A rich and moving story spanning several decades. In the dark days of illegal abortions, a girl in trouble was told to "Tell them you're looking for Jane." Young girls with no control over their lives or futures, and those that helped them. Looking for Jane is a historical fiction novel based on the real Jane Collective, an underground network of courageous women, including some doctors and nurses, who provided safe abortions in the late 60s, 70s and early 80s.

This was one of my best reads of 2022 and a release that could not have been better timed: The book was published in Spring 2022, Roe v Wade was overturned that summer. To clarify: The book does take place in Canada but it does show that limiting women’s access to abortion is historically not a US problem and the book highlights what happens when access to abortion is limited (in general).

The book follows the story of three women living in three different eras. I won’t spoil too much as all three stories are connected but part of the appeal of the book is that the connections unravel slowly and accumulate in a sort-of “plot twist”. Without spoilering: I have seen other reviews mention that some of the connections between the stories were only enabled by coincidence. While this isn’t wrong and would be something that I would see as weakening the plot in other genres (like a thriller, for example), I don’t really think it matters here at all.

I liked all the characters and I liked that every story represents a different angle on motherhood and abortion and the book does a good job at highlighting how motherhood, fertility, adoption and access to abortion are tied to women’s rights and female quality of life. I understand that this book might be a difficult read for someone that is staunchly pro-life but it’s well-researched and well-argued - it’s fiction that uses historical facts to make a point. I hope anyone will give it a fair shot and seek a facts-based debate on the topic.

Absolutely loved this book!
The timelines and POV really sell this book, but for me, the characters are incredible.
This is a hugely relevant issue, in the light of Roe vs Wade, but Marshall has produced a wonderful book in its own right.
The Looking For Jane movement is considered controversial, but one I knew little about prior to this.
The commitment, the strength and determination of those women shines through this book, and it comes from a gripping story and characters that you admire in every scene.
Brilliant.

This is historical fiction focussing on a topic which I am very removed from. The entire book is about the history and implications of abortion laws in Canada. This is something one must know going in since having an opinion on the topic does make a difference as to what one takes away.
There are multiple storylines with a few different viewpoints that make following the exact sequence of events a little complicated.
The last bit is not exactly bad because it adds a layer of suspense to the story and keeps the reader guessing as to what they are going to face a little later in the story.
In 2017 we have a couple trying to conceive, and the toll is affecting their relationship. During this time, Angela finds a letter that leads her down the historical rabbit hole. In the past, we have the intended recipient of the letter Angela finds and going further back, the storyline follows two girls who have found themselves in a tough spot and what it means for them in that time and place.
I might have guessed a few things, but I was surprised by the main central revelation. It is a good book, well written, and I would have liked it even better if it had been a little more straightforward. As my reading progresses, I am finding going back and forth through dual timelines a little hard, and this was more than just two.
It has been well received online, as judged by other reviews, and I would recommend it to readers of the genre.
I received this book as an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading.

A heartwarming story about a past where girls were sent to a convent and then told in the present about those mums and babies grown up. Amazing characters and a great read.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for approving me for an ARC of this book. I’d also like to say thank you to my book friend Dee for recommending this one to me as part of my 12 friends’ 12 books challenge.

The story starts with a hook that pulled me in from the start. A letter arrives and is left undelivered to its intended recipient all we are told is the contents of it will change the lives of three women. From there I was glued to my headphones and found myself wrapped up in the worlds of Angela, Nancy and Evelyn.

Let’s start with Evelyn, a fierce and determined woman with a heart-breaking story. Listening to her describe her ordeal at St Agnes, the home for fallen women, I felt my heart break for her and all the other girls in her situation. These poor women were badly treated, sent to hospital on their own, in labour and forced to give their babies away. As a mother, they had nothing but my sympathy but I also felt their anger and frustration at how their wishes were ignored. Once Evelyn leaves the home and starts her new life I had nothing but admiration for what she was trying to achieve. Her story was my favourite of the three and she ended up being my favourite character.

