Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel

A warm-hearted novel about friendship, fresh starts and finding yourself from Top Ten bestselling author Sophie Green.

Mornington Peninsula, 1999. All Joan ever wanted was to be a painter, but after thirty-five years of marriage, she finds she is simply a wife, mother and good citizen. On a whim, she escapes to the grand Duchess Hotel to find herself.

At the Duchess, Frances drops by most days to escape her daughter, Alison, who seems intent on putting her in a home, while hotel maid Kirrily is struggling to balance work, family and her dreams.

When Joan decides to pick up a brush and start painting again, she inspires Frances and Kirrily — and, eventually, Alison — to join her. Over canvas, conversation and creativity, the women learn to hold onto their dreams and live life on their own terms.

A great book club pick for fans of Elizabeth Strout's Lucy by the Sea, Meg Bignell's The Angry Women's Choir and Joanna Nell's Mrs Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year. BOOKS+PUBLISHING

Deftly crafted by an author who knows how to conjure her characters, where to put them and which stories they will tell to evoke a swathe of emotions in each of us. LIVING ARTS CANBERRA