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The Women on Platform Two
In 1970s Dublin, all forms of contraception are strictly forbidden, but an intrepid group of women will risk everything to change that in this sweeping, timely novel inspired by a remarkable and little-known true story.
Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that if she conceives again, her health complications could prove fatal.
Dublin, 2023: A close call makes Saoirse realize that she may never want to be a mother. Little does she know that only a few decades ago, a group of women made this option possible for her. And she’s about to meet one of them�
The Women on Platform Two is a haunting, powerful story of feminine resistance and resilience that reminds us all of where we started—and how far we still have to go.
Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that if she conceives again, her health complications could prove fatal.
Dublin, 2023: A close call makes Saoirse realize that she may never want to be a mother. Little does she know that only a few decades ago, a group of women made this option possible for her. And she’s about to meet one of them�
The Women on Platform Two is a haunting, powerful story of feminine resistance and resilience that reminds us all of where we started—and how far we still have to go.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published March 11, 2025
103 people are currently reading
17.1k people want to read
About the author
Laura Anthony
1book87followersLaura Anthony is a pseudonym for a published author of emotional women’s fiction. She lives in Kildare, Ireland, with her husband and children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
February 13, 2025
This is a well written book based on a true story. And while it was harder to read right now given what is happening in my own country with civil rights being taken away it was also especially inspiring given that. This book alternates between 2023 with Saoirse who had a disagreement about having children with her partner and 1969 with Maura who has just gotten married to a doctor and started her life. Maura is on the train and bumps into Saoirse and shares her story which was a fun way to get both timelines. This book is about a group of women who stood up for their rights to their bodies and started some revolutionary things in Ireland. It’s a wonderfully written book full of well written and compelling characters. I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it.
March 31, 2025
Excellent. Full RTC.
Thank you Simon Audio for the advanced copy.
Thank you Simon Audio for the advanced copy.
December 9, 2024
4.5stars
I was a young teen back in the mid sixties and I grew up in a strict Irish Catholic family. I am the oldest of seven children and most of our neighbors had many more than seven children in their families. I remember being told it was a mortal sin for women to use contraception. In Ireland it was even worse because it was actually illegal to purchase any form of birth control . Women were told their purpose in life was to bear children. So many families suffered trying to feed and care for all these children and many women died in childbirth.
This is a story of two women, Bernie and Maura, both Irish born. These two women came from very different socioeconomic backgrounds but circumstances brought them together, and they became fast and lifelong friends. Both suffered in different ways due to this antiquated law, but they were strong women who stood up for themselves and for other women too. Maura and Bernie may have been fictional characters but the book describes true events from that time. I found the book to be “unputdownable�. A great story that held my interest throughout.
I was a young teen back in the mid sixties and I grew up in a strict Irish Catholic family. I am the oldest of seven children and most of our neighbors had many more than seven children in their families. I remember being told it was a mortal sin for women to use contraception. In Ireland it was even worse because it was actually illegal to purchase any form of birth control . Women were told their purpose in life was to bear children. So many families suffered trying to feed and care for all these children and many women died in childbirth.
This is a story of two women, Bernie and Maura, both Irish born. These two women came from very different socioeconomic backgrounds but circumstances brought them together, and they became fast and lifelong friends. Both suffered in different ways due to this antiquated law, but they were strong women who stood up for themselves and for other women too. Maura and Bernie may have been fictional characters but the book describes true events from that time. I found the book to be “unputdownable�. A great story that held my interest throughout.
March 17, 2025
Have you ever started reading a book and known from the very first page that it was not only going to be 5 stars, but also a story that would hit the heart and all the emotions hard? That’s what happened when I started listening to The Women on Platform Two on my way to work the other morning.
This is just one of those books where I can’t even get my emotions and head right to write the words this book deserves for a review.
Truly, I felt each character’s life all the way down to my bones as I alternated between listening and reading. I was there as a mom feeling everything we moms feel, there as a woman who has be ability to choose what happens to her body and knowing others still don’t have this, there as a woman who has endured abuse, and there as a woman who will always support other women. I seriously can’t express how this book is not just something you read…it’s something you experience.
This was a story that was also about friendships between women, and the unbreakable bonds forged as we share a lot of the same experiences, even though our backgrounds are different.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
Based on a true story
Multiple POV
Women’s reproductive rights
Women supporting women
Equality for women
Friendship
Dual Timelines
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲?
This was a fast paced story that I couldn’t put down.
𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸?
This book is an absolute must read and/or listen, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. We women are still fighting for the rights to our body in the United States and now seeing how fragile those rights are, we need to stay vigilant.
This is just one of those books where I can’t even get my emotions and head right to write the words this book deserves for a review.
Truly, I felt each character’s life all the way down to my bones as I alternated between listening and reading. I was there as a mom feeling everything we moms feel, there as a woman who has be ability to choose what happens to her body and knowing others still don’t have this, there as a woman who has endured abuse, and there as a woman who will always support other women. I seriously can’t express how this book is not just something you read…it’s something you experience.
This was a story that was also about friendships between women, and the unbreakable bonds forged as we share a lot of the same experiences, even though our backgrounds are different.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
Based on a true story
Multiple POV
Women’s reproductive rights
Women supporting women
Equality for women
Friendship
Dual Timelines
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲?
This was a fast paced story that I couldn’t put down.
𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸?
This book is an absolute must read and/or listen, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. We women are still fighting for the rights to our body in the United States and now seeing how fragile those rights are, we need to stay vigilant.
Want to read
November 21, 2024Inspired by a true story. Set in Dublin in the 1970's where all forms of contraception are outlawed, some women on a train have an idea......
January 17, 2025
I’m not usually a fan of historical fiction, but this may be one of my top 10-15 favorite books. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
The Women on Platform Two is a though provoking, emotional, and breathtaking story about how 47 women stood up for women’s rights in Ireland in 1972.
The story follows Saoirse as she meets an interesting woman at a train station. The woman drops a piece of paper when getting on the train, Saoirse runs on to return it, and we embark on the woman’s history. There’s a special reason why she’s riding that train on that day.
The story speaks on how women fought for contraceptive rights and freedom for their body. I haven’t stopped thinking about these women and how this came to be. It’s very timely and heartbreaking. It makes me thankful for all of the amazing women who came before us.
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.
The Women on Platform Two is a though provoking, emotional, and breathtaking story about how 47 women stood up for women’s rights in Ireland in 1972.
The story follows Saoirse as she meets an interesting woman at a train station. The woman drops a piece of paper when getting on the train, Saoirse runs on to return it, and we embark on the woman’s history. There’s a special reason why she’s riding that train on that day.
The story speaks on how women fought for contraceptive rights and freedom for their body. I haven’t stopped thinking about these women and how this came to be. It’s very timely and heartbreaking. It makes me thankful for all of the amazing women who came before us.
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.
January 16, 2025
This is an amazing and very well written book. It is a story of an Irish woman in 1970s who appeared to have a perfect life - beautiful, well groomed, living in an upscale home, and married to a much respected doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor was abusive and the woman lost 3 pregnancies due to his abuse. Her friend had 3 children in close proximity and almost died during the delivery of her fourth child. The child did not survive. It was illegal in Ireland at the time to use contraception but legal in Belfast Northern Ireland.
This book was an Advanced Reader's Addition and will be on sale next March 11, 2025. It should have been available before the November 2024 election.
Loaned to me from Abbie.
This book was an Advanced Reader's Addition and will be on sale next March 11, 2025. It should have been available before the November 2024 election.
Loaned to me from Abbie.
March 18, 2025
The perfect book to read during Women's History Month and especially on International Women's Day!! I went into this one blind and so enjoyed learning more about Irish women's fight to make birth control legal (something that didn't happen until 1980!).
This was a moving and at times hard to read story about a doctor's wife who endures domestic violence and multiple miscarriages at the hands of her husband as well as other women who deal with unwanted pregnancies with little or no recourse and a TON of stigma and shame should they attempt to do anything about it.
Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Heather Marshall! Many thanks to @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
This was a moving and at times hard to read story about a doctor's wife who endures domestic violence and multiple miscarriages at the hands of her husband as well as other women who deal with unwanted pregnancies with little or no recourse and a TON of stigma and shame should they attempt to do anything about it.
Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Heather Marshall! Many thanks to @simon.audio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
November 28, 2024
While trying to make decisions about her life in present day, Saoirse encounters Maura who tells her the remarkable story of the women who fought to give other women a choice with their selves and their bodies in Ireland. In the 1970s, women weren’t allowed to work after marriage and contraception was illegal, even though it was readily available in Northern Ireland. A brave group of women banded together and one day they rode a train to Belfast and returned with contraception, thus paving the way for Irish women to have control over their lives. Maura, who married "well" but whose husband turned out to be an abuser, recounts her life along with Bernie’s, a beloved wife and mother of three who is told that she could die if she conceives another child.
While the characters are fictional, this book is based on true events.This is an important story. So many younger people don’t realize what it was once like and the sacrifices that brave young women and some men made to give them the life, freedom, and choices that they are living now.
This is a well written story that takes you in and won’t let go. I found it heartbreaking, charming, poignant, infuriating and I couldn’t put it down, reading well into the night to finish it. With well developed and captivating characters, these women's resilience is inspiring. This is a story that needs to be recounted no matter where you reside for women the world over have to be aware of the history that provided their present day freedoms and how easy it is to have their options limited.
This story moved me to tears as I recognize the forces in the country in which I live who want females to go back to, as the author describes it, “the dark ages.�
I highly recommend this book. It is truly a #Timely #CautionaryTale.
Thanks to #NetGalley and @GalleryBooks for the DRC.
While the characters are fictional, this book is based on true events.This is an important story. So many younger people don’t realize what it was once like and the sacrifices that brave young women and some men made to give them the life, freedom, and choices that they are living now.
This is a well written story that takes you in and won’t let go. I found it heartbreaking, charming, poignant, infuriating and I couldn’t put it down, reading well into the night to finish it. With well developed and captivating characters, these women's resilience is inspiring. This is a story that needs to be recounted no matter where you reside for women the world over have to be aware of the history that provided their present day freedoms and how easy it is to have their options limited.
This story moved me to tears as I recognize the forces in the country in which I live who want females to go back to, as the author describes it, “the dark ages.�
I highly recommend this book. It is truly a #Timely #CautionaryTale.
Thanks to #NetGalley and @GalleryBooks for the DRC.
October 20, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Unputdownable!