Nancy’s story was also filled with a sense of loss and secrecy. After discovering a family secret and deciding to conceal it you see her struggle to open up to anyone, including her husband. As a young woman, she is tormented by this secret and becomes more secretive. Her relationship with her mother is complex, and I often felt she tried to please everyone, even at the expense of her own happiness.

Angela gives us a completely different perspective on motherhood. Struggling to conceive via IVF she is at her wit’s end but when she stumbles upon a letter it gives her new focus. Determined to see the letter find its rightful recipient she begins her investigation and we discover why this letter feels so personal to her.

All three of these women were remarkable. I loved the different perspectives on motherhood and there were quite a few surprises I hadn’t seen coming. This outlines a part of our history that we can all relate to as women. It’s powerful, emotional (I sobbed my way through the end) and absolutely fascinating. It will fill you with anger, frustration, hope and emotion, a rollercoaster from start to finish.

As an Irish woman, I'm sadly very used to reading stories like this one so for me the big surprise was that events like this were also taking place in Canada. It's a good story, evenly and sympathetically told, just lacked the element of surprise for me

The story was so good, I loved it. A heartbreaking and beautiful tale of 3 women, whose lives intertwine and connect. I loved learning about all 3 of them.

I wasn’t surprised at how hard things were back then for women and girls who needed an abortion, and how scary it was for them trying to find it. What I was surprised with though was realizing that this was happening not so long ago. What those women and girls went through, the fear of being caught, I can’t even imagine. But also what the girls went through in those homes, the Sisters treating them the way they did, taking their babies without consent, giving them away and sometimes even selling them.

But the Jane’s, well they were lifesavers weren't they. I’ve been researching them as I’m really interested in what they have done. Amazing women standing up for a much needed cause. They put their lives at stake to do what they did.

I’d definitely recommend this book, it’s opened my eyes to just how scary and frightening this all was. I was about to say I’m glad things have changed and its different now, but honestly, in some places it still hasn’t.

One of my favourite books of the year. I had great expectations of this book and it certainly didn't disappoint. I cared about all the characters and found the theme fascinating and troubling to read about as it is based on fact. A definite recommendation from me.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Looking For Jane’ by Heather Marshall.

This has proved a timely novel given recent developments in the USA and the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade. ‘Looking for Jane’ is told through the voices of three Canadian women and is set between the early 1960s and 2017.

One Sunday in January 2017 Angela Creighton is at work in an antique shop and comes across a batch of letters from 2010 that were accidentally delivered to the wrong address. One catches her attention and opening she sees that it contains a life-shattering confession. As a result, she feels an obligation to look for its intended recipient.

Her search takes her decades earlier when a group of daring women operated an illegal underground network known only by its whispered code name: Jane . . .

In 1961 teenager Evelyn Taylor is forced to give birth in a home for unwed mothers. She later trains as a doctor and begins to offer safe though illegal procedures, eventually becoming part of the Jane Network. There is always threats of betrayal, police raids, and arrest.

In 1979 Nancy Mitchell discovers a shocking family secret. At the same time she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and in desperation reaches out to the Janes for help.

In her Author’s Note Heather Marshall shares the historical background to the novel and her experience of researching and writing it. On its themes she writes: ‘Looking for Jane’ is about motherhood. About wanting to be a mother and not wanting to be a mother, and all the grey areas in between. It’s about the lengths to which women will go to end a pregnancy, and to become pregnant.”

Overall, I found this an outstanding work of historical fiction addressing important issues. It was well written and engaging throughout. Given its themes, I expect that it will prove a good choice for reading groups and for this purpose it contains a set of topics and questions for discussion.

Very highly recommended.

Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall

In 2017 Angela finds a letter containing a confession but it never reached its intended recipient. She sets out to find Nancy and along the way discovers the story of the Jane network. Evelyn Taylor was forced to give up her baby in 1961 and after training to be a doctor performed abortions as part of the underground Jane network, and Nancy volunteers for the network after witnessing the horrific consequences of her cousin's back street abortion and having an abortion herself.

