A mesmerising hunt through Gold-Rush era Melbourne, The Butterfly Women tells a story of early Australia that the newspapers and history books ignored, one where women take centre stage.
It’s 1863, and Melbourne is transitioning from a fledgling colony to a thriving, gold-fuelled metropolis. But behind its shiny new faade, the real Melbourne can be found in the notorious red-light district of Little Lon, full of brothels where rich and poor alike can revel all night. The most glamorous among them is Papillon, home to the most alluring women in the city.
For poor Irishwoman Johanna Callaghan, a job at Papillon could be her ticket to success, but in a time when women’s lives are cheap, it also brings great danger. Meanwhile, for respectable women like journalist Harriett Gardiner, Papillon is strictly off-limits, but when a murderer begins stalking the streets of Little Lon, she becomes determined to visit it and find the truth.
As both women are drawn into the hunt for the killer, a long-hidden side of old Melbourne is revealed. Lush, dark and meticulously researched, The Butterfly Women weaves romance and mystery into an unforgettable tale of Australian history, and the women so often erased from it.
(4/5)
The Butterfly Women is a well-researched historical mystery, set in the 1960’s as Melbourne is transitioning from a fledgling colony towards a metropolis. This story is set amongst the notorious brothels of Little Lon, at a time where women’s lives are maligned, undervalued or silenced.
I enjoyed reading the struggles and triumphs from the perspective of our protagonists – poor Irishwoman Johanna, renowned Madame Catherine Laurent, disguised policewoman Mary, and journalist Harriet Gardiner.
The writing had me immersed in the search for the serial killer who was targeting women in Little Lon, while also considering the experiences of the characters depicted, despite the clashing of culture, personal circumstance and social class.
This is an incredible debut, and I am keen to read more from Australian author Madeleine Cleary in future!
The map is a brilliant addition and helped me to understand the context for the story. I also love how this story was inspired by the author’s own family history.
(4/5)
The Butterfly Women is a beautifully written first novel by Madeline Cleary, set in Melbourne in 1863. We read from the perspective of several women living or working in the city, knowing there is a killer targeting sex workers.
I found it an easy read, well paced with no slow sections to bog it down. The mix of who-done-it, Melbourne culture and the women’s relationships offered a poignant tale. It’s a story of courage, tenacity and community, set in a time most have little knowledge of.
Highly recommended!
(4/5)
For anyone who’s a lover of historical fiction, especially that of early Australian history will love reading this book. It reveals the lives of individuals whom work in a glamorous brothel, The Papillion. It is a murder mystery full of plot twists and a murderer determined to clean the streets of Melbourne of those he considers lower class vermin. Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the women and curiously when one of these women are murdered, there is a follow-up chapter of their story through their eyes. An interesting writing style I’ve not seen before. I really enjoyed this storyline. It was well researched and educated me about a subject I was unaware of. I strongly recommend it.
(4/5)
This book is perfect for lovers of Australian historical fiction and a beautifully written debut. Cleary paints vivid pictures of life in the 1800s through her use of colourful language.
(5/5)
It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel from Madeleine Cleary, it’s just that good!
I love historical fiction, especially when it is set in Australia in places that I have visited. I’ve been to Melbourne several times and have walked some of the streets mentioned in the book.
The map at the front of the book is a wonderful idea. It really helps readers visualize where the events are taking place.
Madeleine has created some wonderful characters. Johanna, a dressed girl, and Harriett, a journalist, became very dear friends to me and I was constantly worried about their safety.
Constable Mary and Madame Laurent are another two who I came to love. They have an interesting history, but I won’t divulge any spoilers here.
It was interesting to learn about life in Melbourne in the 1860’s, the divide between the rich and poor, the squalid living conditions and what people did just to survive.
The mystery surrounding the murderer kept me guessing until the end, which I really liked.
(5/5)
Lying semi-conscious, beaten, and bleeding in a back alley, Joanna believes she might finally succumb to her destiny and die amidst the mud, blood, and filth of Melbourne’s back laneways. Accepting her fate, she laughs aloud. She is discovered by a well-dressed gentleman, just as a police constable arrives in the lane and takes charge of the situation.
The young woman is delivered into the care of a local businesswoman, where she is trained as a serving girl, and given the opportunity to work for food, accommodation, and a few pennies, providing the chance to get back on her feet.
The book entwines and explores my favourite genres of historical and crime fiction and is loosely based on real people and actual events.
A cast of misfits, from a variety of backgrounds: wealthy ‘orphans’, brothel madams, ‘dressed girls’, police, reporters, politicians, streetwalkers, aristocrats, petty thieves, and Royalty. A strong foundation of resilient and resourceful women permeates the pages.
