The Tea Ladies of St Jude's Hospital

Joanna Nell

Sep 2021 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

The heartwarming and hilarious bestseller by the author of treasured novels, The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village and The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home

The Marjorie Marshall Memorial Cafeteria has been serving refreshments and raising money at the hospital for over fifty years, long after anybody can remember who Marjorie Marshall actually was. Staffed by successive generations of dedicated volunteers, the beloved cafeteria is known as much for offering a kind word and sympathetic ear (and often unsolicited life advice) as for its tea and buns.

Stalwart Hilary has worked her way up through the ranks to Manageress; Joy has been late every day since she started as the cafeteria's newest recruit. She doesn't take her role as 'the intern' quite as seriously as Hilary would like but there's no doubt she brings a welcome pop of personality. Seventeen-year-old Chloe, the daughter of two successful surgeons, is volunteering during the school holidays because her mother thinks it will look good on her CV.

Chloe is at first bewildered by the two older women but soon realises they have a lot in common, not least that each bears a secret pain. When they discover the cafeteria is under threat of closure, this unlikely trio must band together to save it.

'Takes readers on a sweet journey. A warm-hearted read from Nell, who tells engaging stories with older protagonists' The Australian
'The Tea Ladies is a delight. Warm characters and observations and great pace' AMANDA HAMPSON
'Another funny, warm-hearted read' Herald Sun

**Contains BONUS EXTRACT from Joanna Nell's novel Mrs Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year**

Praise for the novels of Joanna Nell:
'Tender and funny' Woman's Weekly
'Whip-smart dialogue, humour and sarcasm ... highly addictive' Sun Herald
'Lively and whimsical' Sydney Morning Herald

Ratings and reviews

The Tea Ladies Of St Jude’s Hospital is the fourth novel by best-selling Australian author, Joanna Nell. Meet the staff of the Marjorie Marshall Memorial Cafeteria in the foyer of St Jude’s Hospital, volunteers all: Hilary Halliday, in her mid-seventies, manageress for ten years; Joy, also in her seventies, nearing the end of her first months’ probation; seventeen-year-old Chloe Foster-Pearson, their newest recruit, fulfilling a requirement for her Duke of Edinburgh gold medal. Distracted by her currently chaotic personal life, Hilary has missed a few important emails from General Manager Dave Rawlinson concerning the hospital’s renovations, so none of them has any idea of what’s about to happen. Virtually an institution in itself, the Marjorie Marshall has been serving refreshments to appreciative staff, patients and visitors at St Jude’s for some fifty years and is currently raising funds for a sea-life mural for the Children’s Ward. Their fare is basic: plain and simple; so when a branch of wholefood café chain, Platter opens in the foyer, with its black-T-shirted, blonde-ponytailed clones and its myriad of food and drink choices, Hilary immediately understands the threat it poses. Despite Hilary’s tendency to micro-manage and her previous rejection of suggestions for improvement, with the café’s viability endangered, Joy and Chloe are wholeheartedly supportive of a makeover, contributing time and talent and furniture. But will it be enough? Because there’s that email about Phase 2 of the renovations that Hilary has neglected to open… Nell’s depiction of the hospital foyer almost like a little village will resonate with hospital regulars: the passing parade of daily life here is presented from three different perspectives. As always, her characters have depth and appeal and the reader quickly invests in their fates, even the prickly ones. She gives them insightful observations and wise words: “With the passing years, the list of things Joy could do was shrinking. Listening was the one thing that people became better at as they aged, she realised.” Young Chloe labours under the heavy weight of expectations: those of her family, and of everyone to whom she is introduced as the progeny of consultant surgeon parents, all assuming she wants to be a doctor. The only exception is her best friend since kindergarten, Sam, who understands and enthusiastically encourages her artistic aspirations. Working with these two older, perceptive women helps her distil what is important. Joy, ever cheerful in dress and manner, serves up tea with sympathy and comfort so it’s surprising to learn she has only recently dragged herself up out of a lengthy depression. But she’s still working up the courage to carry out the simple task she needs to complete on her beloved husband Len’s behalf. For Hilary, her position as manageress has afforded her status with the well-off wives of her (soon-to-be-ex) husband’s associates, but her recent change in fortunes is compounded when she is forced to live with her bossy, cranky older sister, Nancy. She is understandably afraid that her raison d’etre might be lost. Once again, Nell has her finger on the pulse when it comes to seniors, touching on many issues that affect the elderly: loneliness, poverty, malnutrition, denial in grief, the need for a sense of purpose, and the fear of being irrelevant or invisible. She addresses these topics with sensitivity and humour, giving the reader laughter and lumps-in-the-throat in equal measure. The clever chapter headings are a bonus. A delightful read! This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Hachette Australia.

About the author

Joanna Nell is a British-Australian writer, GP and advocate for positive ageing. Her essays and short fiction have won multiple awards and been widely published in magazines, journals and literary anthologies. Her first five novels, The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village, The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker, The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home, The Tea Ladies of St Jude's Hospital and Mrs Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year, were national bestsellers. Joanna lives on Sydney's Northern Beaches.