“It’s amazing the privileges a clean set of clothes affords one… most shopkeepers don’t recognise me as the old bag lady they used to shoo away.”

The One And Only Dolly Jamieson is the seventh novel by xx Australian author, Lisa Ireland. Not so many months ago, seventy-eight-year-old Dolly Jamieson lived with her wealthy lover in a flat in Belgravia. Now, being what she terms “temporarily without abode”, she spends her days in the local library, where it’s warm and she can read, or write her scribblings, or nap.

On Sundays, when the library is closed, the local church serves. Her worldly goods are contained in a wheelie case, and her nights are much less certain, when luck and the kindness of strangers play a large part in her comfort and safety.

While she tends to keep much to herself, when a younger, expensively-attired woman comes into the library looking distressed, Dolly can’t help reaching out, and finds herself providing a physical shoulder to cry on. Without knowing what Jane’s problem is, she gives reassuring advice: “It’s never as bad as you think. There will be tough times – nobody gets off scot-free in this life – but whatever is troubling you will pass, or you will make your peace with it. I guarantee it.”

After the way she’s been treated since the worst possible thing happened, Jane Leveson really appreciates the genuine kindness shown her by this dignified but down-at-heel elderly patron of the library. Jane feels she is vaguely familiar, and is fascinated to learn that Dolly is writing a memoir.

Dolly reveals that it’s mostly a cathartic exercise: “My scribblings have just been a way to make peace with the world. You see, there are some things in my past that I’m not proud of. I guess my writing is a way of making sense of all that” When Dolly proposes they write it together, it doesn’t take long for Jane to agree. Although there’s another reason that’s gradually revealed…

When Jane realises this will be the life story of Dolly Jamieson, star of stage and screen and, most recently, the TV series The Neighbourhood, it strengthens her resolve to help, also in a tangible way, with food and accommodation. Because it’s become apparent that the famous Dolly Jamieson is homeless.

While Dolly doesn’t know the reason behind Jane’s own vulnerability, it’s perhaps this that allows Dolly to share the intimate details of her life, for the first time ever. And what a story that makes: almost rags to riches and back to rags, from Geelong to Melbourne to Sydney to London to New York. The West End! Broadway! Talent and hard work and glamour and heartache.

The story is told through a dual timeline in alternating chapters: in 2019, Dolly relates what happens in a first-person narrative; from 1941 onwards, Margie/Dolly’s life is described in the third person.

As well as exploring the experience of motherhood, Ireland’s story demonstrates just how easily an independent older woman can become homeless, penniless, rejected by society and, essentially, invisible. “The system expects everyone to understand and to have access to technology… every official form you fill out requires proof of identity and a mailing address. It all just seems impossible for someone like me.”

Dolly’s youthful naivete and sense of responsibility belie the strength of her determination to follow her dream; elderly Dolly is feisty and seldom hesitates to speak her mind. This is a protagonist the reader can invest in for a worthwhile return; her support cast, too, are appealing for their care and kindness and their very human flaws. Ireland’s latest offering, as well as being entertaining, is a moving and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from a copy provided by Penguin Books Australia.