Prize Women

The gripping and unforgettable new novel from Caroline Lea, based on one of history's most shocking but largely untold scandals

'A highly original and inventive writer' Sunday Times

Toronto, Canada, 1926

Best friends Lily di Marco and Mae Thebault were once inseparable. They lived under the same roof and cared for each other's children. But with mouths to feeds and demanding husbands to keep happy, both women are forced into terrible decisions as the Great Depression tightens its grip.

When lawyer Charles Vance Miller's will promises a handsome sum of money to the woman who can produce the most babies in the next ten years, it is initially dismissed as a vanity project. But as the Great Depression worsens, and times get increasingly tough across the world, for the most desperate in society this contest known as The Great Stork Derby suddenly seems like a way out.

Ten years later, Lily and Mae couldn't be further apart. And as The Great Stork Derby continues to make headlines, for all the wrong reasons, both these women must face up to their part in it, and the consequences...

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PRAISE FOR Caroline Lea:

'Memorable and compelling' Sarah Moss
'Enthralling' Stacey Halls
'Caroline's beautiful writing transported me entirely to another time and land' Susan Fletcher
'Lea writes beautifully' The Times
'Atmospheric, heart-wrenching, evocative - this is a gorgeously written story about the scars we carry with us, and how they can be overcome' Gytha Lodge
'Exquisitely researched, beautifully told' Mary Beth Keane