A powerful fictionalized account of the fight for contraception and equal rights waged by the women of the Republic of Ireland in the 1960s/1970s. So relevant as American women are battling for their own reproductive rights in our upcoming election.
I will recommend this book far and wide!
Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC
Unputdownable!
A powerful fictionalized account of the fight for contraception and equal rights waged by the women of the Republic of Ireland in the 1960s/1970s. So relevant as American women are battling for their own reproductive rights in our upcoming election.
I will recommend this book far and wide!
Thank you Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC
March 11, 2025
Courage and despair!
Poignant story set in Ireland in the late 60’s early 70’s. Attitudes towards women in Dublin are . Contraception is not allowed. Pregnant girls are thrown out onto the streets. Let’s not even talk about the Magdalene Laundries. Girls die from backyard treatments. Women are their husband’s chattels, abuse in marriage is common but never talked about.
The story of a group of women for various reasons who challenge the law is based on a true story, heroic and life changing. The law is different across the border in Northern Ireland. The women take a stand.
We join Saoirse in 2023 Dublin. She’s just discovered she and her partner Miles aren’t pregnant. She needs to getaways to think. She ends up on a train bound for Belfast with an older woman Maura Davenport bound for Belfast, and is enthralled by the story Maura tells. So much so that she ends up staying on the train.
A courageous look at these times and those women who took action, paving the way for future generations.
A Gallery Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Poignant story set in Ireland in the late 60’s early 70’s. Attitudes towards women in Dublin are . Contraception is not allowed. Pregnant girls are thrown out onto the streets. Let’s not even talk about the Magdalene Laundries. Girls die from backyard treatments. Women are their husband’s chattels, abuse in marriage is common but never talked about.
The story of a group of women for various reasons who challenge the law is based on a true story, heroic and life changing. The law is different across the border in Northern Ireland. The women take a stand.
We join Saoirse in 2023 Dublin. She’s just discovered she and her partner Miles aren’t pregnant. She needs to getaways to think. She ends up on a train bound for Belfast with an older woman Maura Davenport bound for Belfast, and is enthralled by the story Maura tells. So much so that she ends up staying on the train.
A courageous look at these times and those women who took action, paving the way for future generations.
A Gallery Books ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
March 22, 2025
I love a story with strong women.
March 15, 2025
I couldn't put this down. Set in 1970's Dublin- when all forms of contraception were outlawed. Reading about these resilient women who banded together to make change was just what I needed right now.
March 31, 2025
In 1970s Ireland, all contraception is forbidden, but a group of women is determined to change the laws.
Based on a true story, the timeline alternates between the 1970s and 2023. The story begins in 2023 when Maura meets Saoirse while marking the anniversary of their historic train ride to purchase contraception and shares the story with her. Saoirse is already struggling with whether or not she wants to be a mother so this story is eye opening as she realizes that thanks to Maura and her friends, it is actually her choice to make.
Parts of the ending were tied up a little too neatly, but overall, it was a great debut and an interesting story!
If you'd like to read more about the inception of the birth control pill, then I would highly recommend (4 stars) by !
Trigger Warnings:
Location: Dublin, Ireland
I received an advance copy of this book from BookishFirst. All opinions are my own.
Based on a true story, the timeline alternates between the 1970s and 2023. The story begins in 2023 when Maura meets Saoirse while marking the anniversary of their historic train ride to purchase contraception and shares the story with her. Saoirse is already struggling with whether or not she wants to be a mother so this story is eye opening as she realizes that thanks to Maura and her friends, it is actually her choice to make.
Parts of the ending were tied up a little too neatly, but overall, it was a great debut and an interesting story!
If you'd like to read more about the inception of the birth control pill, then I would highly recommend (4 stars) by !
Trigger Warnings:
Location: Dublin, Ireland
I received an advance copy of this book from BookishFirst. All opinions are my own.
March 9, 2025
Who would think that contraception was illegal in the 1970's Dublin? There were no exceptions for married couples or medical necessity. But as Maura Davenport and Bernie (Bernadette) McCarthy would soon learn, it takes a village to enable change.
Inspired by a true story, The Women on Platform Two is an emotional read that touches upon a number of women's issues. From domestic abuse, abortion, and contraception, the novel highlights the courage of two women who embark on a passage of transformation.
The story unfolds through multiple points of view with Maura and Bernie being the primary voices of the story. They are well developed as are the secondary characters. Maura and Bernie will take you on a poignant journey full of suspense, heartfelt emotion, trauma, and heartache. Five stars.
I received a physical ARC from Gallery Books through the Bookish First Raffle. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.
Inspired by a true story, The Women on Platform Two is an emotional read that touches upon a number of women's issues. From domestic abuse, abortion, and contraception, the novel highlights the courage of two women who embark on a passage of transformation.
The story unfolds through multiple points of view with Maura and Bernie being the primary voices of the story. They are well developed as are the secondary characters. Maura and Bernie will take you on a poignant journey full of suspense, heartfelt emotion, trauma, and heartache. Five stars.
I received a physical ARC from Gallery Books through the Bookish First Raffle. This review is completely my own and reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.
March 27, 2025
Thank you Gallery Books for my #gifted finished copy and thank you Simon Audio for my #gifted listening copy of The Women on Platform Two!
