One Hundred Years of Betty

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 TV screenwriter. 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. 'Debra Oswald fulfils a novelist's highest purpose in One Hundred Years of Betty. In a marathon exercise of imaginative empathy, she creates a life in full - all its aching sorrows, all its transcendent joys - unfolding amidst the convulsions of our tumultuous century. A rich feast of a novel, a perfect balance of sweet and sour. You won't want it to end.' Geraldine Brooks, bestselling author of Horse 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