Radio Girls

By: Sarah-Jane Stratford
Location: FIC GIR
Genre: Historical Fiction



THE BBC-its legendary, its reputable, its British, its honorable and it had Top Gear! I remember living in the UK and loving listening to the BBC especially Wimbledon- the commentary was brilliant! The BBC became my friend as I sat at home with a new baby and it taught me the world. This book is about the intrigues of the BBC.

"This book had everything that great historical fiction should have. Wonderful writing, interesting subject matter, incorporation of real events and real people into the fictional part of the story and wonderful and well described characters."- Dorie

1926, the BBC. The nation listens. A woman finds her voice.

Now here is a stunning quote!

“Maisie had never owned a book and couldn’t imagine rereading anything when time was so short and the libraries so full.” Sarah-Jane Stratford, Radio Girls: A Novel


Hilda Matheson, Broadcasting (1933)
Did you know talk radio was started by a woman? Did you know she wrote a handbook for radio broadcasting in 1933? And was also an agent of MI5? And worked with Lawrence of Arabia and Lady Astor? Does it sound like too much to pack into a novel? Are you now shouting aloud, ‘Why has no one told me about this amazing woman before!’ because I certainly was. Hilda Matheson was a pioneer, a visionary, spy, writer, insightful revolutionary, lover of Vita Sackville-West — well, it’s all gilding the lily a bit. If she hadn’t existed, you’d have wanted to invent her. n this novel Stratford does a very wise thing: she looks at Matheson through the eyes of a young Canadian-American expat whose life is transformed by working with her. In so doing she gets to use all the fun of a novel (adventure, romance, intrigue, friendships) to show the glories of the beginning of the institution that is the BBC. It was once full of women who were over time systematically driven out.- K  Laity- Goodreads.com
London, 1926. Maisie Musgrave is thrilled to land a job at the fledgling British Broadcasting Corporation whose new and electrifying radio network is captivating the nation. Famous writers, scientists, politicians – the BBC is broadcasting them all, but behind the scenes Maisie is drawn into a battle of wills being fought by her two bosses. John Reith, the formidable Director-General and Hilda Matheson, the extraordinary Director of Talks Programming, envisage very different futures for radio. And when Maisie unearths a shocking conspiracy, she and Hilda join forces to make their voices heard both on and off the air..

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