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐓𝐰𝐨
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
𝟓�
This book was so powerful and one that I fell in love with from the very beginning. With women’s rights in question now, this book is so timely. The friendship between the women in this book was truly heartwarming. I found myself so emotional at times while listening. There were moments I was almost in tears, and others I was so angry. Despite it all, the way the women in this book came together and their resistance and resilience brought me so much joy.
💚Multiple POVs
💚Dual Timeline
💚Based on a True Story
💚Women’s Reproductive Rights
💚Ի
💚Women’s Equality
💚Set in Ireland
💚Timely & Powerful
🎧I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Jessica Regan, Shakira Shute, and Maeva Smyth. All of these women were phenomenal and I loved my time listening. I loved how they brought Maura, Bernie, and Saoirse to life and made me want to not stop listening to this audiobook once I started. I highly recommend this one on audio!
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐓𝐰𝐨
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
𝟓�
This book was so powerful and one that I fell in love with from the very beginning. With women’s rights in question now, this book is so timely. The friendship between the women in this book was truly heartwarming. I found myself so emotional at times while listening. There were moments I was almost in tears, and others I was so angry. Despite it all, the way the women in this book came together and their resistance and resilience brought me so much joy.
💚Multiple POVs
💚Dual Timeline
💚Based on a True Story
💚Women’s Reproductive Rights
💚Ի
💚Women’s Equality
💚Set in Ireland
💚Timely & Powerful
🎧I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Jessica Regan, Shakira Shute, and Maeva Smyth. All of these women were phenomenal and I loved my time listening. I loved how they brought Maura, Bernie, and Saoirse to life and made me want to not stop listening to this audiobook once I started. I highly recommend this one on audio!
March 12, 2025
The Women on Platform Two, by Laura Anthony, discusses reproductive rights through the interconnected lives of three Irish women.
It's an interesting story overall, with a dual-timeline structure, but contains some slightly forced moments. The modern timeline follows Saoirse, a young woman considering if she even wants to have kids, and she bumps into Maura, an older woman taking a train ride with her scrapbook of photos, in commemoration of her own fight for reproductive rights. Ok, so it's pretty contrived. There are way too many perfect coincidences in this book, which really hurts the plot and the overall message.
In the 1960s storyline, a young Maura leaves her job for a marriage to a rich and handsome doctor. Her parents are proud of her for making such a good match, so she's isolated when her perfect husband turns out to be controlling and abusive. Maura becomes friends with Bernie, a butcher's wife who already has daughters and is facing another dangerous pregnancy. (The friends just randomly bump into each other one day, because Maura holds the world record in meet-cutes.) Neither woman wants a pregnancy, both for very strong reasons. Yes, OK, it feels like more of a test case than a novel having the two besties both in need contraception for the most sympathetic, not-a-slut, reasons, but then they randomly bump into a knocked-up teenager who also has a blameless and tragic need for birth control.
Then Maura meets a group of feminist activists fighting for access to contraception, which was illegal in Ireland then, and is suddenly not shy about her abusive marriage anymore, and she immediately becomes the face of the movement, even going on TV to share her story of spousal abuse under her real name. Of course, this causes her parents to react with shame, and she seems caught off guard, which didn’t feel entirely believable. Her husband, Christy, was dangerous and irredeemably awful, but after she goes public, he just disappears from the story. There’s no confrontation or resolution between them, and then, in another too-convenient coincidence, Christy dies just days before he was about to sell their house, leaving Maura financially secure and free from him forever.
It's all a bit much, although I do like when a female protag decides she'll be happy not having children (even if she has to randomly bump into a birth control activist carrying a photo album of her activism to reach this self-discovery).I appreciated the book’s focus on the courage and resilience of these women, but the coincidences and tidy resolutions made parts of it feel a bit forced.
It's an interesting story overall, with a dual-timeline structure, but contains some slightly forced moments. The modern timeline follows Saoirse, a young woman considering if she even wants to have kids, and she bumps into Maura, an older woman taking a train ride with her scrapbook of photos, in commemoration of her own fight for reproductive rights. Ok, so it's pretty contrived. There are way too many perfect coincidences in this book, which really hurts the plot and the overall message.
In the 1960s storyline, a young Maura leaves her job for a marriage to a rich and handsome doctor. Her parents are proud of her for making such a good match, so she's isolated when her perfect husband turns out to be controlling and abusive. Maura becomes friends with Bernie, a butcher's wife who already has daughters and is facing another dangerous pregnancy. (The friends just randomly bump into each other one day, because Maura holds the world record in meet-cutes.) Neither woman wants a pregnancy, both for very strong reasons. Yes, OK, it feels like more of a test case than a novel having the two besties both in need contraception for the most sympathetic, not-a-slut, reasons, but then they randomly bump into a knocked-up teenager who also has a blameless and tragic need for birth control.
Then Maura meets a group of feminist activists fighting for access to contraception, which was illegal in Ireland then, and is suddenly not shy about her abusive marriage anymore, and she immediately becomes the face of the movement, even going on TV to share her story of spousal abuse under her real name. Of course, this causes her parents to react with shame, and she seems caught off guard, which didn’t feel entirely believable. Her husband, Christy, was dangerous and irredeemably awful, but after she goes public, he just disappears from the story. There’s no confrontation or resolution between them, and then, in another too-convenient coincidence, Christy dies just days before he was about to sell their house, leaving Maura financially secure and free from him forever.
