Those Brisbane Romantics by Danielle de Valera

Way back in the day when people wrote letters, a box of Old Gold chocolates had significance and the City Hall at 91 metres was the tallest building in town, everyone’s under twenty-five and single, and everyone’s hoping to get that special someone into bed. But in Brisbane, 1961, that’s not so easy. Perils abound: The Pill can’t be dispensed to unmarried women, pregnancy terminations are illegal, and being gay is a criminal offence.

After being drafted into work for the war effort, women are back in the home. Tara Mahoney, a budding artist, has fallen for childhood friend Joe Gordon, whose ambition is to make it internationally in music. Marriage at twenty-two will ruin his chances - and Tara's - for a career in the arts. Joe and Tara are desperate for one another, but with no reliable birth control available, it’s hands-off for both of them.

Into this fraught situation steps Klari Nadassy, a Hungarian ballet dancer. When she becomes pregnant to Joe, tragedy ensues. Joe turns back to Tara, who faces the choice of marrying a man she's not in love with and keeping her career or playing second fiddle to Joe.

Format: Paperback