4.5 stars

A Kiss From Mr Fitzgerald is the third book by Australian author, Natasha Lester. Evelyn Lockhart has finished college. Well, as much college as her parents believe appropriate for a woman, as much college as her father is willing to fund. After all, it’s 1922, and Evie’s ambition should be to find a husband, be a good wife and bear him children.

It has been assumed, since they were both little, that Evie will marry Charlie Whitman, heir to the Whitman banking empire, so literature and embroidery should suffice. But Evie has other ideas: she wants to do more, to be useful in more ways than just running a household. She has been to some science lectures at Radcliffe, and then a traumatic incident gives her restlessness a purpose: she will become an obstetrician.

This is, of course, impossible. A female doctor? Let alone a female obstetrician! Her parents, her sister, even Charlie try to make her accept the foolishness of her plan. Evie, however, is determined, and there are a few people who not only admire her ambition, but believe she has the requisite fortitude and persistence. Charlie’s older brother, Tommy directs her to a tutor, and his mother offers support whenever she can.

Lester’s story traces the difficult and challenging path that Evie follows to fulfil her dream. Her obstacles were manifold: she had to support herself and cover her college fees by working, despite her lack of qualifications; her job, of necessity, had to be at night so she could attend daytime classes; her teachers and colleagues denied her the chance at hands-on work; her patients were often mistrustful; and not least, she was a woman!

Lester paints her protagonist as a true heroine, one who was prepared to work hard to attain her goal, one who was willing to give up her own hopes of love for the reputation of the man she loved, one who was intent on rescuing an innocent despite the cost to her own comfort: a genuine altruist. The story includes a bit of mystery and a few twists, love and laughter, happiness and heartbreak and quite a bit of dancing. Lester’s extensive research into 1920’s New York, medical practice and hospitals is apparent in every paragraph. An inspirational read.