It's all a bit much, although I do like when a female protag decides she'll be happy not having children (even if she has to randomly bump into a birth control activist carrying a photo album of her activism to reach this self-discovery).I appreciated the book’s focus on the courage and resilience of these women, but the coincidences and tidy resolutions made parts of it feel a bit forced.
February 16, 2025
I accidentally picked up an advanced copy ofThe Women on Platform Two and I’m so glad I did! This story is based on the real-life “contraception train� 47 Dublin took to Belfast in 1971. Contraception was illegal in the Republic of Ireland though not in Northern Ireland (UK). These brave women took action and risked being arrested and their reputations being tainted to being back condoms and The Pill back to Dublin, in one of the sassiest protests I’ve ever read about! Read this book and marvel at their gumption and maybe today’s women will be inspired to stand up to the bullying people of today.
February 8, 2025
The Women on Platform Two by
Laura Anthony was a powerful story that touched my soul. I felt all the feelings that only a good book can elicit. I felt joy and sorrow, fear and anger, happiness and hopefulness. I shed tears and I laughed. I was outraged and delighted. It was a beautifully gut wrenching story. I cannot adequately articulate how much I loved The Women on Platform Two!
It is officially one of my top 10 favourite books of all time and a book that will stay near and dear to my heart for years to come.
The Women on Platform Two is a historical fiction novel about a group of women fighting for their rights (including access to birth control) in Ireland during the late 1960’s and early �70’s. Did you know that when an Irish Woman married she legally had to stop working? Her role and responsibility was to be a good housewife and to produce children, regardless of her wants and desires. Did you know that contraceptives were illegal in Ireland until a small group of women band together to fight for their rights and demand legal access to contraception? Well I sure didn’t, but this book brought me up to speed on the fate of Irish women during that era.
But the story was more than just women banding together to fight for rights that should be theirs. The Women on Platform Two was also about a beautiful friendship and the facade of a perfect life. How one can be beautiful, wealthy, married to a prominent man and seem to have it all, but behind closed doors, your life is a living hell. You can be poor in money and material goods but rich with love and family. This is exactly how it was for our two main characters, Maura and Bernie. An unlikely friendship developed between the two women, who lead polar opposite lives yet they shared an unbreakable bond and love for one another.
I won’t give anymore details or spoilers as this book does not publish until March 11th, 2025. But if you love historical fiction and books that focus on family, friendship, resiliency and marriage and advocate for women’s rights and equality, then this book is definitely for you.
Thank you so much Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me an Advanced Reder’s Edition of The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony. It is a book that I will cherish.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: March 11, 2025
Laura Anthony was a powerful story that touched my soul. I felt all the feelings that only a good book can elicit. I felt joy and sorrow, fear and anger, happiness and hopefulness. I shed tears and I laughed. I was outraged and delighted. It was a beautifully gut wrenching story. I cannot adequately articulate how much I loved The Women on Platform Two!
It is officially one of my top 10 favourite books of all time and a book that will stay near and dear to my heart for years to come.
The Women on Platform Two is a historical fiction novel about a group of women fighting for their rights (including access to birth control) in Ireland during the late 1960’s and early �70’s. Did you know that when an Irish Woman married she legally had to stop working? Her role and responsibility was to be a good housewife and to produce children, regardless of her wants and desires. Did you know that contraceptives were illegal in Ireland until a small group of women band together to fight for their rights and demand legal access to contraception? Well I sure didn’t, but this book brought me up to speed on the fate of Irish women during that era.
But the story was more than just women banding together to fight for rights that should be theirs. The Women on Platform Two was also about a beautiful friendship and the facade of a perfect life. How one can be beautiful, wealthy, married to a prominent man and seem to have it all, but behind closed doors, your life is a living hell. You can be poor in money and material goods but rich with love and family. This is exactly how it was for our two main characters, Maura and Bernie. An unlikely friendship developed between the two women, who lead polar opposite lives yet they shared an unbreakable bond and love for one another.
I won’t give anymore details or spoilers as this book does not publish until March 11th, 2025. But if you love historical fiction and books that focus on family, friendship, resiliency and marriage and advocate for women’s rights and equality, then this book is definitely for you.
Thank you so much Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me an Advanced Reder’s Edition of The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony. It is a book that I will cherish.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: March 11, 2025
November 3, 2024
I read an advanced copy of this book, which is scheduled for a March, 2025 publication. Set your calendars so you can run out to get it as soon as it is available.
This story is told by three Irish women; Maura and Bernie in late 1960s to early 1970s Dublin, and Saoirse in modern Ireland, overlapping with Maura while on a train ride. The story that Maura and Bernie tell is frightfully close to that of many American women now. It is the story of Irish women’s fight for legal contraception and control of their own bodies. At the start of their tale much of women’s lives were controlled by their church, and the men in their lives.
This is all too familiar to many women in 2024, and Laura Anthony’s book is both a cautionary tale and an inspiration, told with insight and compassion.
This story is told by three Irish women; Maura and Bernie in late 1960s to early 1970s Dublin, and Saoirse in modern Ireland, overlapping with Maura while on a train ride. The story that Maura and Bernie tell is frightfully close to that of many American women now. It is the story of Irish women’s fight for legal contraception and control of their own bodies. At the start of their tale much of women’s lives were controlled by their church, and the men in their lives.