What an amazing book - fascinating, gripping and so very important. I absolutely loved all the historical detail and the author does a brilliant job of weaving this into a really emotional story about women, families, motherhood, secrets and so much more.... I couldn't put it down. One of the best books I've read this year - very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

From a historical standpoint, this was a real eye-opener for me, as I had only a passing knowledge of the lack of options in the early 1970s. From the standpoint of fiction, it was a well-crafted story set across several time periods with very interesting characters. An emotional read about sensitive issues that are also very current, such as women's right to choose. What struck me the most was the bravery of the women who wanted to help, and whatever their motivations for doing so, they were so dedicated to the cause, despite the consequences for their own lives.
It was a fascinating read.

This is such a pertinent read this year given the issues of Roe v Wade in the USA. It follows the stories of three different women and their experiences in having a child out of wedlock, being adopted and trying to get pregnant.The women's stories are woven together through the finding of a letter written by a women who had to give up her baby for adoption.Evelyn the doctor dedicates her medical life to providing safe abortions for women, "janes" at a time when it was illegal to do so. Beautifully written, sensitive novel.

“When you’re young, you get to look at time through the reduction end of the telescope. The wrong end, the generous end that makes everything appear so far away, that gives the impression that there are light-years of space between you and those magically distant objects. And then, without warning, time turns it around on you, and suddenly you’re looking through the correct end, the end you were always supposed to be looking through, if you were paying attention. The end where everything is magnified and perilously close. The end that zooms in without mercy and forces you to see the detail you should have been focusing on all along.”

In 2017, a mysterious letter takes Angela to the 1970s and 80s, when a group of daring women operated an underground abortion network known only by its whispered code name: Jane.
Dr. Evelyn Taylor-forced to give her baby up for adoption as a teenager– joined the Jane Network to help other women where she crosses paths with Nancy, who becomes a volunteer.
Over the years, Evelyn, Nancy, and Angela's lives intertwine to reveal the devastating consequences that come from a lack of choice.

This is an invaluable piece of writing, extremely relative to the times we live in when decades of hard work for women’s rights is being erased before our eyes. A riveting story that merges history with the present, this is a book that needs to be read by women of every generation.

This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton.

One of the best books I’ve read this year. Emotional and thought provoking especially after recent rulings in the USA! A must read for women everywhere.

Looking for Jane is a fascinating story revolving around the long fight for the right of women to have abortions in Canada, very topical at this time of the overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision.
We learn about a shameful past including abusive homes for unmarried mothers, baby peddling and the lack of women’s rights to decide for themselves. It’s horrifying to think that women in Canada (and elsewhere in the world) had so little control over their own lives until as recently as 1988.
Young Evelyn becomes pregnant by her fiancé, who then dies. She’s interred into an abhorrent home, leaving it a changed woman, but one determined to make a difference. Evelyn becomes a doctor, using her experience and skills to help women who want abortions.
The story celebrates the hard-won victory for women’s right to decide for themselves and women supporting each other. It pays homage to the various underground abortion networks that helped women as well as to the brave volunteers and doctors who risked imprisonment and worse.
I hope I’m not making Looking for Jane sound like a nonfiction textbook – it most definitely is not. It’s a wonderfully rich, gripping story. I did become a little confused at first between the different timelines and different characters, but once I’d sorted those all out in my head I really enjoyed it.

From a historical point of view this was a real insight for me as I had only brief knowledge of the lack of options back in the early 1970s. From a fiction point of view it was a well constructed story, set over a few time periods with very interesting characters. An emotional read about sensitive issues and also very topical dealing with women’s rights to choose. What struck me the most was the bravery of the women who wanted to help and whatever their reasons for helping, they were so committed to the cause, despite the effects on their own lives.
A really interesting read.

One of the best books I’ve ever read, devoured it in one sitting. So emotional and touches on such poignant issues. So we’ll researched and written it felt like a true story - a must read for women at the moment after recent rulings over our bodies

This book was an eyeopener forf me!! I had a vague idea of the trails young women undertook pre birth control and their rights to make informed decisions regarding abortion, however I had no idea just how bad things were as recent as the 1970's with young women being disowned by family and their community should they find themselves pregnant.
I loved Evelyn!! Highly recommend this book. Such an important read x

Poignant story of motherhood, loss and redemption. Well researched and written I reallly enjoyed this debut novel from Heather Marshall.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️