Poor Girls (Shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger 2025)

by Clare Whitfield

Overview

'Funny, fast-paced and dark... with dialogue that absolutely crackles' ELODIE HARPER

'A brave, bold novel' ARAMINTA HALL

Don't get angry.

Get rich.

1922. Twenty-four-year-old Eleanor Mackridge is horrified by the future mapped out for her – to serve the upper classes or find a husband. During the war, she found freedom in joining the workforce at home, but now women are being put back in their place.

Until Eleanor crosses paths with a member of the notorious female-led gang the Forty Elephants: bold women who wear diamonds and fur, drink champagne and gin, who take what they want without asking. Now, she sees a new future for herself: she can serve, marry – or steal.

After all, men will only let you down. Diamonds are forever.

In Poor Girls, Clare Whitfield exposes the criminal underbelly of 1920s London – but this isn't a morality tale, it's an adventure for the willingly wicked.

'Memorable, outrageous and full of heart.' ELENI KYRIACOU

'Wonderfully roguish characters, and great period detail. Really enjoyable.' IAN MOORE

'A richly vivid and picaresque masterwork... humorous, horrifying and humane.' TOM MEAD

'A compulsive read... A real page turner.' CAITLIN DAVIES

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781837930869
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	02/18/2025
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Clare Whitfield was born in 1978 in Morden (at the bottom of the Northern line) in Greater London. After university she worked at a publishing company before going on to hold various positions in buying and marketing. She now lives in Hampshire with her family. Her debut novel, People of Abandoned Character, won the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and is also published by Head of Zeus.

Editorial Reviews

Poor Girls is a brave, bold novel, illuminating the present through the past. It shows us how women have so often had to take the rights that society refuses to give them. You'll fall hard for Nell and the Forty Elephants.” —Araminta Hall

“Funny, fast-paced and dark, Poor Girls is a riveting read, with dialogue that absolutely crackles and a fabulously unsentimental heroine in Nell.” —Elodie Harper

“This world is not all fur coats and champagne. An exuberant and atmospheric read” —The Times

“A pacy, entertaining caper with well-drawn characters” —Good Housekeeping

“Vivid, witty, and full of wonderfully drawn characters” —Woman & Home

“Raucous, fast-paced and dripping with 1920s grime and glamour” —The Sun

“Captivating” —Crime Monthly

“The story moves along at a terrific pace with wonderfully roguish characters, and great period detail. Really enjoyable.” —Ian Moore

“A richly vivid and picaresque masterwork, Poor Girls is by turns humorous, horrifying and humane.” —Tom Mead

“A compulsive read. Brighton waitress Eleanor is recruited by the female crime syndicate the Forty Elephants into a world of champagne, diamonds and furs. But there's a price to pay for postwar women who wanted to become something - how far will she go, and will she get away with it? A real page turner.” —Caitlin Davies

“An addictive, thrilling five-star read with a plot that races along and is packed with unexpected turns. Nell and her friends in the girl-gang the Forty Elephants are unapologetically out for themselves, stealing, drinking and partying their way to infamy, and all the time defying expectations of what it means to be a woman in 1922. Memorable, outrageous and full of heart. Loved it – every time I put it down I couldn't wait to pick it up again.” —Eleni Kyriacou

“What a rollicking riot!... You'll love the adventures of this sisterhood” —Peterborough Evening Telegraph

“A crime novel like no other I've encountered, and it's solid proof of the old adage truth is stranger than fiction. And it's a jolly good read into the bargain” —Promoting Crime Fiction

“This is splendidly entertaining, with sharp characterisation and a great sense of fun in addition to providing a fascinating insight into a lost period of British history” —Maxim Jakubowski, CrimeTime

“A vivid and witty read” —Woman 'This Week's Hot Read'

“[A] good read” —Historical Novel Review

From the Publisher