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Our review – One Hundred Years of Betty by Debra Oswald

Feb 2025

Our Rating:

Author: Oswald, Debra

Category: Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Book Format: paperback

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

ISBN: 9781761470615

RRP: 34.99

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Synopsis

One ordinary extraordinary woman living through a century of massive change, from the bestselling author of The Family Doctor. Meet Betty: storyteller, feminist, eternally curious and phenomenally old. On the eve of her 100th birthday party, Betty tells us her story. Born into poverty in pre-war London, and growing up fast during the Blitz, Betty grabs the chance at a bigger life by migrating to Australia. On board the SS Asturias she meets three people who will influence the course of her life - Pearl, a good-hearted party girl, Athena, a Greek woman on her way to marry a man she has never met, and Leo, a German Jew who lost his family in the war. In Sydney, Betty is making ends meet as a waitress at the famous Trocadero dance hall when she stumbles into a rushed courtship with Donald, a wealthy businessman, and dedicates herself to being the ideal 1950s suburban housewife. But life has other plans for Betty, and soon she must find a way to do more than survive. This is the story of a strong, intelligent woman born too early in time to make the most of her talents without having to fight for everything. It's about the defining force of motherhood, the family we make, and how the determination to live life to the hilt, with all the joy and sorrow that entails, can lead to a life beyond one's wildest imaginings. Set against a century of world events and social upheavals, Betty's story takes us to the frontlines of the anti-war protests and the women's liberation movement of the 1970s, to the AIDS crisis during the 1980s, to living in Mexico and eventually becoming a TVscreenwriter. Even in her nineties. Betty is still passionately engaged with the world, still surprising us. One Hundred Years of Betty is the sweeping saga of one particular ordinary, fabulous woman living through a century of massive change: Betty as a child, teenager, lover, worker, friend, mother, activist, writer, recluse, angry woman, loving woman, from the creator of Offspring and bestselling author of The Family Doctor. Praise for The Family Doctor: 'Oswald has a way with words that immediately draws you into the story and keeps you there until the very last line. Highly recommended!' - Mamamia 'A compelling page-turner.' - The Age 'In crystal-clear prose, Debra Oswald unveils an all-too-believable world of love and loyalty stretched to the limit, with agonising consequences when the best people are forced to do the worst things. The moment you finish this novel you will want to find someone else who has read it and talk all night about the vital questions it raises.' - Malcolm Knox, author of Bluebird 'Oswald is such a deft writer...a timely, evocative and at times harrowing exploration of domestic violence.' - The Courier-Mail 'Mesmerising and heart-breaking. A perfect story for this moment in time.' Sarah Bailey, author of Where the Dead Go

It takes one woman close to her 100th birthday telling the story of her life in the UK and Australia, and you have a social and political history of those times and places.

Oswald, a playwright, screenwriter and novelist, has created a sweeping novel featuring Elizabeth, Betty, Beth or Liz … a woman who chooses her name according to the environment and her company at the time.

Betty looks back at her life, still curious about the world, an activist and feminist, and a woman who has experienced the joys and sorrows of those many years.

She recollects a large family living in poor circumstances in the 1930s in south London; on lean days eating a cold porridge-based concoction called Mock Brains; and having their mother die after giving birth to her 10th child.

Betty joined other London children sent to the country to escape the World War II bombing. It was a happy time with a loving couple in Cornwall, but when she returned to London a bomb destroyed her home and killed some of her siblings. Readers can follow Betty’s life as she works in a munitions factory, becomes a good dancer and sexually active, with a predictable result.

But Betty bounced back, leaving Southampton by ship for Australia, meeting three characters on board who will feature largely in her long life.

Oswald shines a light on immigration, high society in Sydney, marriage, widowhood and motherhood, the Vietnam War, relationships, AIDS, and a stint living in Mexico.

There is a definite tang of authenticity about the section where Betty becomes a screenwriter, as Oswald was the creator/head writer of the first five seasons of the TV series, ‘Offspring’. Betty may be a fictional character, but she is Anywoman, living through a meticulously researched century.

Reviewed by Jennifer Somerville

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debra Oswald is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist. She is a two-time winner of the NSW Premier’s Literary Award and author of the novels Useful (2015), The Whole Bright Year (2018) and The Family Doctor (2021). She was creator/head writer of the first five seasons of the successful TV series Offspring.

Her stage plays have been performed around the world and published by Currency Press. Gary’s House, Sweet Road and The Peach Season were all shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award. Debra has also written four plays for young audiences—Dags, Skate, Stories in the Dark and House on Fire. She has written three Aussie Bites books and six children’s novels, including The Redback Leftovers.

Her television credits include award-winning episodes of Police Rescue, Palace of Dreams, The Secret Life of Us, Sweet and Sour and Bananas in Pyjamas.

Debra performed her one-woman show Is There Something Wrong With That Lady? at the Griffin Theatre in 2021 and a month-long season at the Ensemble in 2023.

Visit the publisher’s website