Just So Stories

Harper Collins Australia

June 2026

• Imprint: HQ Fiction AU
• ISBN: 9781038903907
• RRP: $34.99

No secret to any of you who are regular readers here, I am a Jackie French fan. Whether it’s her picture books, her middle grade novels, non-fiction, or adult fiction – you name it, it’s a given that I will love it. In particular it is her historical fiction that completely engrosses me time and time again. And this one is no exception.

Being a Sydney girl, I grew up with the stories and history of Tilly Devine, though her reign as the Queen of Woolloomooloo was well before my time. No doubt, her infamy lived on for years and is still referenced in many quarters. But I had no idea that as well as the sly grog shops, the brothels, the organised crime of all sorts that Tilly also ran a side-line in ‘arranged’ marriages.

Finding ‘diamonds’, that is, women who were well-suited to become the epitome of elegant and intelligent wives of prominent men – many of whom were secret homosexuals. Obviously, being gay was a criminal offence back in the day and while apparently Tilly herself was less than tolerant of homosexuality, she had no scruples whatsoever in selecting suitable women to become the diamonds that gave her a very lucrative side-line.

Men who, for whatever reason, had difficulty in finding a wife who could complement their status and provide them with children, would discreetly arrange with Tilly to procure one. For them it was obviously a way to safeguard their position in business and society, and for the women it was a means to ensure a safe, secure and respectable arrangement, as well their own opportunity to create a family life.

When Connie’s mother dies after a long illness, their penury following the death of her father has resulted in the gradual diminishing of any reasonable standard of living, and means that Connie not only no longer has even her mother’s tiny widow’s pension, she doesn’t have the Surry Hills slum tenancy either. With the bailiffs taking every miserable stick of furniture and household goods for rent arrears, Connie is left with 3 alternatives: throwing herself off the Gap, starve on the streets or approach Tilly Devine to become a ‘working girl’. She knows that Tilly has been watching her and can only surmise that the Queen is already sizing her up for a role.

Tilly is indeed doing just that, but not for work as a prostitute. Actually, Tilly believes that Connie will the perfect diamond for a new client she has and despite initial misgivings, Connie comes to realise that this is her only real opportunity for a proper home, marriage and children. That the prospective groom is a well-known young and rich business man is a bonus.

But the old saying ‘if a thing seems too good to be true’ like many old sayings, proves correct. Connie lands in a quagmire of deceit and danger but she is no shrinking violet and her journey to save herself, and eventually her home and children, is one that is both gripping and powerful. This is a woman who is intelligent, resourceful and, above all, with a sense of ethics and honour that immediately rallies strong support from those around her, including even the hard-hearted crime queen herself.

From start to finish, this is another of Jackie’s cracking historical reads with fact and fiction so cleverly interwoven as to become readily believable. What a writer she is! And her historical research is not only always impeccable but she manages to unearth nuggets of fact that have long been forgotten, overlooked or hidden, making her stories all the more fascinating.

Needless to say it’s a 5 💎💎💎💎💎 rating from me for adult readers, though you will likely have senior students who would enjoy it as well.

PS If you’re ever in Canberra I can recommend Tilly’s Devine Cafe and Gallery – no gangsters but great coffee and ambience. I miss it very much.