“After much searching, the happily married young couple, Amber and Stevie think they have found the perfect spot in Grimaldi Square. Despite the rundown pub across the way, the overgrown garden and a decidedly nosy neighbour, number 4 is the house of their dreams. Stevie, a woman who has never left anything to chance, has planned everything so nothing can spoil their happiness. But … upstairs in their new home, seated on an old red sofa is the woman they bought the place from – eighty-year-old foul-mouthed, straight-talking, wise-cracking Dorothy – who has decided that she’s not going anywhere. It turns out that Dorothy will be only the first in a line of life-changing surprises.
Friends of Dorothy is a touching, funny novel about a family that is not biological, but logical; a story close to Sandi Toksvig’s heart.”

Whilst reading this – I heard Sandi Toksvig interviewed on the Dish podcast (hard recommend – one of my must listen to podcasts with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, sponsored by Waitrose) and she was talking about writing this book. Basically she was writing a different factual book that required LOADS of research and ballooned into something much bigger than expected – and decided she wanted to write something that required no research at all – hence ‘Friends of Dorothy’ was born.

The book is most definitely a play on the ‘Friends of Dorothy’ colloquialism which is defined on the Fluent Slang website as follows:

“The term friend of Dorothy is a slang phrase that refers to someone who identifies as LGBTQ. It originated in the mid-1900s as a discreet way for LGBTQ individuals to identify themselves and connect with others during a time when the queer community faced persecution. The exact origin of the term is uncertain, with some suggesting it may be a reference to Dorothy Parker, a writer who had many gay friends in the 1920s and 1930s, while others believe it comes from the character Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” who befriends outcasts. The term is often used within LGBTQ circles as a way to discreetly identify oneself or to arrange meetings that would go unnoticed by the heterosexual majority. Although the term is not as commonly used today, it may still be heard among LGBTQ communities and can also be abbreviated as “FOD.” It’s important to emphasize that the term is not sexually explicit and is not intended to be offensive.”

But also one of the central characters is called Dorothy – and the supporting cast either are or become her friends over the course of the book.

Whilst the book is primarily about Amber and Stevie and their new home – it is so much more than that. It’s about ‘family’ from friends, it touches on homophobia and transphobia, it looks at the use of recreational drugs for pain relief, the support of a community, end of life care and so much more.

Overall it is a total delight of a book. I loved the whole cast of characters and the journey they went on and the power of a group of family built from friendship and support. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to anyone.

A huge thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my ARC. It came out in September 2024 so you can but it IMMEDIATELY and I think you probably should!