With a touch of Pride and Prejudice mixed with Jack the Ripper, you get a feel for the juxtaposition of the characters that built the wonderful city of Melbourne, and a glimpse into our not-too-distant past.
(5/5)
It’s hard to believe that The Butterfly Women marks Madeleine Cleary’s debut.
Set in 1863, as Melbourne’s first serial killer stalks workers from both brothels and the streets, three women fight to uncover the truth before more lives are stolen. Rumours of an Irish myth thread through the killings, an eerie undercurrent that kept me turning pages long after I meant to sleep. The women of Little Lon rise from history’s margins – bold, vulnerable, and fierce – trapped in cages built for all who dared step outside their place.
Each thread weaves into a finale both heartbreaking and electrifying.
Cleary’s lyrical language and gripping story pulled me in immediately. Her research breathes life into a city still shaping its identity, shadowed by cruelty and hope.
I’ve walked the same streets all my life. After Madeleine’s vivid portrait of Victorian Melbourne, I’ll never see them the same way again.
Readers who loved Pip Williams or Sarah Penner will lose themselves in this haunting, beautifully crafted novel.
(4/5)
The Butterfly Women was a wonderful historical fiction. Whilst not overly familiar with Melbourne (the map at the beginning of the book was handy!), I enjoyed that it was set in Australia.
The characters were well developed and the description of life in the 1860s was clearly well researched. The story unfolded beautifully and the mystery storyline kept me interested until the end.
(4/5)
The Butterfly Women is an intricately woven story about several women working at a popular brothel during the 1860s Gold Rush/early Melbourne period. During this time, Women are seen as being merely useful as wives and mothers (if you are from high society) and as sex workers purely for men’s pleasure for those from lower rungs of society, in a world where class matters and women do not have a voice.
We dive deep into the sometimes violent ‘underworld’ of brothels and street life, with unsavoury characters lurking in slums and ‘unsafe’ corners of the city. We meet a cast of characters entwined in this tale, with main characters Johanna and Harriett. Both are strong and intelligent women and become unlikely friends, from opposite sides of the ‘track’ according to society. Johanna is a poor woman from Ireland, who ends up working in a brothel called Papillon. She is trying to ‘rise’ up the ranks in hopes of one day owning her own such establishment. We also meet Harriett, a journalist from a privileged family background. Harriett is writing stories for the society pages of a newspaper and wants to write about more interesting and important issues, but is denied her voice.
This unlikely duo of women, team together to solve a ‘mystery’ surrounding a series of murders of local women considered ‘undesirable’ in high society and who won’t be missed.
Overall this book is a highly enjoyable read. It is meticulously researched and is a perfect blend of a fascinating historical period of Melbourne, ‘crooked’ as well as likable characters, mystery, suspense, and a hint of romance.
(5/5)
Fans of the colonial era will not be disappointed with The Butterfly Women – detailing a Melbourne that we never knew, from the point of view of a murder mystery interwoven with a love story. This page-turner had me captivated from the start with its lovable and not-so-lovable characters of Melbourne. Madeleine Cleary’s writing had me believe I had lived through this period with iconic landmarks that we can all relate to brought to life on the pages.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review it as I do believe it would not have been a story I would have chosen to read otherwise and yet, I absolutely fell in love with it!
(5/5)
The Butterfly Women is a story that grips you within the first hundred pages. It is inspiring, haunting, and full of unknowing! This book made me feel all sorts of things and had me laughing, crying, intrigued, and everything in between. The story inspired me for a number of reasons, how to be brave, how to stand together as women and to stand tall against everything life throws at you. The book helped to give our women of the past a voice and was beautifully written, with an ending that will leave you in shock and give you the chills!
If you like books based loosely on history, mystery, and a little bit of romance this book is for you, meshing all these ideas together perfectly. Something that I thought was done really well is how you never know what is going to happen. It’s the sort of book that you think you know what is going to happen but then it completely surprises you. It was very refreshing reading a book that wasn’t predictable and cliché.
If you were thinking of reading this book take this as you sign and give it a go. I hope you love it just as much as I do.
(4/5)
This book was surprisingly amazing! Not normally a reader of murder mysteries, I was attracted to the setting in early colonial Melbourne with strong female leads and found myself continuously referring to the map of old Melbourne and imagining myself walking those same streets now. The city is presented warts and all to the reader so that we can imagine in depth what it might have been like.
Cleary has done well to present the reader with a wide mix of strong female leads from a variety of backgrounds, all slowly coming together as they try to unravel the mystery. Each of the women provides a different context not only to the crime but as to what it meant to be a woman at that time. Even the minor characters, some you initially dismiss will at some point grip you with their stories.
While I found the beginning slow to start, once the characters provided more in-depth observations, more emotion, and glimpses of their past I found myself gripped and couldn’t put it down.