This is all too familiar to many women in 2024, and Laura Anthony’s book is both a cautionary tale and an inspiration, told with insight and compassion.
November 27, 2024
This is one of the best pieces of historical fiction that I have ever read. So powerful, so poignant, so emotional. This is the kind of messaging that I think all people need to hear and understand. I am so empowered and inspired by this book to continue fighting for my rights as a female in America.
March 11, 2025
March 11, 2025 Update:
Happy Publication Day to my first 5-star book of 2025!
February 4, 2025 Review:
This was an utterly engrossing historical fiction about the in Ireland.
This book starts with Saoirse in 2023 who knows that she doesn't want to have kids despite her fiancé's insistence that she'll love her own child and would be a great mother. Needing space after a close call/pregnancy scare, she ends up on a train and meets Maura who proceeds to tell Saoirse her life story (from 1968-1970).
Little does Saoirse know, her rights to bodily autonomy and her right to continue working once she gets married is all thanks to Maura and her friends who fought for women's rights in the 1970's.
Reading this book made me realize how easy it is to take for granted the relative ease of obtaining contraceptives today - most colleges, universities and health centres hand out condoms for free, and most methods of birth control (in Canada and most parts of the world) are easy to obtain and fairly affordable. So it's hard to imagine that 55 years ago, during my parents' and grandparents' lifetime, condoms were illegal in Ireland (and Canada too, up until 1969) and even mentioning birth control, saying the word 'condom' or even hinting at not wanting kids was considered blasphemous.
It's also easy to take for granted the fact that married women are now allowed to work, whereas the during that time made it illegal to do so.
I now have a newfound appreciation of the courage women had back in the day to fight for the rights we take for granted today.
This book is about bodily autonomy but it also covers themes of friendship, womanhood, bravery, and breaking the cycle of abuse and inequality.
TW: domestic abuse, rape, miscarriage, suicide
**I received a free physical ARC from Simon & Schuster Canada for review consideration, but all opinions are my own.**
*** #17 of my 2025 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge - Read a book about little-known history. ***
Happy Publication Day to my first 5-star book of 2025!
February 4, 2025 Review:
This was an utterly engrossing historical fiction about the in Ireland.
This book starts with Saoirse in 2023 who knows that she doesn't want to have kids despite her fiancé's insistence that she'll love her own child and would be a great mother. Needing space after a close call/pregnancy scare, she ends up on a train and meets Maura who proceeds to tell Saoirse her life story (from 1968-1970).
Little does Saoirse know, her rights to bodily autonomy and her right to continue working once she gets married is all thanks to Maura and her friends who fought for women's rights in the 1970's.
Reading this book made me realize how easy it is to take for granted the relative ease of obtaining contraceptives today - most colleges, universities and health centres hand out condoms for free, and most methods of birth control (in Canada and most parts of the world) are easy to obtain and fairly affordable. So it's hard to imagine that 55 years ago, during my parents' and grandparents' lifetime, condoms were illegal in Ireland (and Canada too, up until 1969) and even mentioning birth control, saying the word 'condom' or even hinting at not wanting kids was considered blasphemous.
It's also easy to take for granted the fact that married women are now allowed to work, whereas the during that time made it illegal to do so.
I now have a newfound appreciation of the courage women had back in the day to fight for the rights we take for granted today.
This book is about bodily autonomy but it also covers themes of friendship, womanhood, bravery, and breaking the cycle of abuse and inequality.
TW: domestic abuse, rape, miscarriage, suicide
**I received a free physical ARC from Simon & Schuster Canada for review consideration, but all opinions are my own.**
*** #17 of my 2025 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge - Read a book about little-known history. ***
March 14, 2025
In 1970s Dublin, all forms of contraception are strictly forbidden. Families are going poorly, giving birth to six and seven babies. Mothers are dying in childbirth, leaving fathers and four babies behind. Single women are being kicked out of their families because they are pregnant. Women are dying from unsafe abortion practices. On May 22, 1971, the Irish Women's Liberation Movement met at Connolly Station in Dublin and then travelled to Belfast in Northern Ireland to purchase contraceptives, which were banned in the Republic of Ireland.
But the story starts in 1969 when Maura marries Dr. Christy Davenport who has swept her off her feet and given her sweet dreams of wedded bliss. Maura looks forward to having a baby to take up the space that is left over after she is made to give up her work. Being married meant she couldn’t work. Instead, she finds herself walking a tight rope trying not to raise the anger that Christy had hidden until they were married. If something was not quite to his liking? Then he would raise his hand. The only relief she finds is her friend Bernie, the wife of their Butcher. Bernie is a mother of three who almost dies when she gives birth to a fourth child. Between Bernie’s health and Christy’s abuse, the two women are looking for a way to manage their own bodies. Maura turns to her old work friend Geraldine to help them. They don’t realize that they will become part of a movement bigger than themselves,
Laura Anthony beautiful chronicles the 70’s, a time that seems so modern, yet women are still dying from giving birth on the regular and single women are being turned out of their homes. Anthony adds a current day timeline that bookends the story that helps show the starkness of the desperation of these women. Saoirse’s issues are valid and upsetting and she is grateful for her choices compared to the bleak shadow that ruled Bernie and Maura’s lives. Anthony brings you emotionally close to these women and their struggles. Their losses and their traumas hit you hard. You see that many of their problems could just be fixed if they could have contraception. Your heart bleeds as you see what happens when women have no other choice. Especially when you feel like you are living in a world where this is becoming your life.
