In March, 1940, Bradford mill girl Molly Clough can hardly believe it when she successfully auditions for ENSA, the organisation that entertains the troops.
Despite the much-mocked ENSA’s reputation as ‘Every Night Something Awful’, singing on stage feels like a dream come true for Molly.
But as she tours with her troupe, the Forces Follies, life proves to be far from the glamorous showbusiness world Molly had imagined.
She and her new friends discover that raising the morale of tired, anxious soldiers is no easy task, especially now the so-called Phoney War has begun to heat up.
Life changes for Molly when handsome crooner Jack Forrester joins the Follies. At first she finds herself exasperated by Jack’s laid-back attitude, but when the two are paired as a singing duo, they quickly grow close.
But will a devastating secret from Molly’s past derail their growing romance? And as evacuated soldiers pour in from Dunkirk, can the girls of the Forces Follies lift the spirits of men who have given everything for their country?
The Variety Girls by Betty Firth is published on 15 July, 2026.
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