One Hundred Years of Betty

One ordinary extraordinary woman living through a century of massive change, from the bestselling author of The Family Doctor.


Meet Betty: storyteller, feminist, eternally curious and phenomenally old. On the eve of her hundredth birthday party, Betty tells us her story.


Born into poverty in pre-war London, and growing up fast during the Blitz, Betty grabs the chance at a bigger life by migrating to Australia. On board the SS Asturias she meets three people who will influence the course of her life—Pearl, a good-hearted party girl; Athena, a Greek woman on her way to marry a man she has never met; and Leo, a German Jew who lost his family in the war. 


In Sydney, Betty is making ends meet as a waitress at the famous Trocadero dance hall when she stumbles into a rushed courtship with Donald, a wealthy businessman, and dedicates herself to being the ideal 1950s suburban housewife. But life has other plans for Betty, and soon she must find a way to do more than survive. 


Set against a century of world events and social upheavals, Betty takes us to the frontlines of the anti-war protests and the women's liberation movement of the 1970s, to the AIDS crisis during the 1980s, to Mexico and eventually becomes a TV screenwriter. Even in her nineties, Betty is still passionately engaged with the world, still surprising us. 


From the creator of Offspring and bestselling author of The Family Doctor, One Hundred Years of Betty is the saga of a strong, intelligent woman born too early in time to make the most of her talents without having to fight for everything. It's about the defining force of motherhood, the family we make, and how the determination to live to the hilt, with all the joy and sorrow that entails, can lead to a life beyond one's wildest imaginings. 


'Sweeping us across the decades with intellect and wit, Betty is the heroine women have been waiting for.' Gabbie Stroud, author of Teacher and The Things That Matter Most 


'Oswald writes older women with the panache, wit and steeliness that many of us will recognise in our mothers, grandmothers and aunts who traversed a century that was never quite ready for them.' Melanie Joosten, author of Like Fire-Hearted Suns 


'Debra Oswald fulfils a novelist's highest purpose in One Hundred Years of Betty. In a marathon exercise of imaginative empathy, she creates a life in full—all its aching sorrows, all its transcendent joys—unfolding amidst the convulsions of our tumultuous century. A rich feast of a novel, a perfect balance of sweet and sour. You won't want it to end.' Geraldine Brooks, bestselling author of Horse


Praise for The Family Doctor:


'Oswald has a way with words that immediately draws you into the story and keeps you there until the very last line. Highly recommended!' – Mamamia


'A compelling page-turner.' – The Age


'In crystal-clear prose, Debra Oswald unveils an all-too-believable world of love and loyalty stretched to the limit, with agonising consequences when the best people are forced to do the worst things. The moment you finish this novel you will want to find someone else who has read it and talk all night about the vital questions it raises.' – Malcolm Knox, author of Bluebird


'Oswald is such a deft writer ... a timely, evocative and at times harrowing exploration of domestic violence.' – The Courier-Mail 


'Mesmerising and heart-breaking. A perfect story for this moment in time.' Sarah Bailey, author of Where the Dead Go