The only issue I have with the novel is that there isn’t a balance between the characters� stories and the historic event the title refers to too. The train event from idea to conclusion is five short chapters in a sixty-six-chapter book. While I understand that the author wanted to truly make readers understand what it was like for women at the time, the audience already knows and gets it. But I have no problem telling this story if she had put as much passion and time into the actual protest as she had in the fictional set up. The acknowledgement book is to the 47 women who were on the train, well, give those women their 15 minutes! I also found it interesting that this book was written under a pen name. There is a section in the book where women are writing letters to the main characters about their need for contraception. The characters lament that many don’t sign their names. “I wish they weren’t ashamed to share their names,� Maura says. This made me think of the author, and I pray for whatever trauma that may have made her keep her name secret and may have affected how she wrote this book.
The Women on Platform Two is a beautiful and tragic story about a little-known historical event that helped women in Ireland change the laws on Contraception.
I received an ARC from my publisher; all opinions are my own.
But the story starts in 1969 when Maura marries Dr. Christy Davenport who has swept her off her feet and given her sweet dreams of wedded bliss. Maura looks forward to having a baby to take up the space that is left over after she is made to give up her work. Being married meant she couldn’t work. Instead, she finds herself walking a tight rope trying not to raise the anger that Christy had hidden until they were married. If something was not quite to his liking? Then he would raise his hand. The only relief she finds is her friend Bernie, the wife of their Butcher. Bernie is a mother of three who almost dies when she gives birth to a fourth child. Between Bernie’s health and Christy’s abuse, the two women are looking for a way to manage their own bodies. Maura turns to her old work friend Geraldine to help them. They don’t realize that they will become part of a movement bigger than themselves,
Laura Anthony beautiful chronicles the 70’s, a time that seems so modern, yet women are still dying from giving birth on the regular and single women are being turned out of their homes. Anthony adds a current day timeline that bookends the story that helps show the starkness of the desperation of these women. Saoirse’s issues are valid and upsetting and she is grateful for her choices compared to the bleak shadow that ruled Bernie and Maura’s lives. Anthony brings you emotionally close to these women and their struggles. Their losses and their traumas hit you hard. You see that many of their problems could just be fixed if they could have contraception. Your heart bleeds as you see what happens when women have no other choice. Especially when you feel like you are living in a world where this is becoming your life.
The only issue I have with the novel is that there isn’t a balance between the characters� stories and the historic event the title refers to too. The train event from idea to conclusion is five short chapters in a sixty-six-chapter book. While I understand that the author wanted to truly make readers understand what it was like for women at the time, the audience already knows and gets it. But I have no problem telling this story if she had put as much passion and time into the actual protest as she had in the fictional set up. The acknowledgement book is to the 47 women who were on the train, well, give those women their 15 minutes! I also found it interesting that this book was written under a pen name. There is a section in the book where women are writing letters to the main characters about their need for contraception. The characters lament that many don’t sign their names. “I wish they weren’t ashamed to share their names,� Maura says. This made me think of the author, and I pray for whatever trauma that may have made her keep her name secret and may have affected how she wrote this book.
The Women on Platform Two is a beautiful and tragic story about a little-known historical event that helped women in Ireland change the laws on Contraception.
I received an ARC from my publisher; all opinions are my own.
February 5, 2025
A remarkable story based on the history of contraception in Ireland told in a way that draws the reader in to every page.
In 1970s Ireland, contraception was illegal and women often had more children than they could afford, women who did not wish to have children but were married had little say as the husband was the breadwinner and ultimately the household boss and unmarried women faced horrible conditions in homes for unwed mothers, shame from their family, and dangerous options to discontinue the pregnancy. The Women on Platform Two begins with a woman in 2023 going for a walk after her partner and herself have had a disagreement over whether to have children or not. This woman meets Maura and ends up on a train ride that will open her eyes to the history of Ireland. The story moves between the points of view of Saoirse (2023) and two friends Maura and Bernie beginning in 1968 Dublin.
I found myself turning the pages and eating this book up. The writing flowed well and I loved the characters of Maura and Bernie and also Dan. Readers should be aware that this book also tackles intimate partner violence and should take care of themselves if this is a trigger as it is very present.
As beautiful as the cover is with a picture from a train window over the countryside, I was reminded of many WW2 books initially. I hope that people will read the synopsis before making the same assumption that I did.
Laura Anthony is a pseudonym for an Irish author who writes women’s fiction. This is a debut insofar as she is using this name. My thanks to @simonschusterca for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. The Women on Platform Two publishes March 11, 2025.
In 1970s Ireland, contraception was illegal and women often had more children than they could afford, women who did not wish to have children but were married had little say as the husband was the breadwinner and ultimately the household boss and unmarried women faced horrible conditions in homes for unwed mothers, shame from their family, and dangerous options to discontinue the pregnancy. The Women on Platform Two begins with a woman in 2023 going for a walk after her partner and herself have had a disagreement over whether to have children or not. This woman meets Maura and ends up on a train ride that will open her eyes to the history of Ireland. The story moves between the points of view of Saoirse (2023) and two friends Maura and Bernie beginning in 1968 Dublin.
