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Today, radio broadcasts—and now podcasts, too—are a regular part of our daily lives. But in the historical drama Radio Girls, author Sarah-Jane Stratford travels back in time to explore the early days of radio—and some of the women (and men) who shaped the medium.
The story begins in London in 1926, as Canadian-American Maisie Musgrave takes a job as a secretary for the BBC. Maisie is a quiet, simple girl who often feels as though she’s invisible. She’s never really thought of herself as a modern girl—she just wants a job to help her pay the rent and maybe buy some new shoes. But as she begins her new job, she finds herself fascinated by the women who come in to speak—writers and politicians and other important people. She’s even more fascinated by Hilda Matheson, the director of the Talks department. And, in time, she develops a passion for speaking her mind and telling the truth.
This historical drama focuses on the culture and politics of London in the late 1920s—especially as they relate to women. After all, this is the time when women earned the right to vote—and when they fought to hold more important positions in businesses, too. And the story follows Maisie and the other women of the BBC as they work to be recognized as more than just underlings and pets. It’s often frustrating to see how these otherwise strong, intelligent female characters are treated, but it’s sometimes even more frustrating to see how Maisie treats herself. She’s so insecure (sometimes to the point of self-loathing) that she refers to herself as Mousy Maisie or Invisible Girl—and she struggles to believe that anyone would ever take any interest in anything about her. And, especially in the beginning, her attitude is so maddening that it can make the story drag.
Fortunately, though, the pace does pick up as Maisie settles into her career at the BBC and begins learning and growing and finding her voice. Encouraged by Miss Matheson, she also begins writing and investigating and digging for stories—and that’s where the novel takes an interesting turn. Maisie’s personal and professional lives come together as her responsibilities change, and she soon finds herself learning about how things like the aftermath of the first world war and the stock market crash in the states affect business and public opinion and communication, too.
What follows still isn’t necessarily a fast-paced adventure. It has a somewhat classic style to it that makes for a somewhat slower read. But it does manage to bring politics, culture, and world history together in an intriguing way.
Radio Girls isn’t a light, easy-going novel. It takes some time for the real story to build—and, even then, it doesn’t necessarily move along at breakneck speed. But it’s a charming and clever mix of history and fiction, all based around the rise of talk radio.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
