Cathy Kelly on 'Sisterhood' and the snobbishness around fiction by, for, and about, women

Middling Along

This time I’m joined by author Cathy Kelly - Cathy is a former journalist whose debut novel, Woman To Woman, became an instant number one bestseller. Since then, she has published 22 novels, which have sold millions of copies globally. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since 2005 and has visited many countries to report on UNICEF's work. When not writing with a small dog nestled at her back, she reads voraciously, dances round the kitchen, travels pillion on a motorbike, has a variety of textile art projects on the go and pretends to Marie Kondo the house.

Cathy’s latest novel Sisterhood is - of course - about two sisters - Lou and Toni. Lou is someone who habitually puts herself last…until the events that unfold at her 50th birthday party push her to stop pleasing other people and decide to finally put herself first.

This prompts us to discuss how commonly those of us coming up to 50 are prompted to examine our lives, sometimes interrogating what we have been putting up with and questioning, asking ourselves… “What am I for?”

Cathy also talks about her own treatment for cancer - another life inflection point that makes you question everything…

We move on to talk about the appeal of historical novels and Cathy is kind enough to share a few recommendations for books that she has loved recently: the Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard (https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/fiction/cazalet-chronicles-books-in-order) and A Discovery of Witches https://deborahharkness.com/all-souls-world-home/the-all-souls-world-books/ (and I mention one of my all time favourite historical novels: https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-needle-in-the-blood/)

Cathy calls out the misogyny and snobbishness around fiction written ‘by women, for women, about women’s lives’ and we touch on the evolution of the so-called ‘chick lit’ writers now hitting their 50s and writing about this new age and stage of their lives.

We also head off on a few tangents, reminiscing about carefree pre-Internet times and 80s fashion!

Find out more about Sisterhood at https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/sisterhood-cathy-kelly?variant=40276782973006 - out in hardback now, and in paperback in March 2025…

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