I found myself turning the pages and eating this book up. The writing flowed well and I loved the characters of Maura and Bernie and also Dan. Readers should be aware that this book also tackles intimate partner violence and should take care of themselves if this is a trigger as it is very present.
As beautiful as the cover is with a picture from a train window over the countryside, I was reminded of many WW2 books initially. I hope that people will read the synopsis before making the same assumption that I did.
Laura Anthony is a pseudonym for an Irish author who writes women’s fiction. This is a debut insofar as she is using this name. My thanks to @simonschusterca for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. The Women on Platform Two publishes March 11, 2025.
December 21, 2024
The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony. Thanks to @gallerybooks for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s 1968 and Maura has just married a handsome doctor. She’s disappointed to give up her retail job but excited to start a family. That desire changes when the doctor shows his true colors.
A great historical fiction that uses the fictional story of a 1960’s housewife to tell the real tale of Dublin’s (and other area’s of Ireland) fight for women’s rights, specifically contraception. The story of Maura was heartbreaking but a page turner. We meet her as a young working girl and see her vibrant, stylish, and vivacious personality. When she marries the wrong man all of this changes, but she learns about herself and the world and uses it for good. Major trigger warnings for abuse, suicide, and abortion.
“We need the ordinary housewives of Ireland to stand alongside us. We need every woman in Ireland to fight.�
The Women on Platform Two comes out 3/11.
It’s 1968 and Maura has just married a handsome doctor. She’s disappointed to give up her retail job but excited to start a family. That desire changes when the doctor shows his true colors.
A great historical fiction that uses the fictional story of a 1960’s housewife to tell the real tale of Dublin’s (and other area’s of Ireland) fight for women’s rights, specifically contraception. The story of Maura was heartbreaking but a page turner. We meet her as a young working girl and see her vibrant, stylish, and vivacious personality. When she marries the wrong man all of this changes, but she learns about herself and the world and uses it for good. Major trigger warnings for abuse, suicide, and abortion.
“We need the ordinary housewives of Ireland to stand alongside us. We need every woman in Ireland to fight.�
The Women on Platform Two comes out 3/11.
November 19, 2024
This was so good! The heart of the story involves several women in 1970’s southern Ireland and their fight to make contraception legal. There are a LOT of triggering things in this book, but all wrapped in a warm and loving blanket. The bad moments still hurt but don’t feel as dark as other stories I’ve read with similar themes. I definitely walked away from this with a f*** the patriarchy/religion doesn’t belong in policy feeling. Also feels especially prescient after the recent election. Sigh. Worth a read!
March 26, 2025
This one took me a while to get through - not because it was bad - in fact it’s an amazing book. But it touches on some very difficult topics like domestic abuse and women’s rights in Ireland in the 1970s . But for all difficult parts of the story, there are also some amazing friendships , strong women , and even one very supportive husband 💚 �
�
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I feel like with everything going on in the world and women’s rights regressing in so many places , this should be a must read for all . �
�
𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫 �
𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫�
Thank you to the publisher for complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review
�
�
I feel like with everything going on in the world and women’s rights regressing in so many places , this should be a must read for all . �
�
𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫 �
𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫�
Thank you to the publisher for complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review
January 29, 2025
This was one of the best books I’ve ever read. It was incredibly eye opening. I will say that there are definitely trigger warnings - domestic abuse, abortion, loss of a child.
This is inspired by a true story. It is the story of the women of Dublin in the 1970s fighting for the right to be able to access contraception when it is outlawed.
The women in this story are absolutely incredible. They are inspiring, strong, and I wish I knew each of them.
I was truly blown away by the writing. The fact that the story is told on a train in present day Dublin by one of the women that fought for these rights for women was so creative.
I absolutely loved this book and I think it’ll be a top read of the year for me.
This is inspired by a true story. It is the story of the women of Dublin in the 1970s fighting for the right to be able to access contraception when it is outlawed.
The women in this story are absolutely incredible. They are inspiring, strong, and I wish I knew each of them.
I was truly blown away by the writing. The fact that the story is told on a train in present day Dublin by one of the women that fought for these rights for women was so creative.
I absolutely loved this book and I think it’ll be a top read of the year for me.
March 27, 2025
This book was so good 😭 an old lady on a train telling someone about her story? Say no more lol.
I truly don’t believe that it matters what your stance is on certain womens healthcare matters (specifically contraception) it is so important to understand where women have come from, what they have fought for, how they have been overlooked and mistreated and labeled. Womens healthcare has clearly never been prioritized and although we’ve come a long way and some places did progress quicker than the setting of this book, there is still a long ways to go.
TW: pregnancy loss and domestic violence
I truly don’t believe that it matters what your stance is on certain womens healthcare matters (specifically contraception) it is so important to understand where women have come from, what they have fought for, how they have been overlooked and mistreated and labeled. Womens healthcare has clearly never been prioritized and although we’ve come a long way and some places did progress quicker than the setting of this book, there is still a long ways to go.
TW: pregnancy loss and domestic violence
March 30, 2025
Picked this up on a whim because I liked the cover and I’m so glad I did it was so good. It’s based on a true story which I had no idea and was much more emotional than I had expected I teared up multiple times in public reading it😂😂 highly recommend it was written so well and feels timely
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