Winifred Peters is not Sorry for her Loss, by Louise Jensen Duffy

Newly widowed Winifred Peters can’t wait to start a new, low-stress life with a modicum of independence in her small outback town of Bittamilla. Discovering she has not been provided for in her husband’s will is a bitter blow, but an unexpected windfall changes her fortune and puts her at odds with her awful adult children. In rescuing a neighbour from domestic violence, Winnie almost accidentally runs away to the big smoke and finds a new way to live. Set in the 1930s, Jensen clearly depicts the grinding poverty and limited options for women in Depression-era Australia and the huge gulf between city and country. There is an issue with tone, particularly at the start of the story, with an uneasy balance between tragedy and farce and the children depicted as too monstrously unsympathetic as an obvious device to facilitate the heroine’s escape. Some plot holes are too deep to fill and a dark twist at the end sits a little uneasily, but Winnie is an engaging character and her navigation of new wealth, false and fair friends and city life is a fun read.