(5/5)
A riveting and well-researched book set in 1870 Melbourne that enhances the differences between the upper and the destitute women class.
I enjoy reading this book and I hope to see another one from Madeleine Cleary,
(5/5)
This is an incredibly well researched book, loosely based on the life of the author’s great-great-great grandmother, Catherine Cleary, who ran a brothel in the early days. It’s an historic murder mystery novel quite different from others I’ve read.
Set in Melbourne it covers the period from July 1863, to February 1864. It’s the story of a series of murders and the women who own and work in the brothels and on the streets in the notorious red-light district of Little Lon, their clients, friends, and others, including the indigenous people who live in the area. It’s a side of Melbourne not usually seen in novels. All the characters are affected by these murders in different ways.
Each of the main female characters has chapters dedicated to her and her part in the story, including the murder victims, each of whom has her story told by the Banshee. Five of the women, including a journalist, Harriet, decide to try to catch the serial killer, despite the men around them being against it.
It’s not just about the murders, but how these women stood up for themselves in a world where they were expected to just do what society, especially men, expected. The Author’s Notes at the end also add much to the story and the history.
(4/5)
An interesting and intriguing novel with the set up of a Jack the Ripper serial killer plot line folded into the colonial beginnings of Early Australia. Cleary has written with a clear female point of view throughout the story to give a unique detective novel. With attention to detail and the level of suspense created, The Butterfly Women has you wanting to binge-read this novel in one sitting to find out who done it!
(5/5)
The Butterfly Women is a fabulous debut novel by Madeleine Cleary, set in Melbourne in 1863 during the boom years following the gold rush. The setting is vividly brought to life through evocative descriptions of the city’s sights, smells, and living conditions – painting a rich and gritty picture of colonial life. A map included in the book adds an engaging visual dimension.
The characters are well-developed and compelling. Johanna, a poor Irishwoman, sees her job at the glamorous Papillon brothel as a possible path to success. Harriett, a respectable journalist with a magistrate brother, represents another side of colonial womanhood. When a series of murders targeting street-working women are largely ignored by the authorities, Johanna and Harriett form an unlikely alliance to uncover the killer.
This novel masterfully blends romance and mystery, offering an intriguing piece of historical fiction that centres on the resilience, strength, and vulnerability of women in the colony. It shines a light on the stories of women who are so often erased or forgotten and not celebrated by history.
I found The Butterfly Women both enjoyable and addictive, and would highly recommend it to lovers of Australian historical fiction.
(5/5)
Madeleine Cleary’s depth of research really shines through in this story. Using a mixture of her ancestor’s stories, historical reports, and author’s flair, she has created a fantastic story that reads like it could have come straight from Melbourne’s history books. The characters are varied, from the slums to the upper class. All tied together by a serial killer. A fantastic read.
(5/5)
Absolutely loved this book! I felt like l was a part of the story, and in the area it was set. There were great characters, I especially loved Harriett.
I would love to read other books by this author as I really enjoyed her style of storytelling.
(4/5)
Like the butterfly, this book flowed gracefully from chapter to chapter; fluttering seamlessly from one character’s voice to another.
The clever narration of revealing the story of the Butterfly Women through the many eyes of its rich and colourful characters proved very successful in revealing not only the values and lifestyles of Melbourne during the 1800’s but also at touching on the humanity of these individual characters, their struggles, and strengths.
Entwining the realities of the past with the story’s sinister underlying plot held the reader captive till the final chapters. And then reluctantly, I admit, I felt a little underwhelmed; released from captivity.
The reason is a bit of a mystery. Was the killer revealed too early in the story? Or was failing to feel the passion of the story’s climax the reason? Or was it simply that the final chapter felt a little too methodical for me? Not sure but that final wow factor eluded me right at the very end.
I would still rate it a big four-star. A great read up till the final moments, which may be just a personal thing, but that’s humanity!
(4/5)
Madeleine Cleary brings 1863 Melbourne to life in a way that feels immersive and fresh, blending historical fiction with mystery. The novel introduces a cast of women who are all so distinct, yet their lives slowly intertwine in ways that feel both natural and compelling. A serial killer is stalking the streets, and as the tension builds, the main characters find themselves entangled in something far bigger than them.
Johanna, Harriet, Mary, and Catherine each have their own struggles, ambitions, and secrets, and watching their stories unfold was one of the most rewarding aspects of the book. What I loved was how the mystery never overshadowed the characters. It was always present, lurking in the background, but the heart of the novel remained with the main leads and their connections. The ending truly was a bittersweet moment that I know many readers will either love or despise.
The historical setting is richly detailed, offering a glimpse into Melbourne’s hidden histories, particularly the lives of women navigating a world that often works against them. If you enjoy historical fiction with strong female leads and a touch of suspense, this one is definitely worth reading.