It's 1982. The Knighton women, all living under one roof, are about to be struck with dance marathon fever. . .
Holly, aged twelve, is the youngest of the Knighton clan, and has got her sights set on becoming the best dancer Australia has ever seen. But to do that, she will need to win the dance marathon in front of a crowd of elite tap royalty.
Everything is going to plan, until Gran decides the marathon is the latest focus of her activism, bringing the women's movement's progressive values to Adelaide's premier social event of the year. Even worse for Holly, her mother, Lucy, is on the precipice of moving in with the dreaded Weasel Features, who has made his disdain for Holly no secret.
Meanwhile Greaty, the matriarch of the family, has got her hands full rewriting the rules of The Women's Annual, weighing up time-honoured traditions of housekeeping and reflecting on what makes a woman's life her own, rather than at the beck and call of society's rules โ and men.
Bring on a generational conflict that'll leave sequins on the dancefloor.
A story about family, the changing lives of women in the 20th century, and the joy of fulfilling one's purpose and dreams, The Knighton Women's Compendium is the heartwarming story of the summer.
Praise for The Knighton Women's Compendium
'a cleverly conceived and uplifting novel that weaves one girl's odyssey into a reflection on how feminism and the women's experiences that have shaped it, changes over time' โ The *Age
'*An engrossing family saga.' - Who Magazine