban fantasy, and when those two collide I'm particularly happy, but every so often something more 'general' or 'literary' catches my attention. Often I find these detours are alright but, but as often they serve to remind me why I stick to crime and urban fantasy. 'Old Baggage' falls into the much rarer category of general fiction books that I just fall completely in love with. Mattie is a brilliantly realised character, a slightly bullish, tactless former militant suffragette who - now in her fifties - finds she is bored, and vaguely disappointed that the Good Fight has fallen by the wayside. Confused in the wake of the partial suffrage gained in 1918. In a reactionary move, sparked by a former comrade, Mattie makes it her business to educate the girlhood of 1920's Hampstead in the practicalities of self-reliance,and the theory of feminist politics. However her endless kindness and passionate belief in people lead to a brutal fall from grace when her past suddenly erupts into her present. Mattie effortlessly rose through the ranks of characters I have read and loved, as I swam through this book in a day and a half. It's a great read, and a lovely way to launch into a new year of reading.

A great combination of light-hearted quips & phrases combined with a useful reminder of what life was like for women in the immediate aftermath of the suffragette movement. The characters are endearing and full of infuriating faults in equal measure. The author creates a plot with an ending that is both unexpected and somehow inevitable. Poignant as well as full of wit. A rare combination.