The Scandalous Life of Ruby Devereaux has something that I really love in a book. I always enjoy stories that look back over a long life and which follow history, whether that be important events or social history.

Ruby is now in her 90th year. She's an acclaimed author and her publishers hope she has one book left in her: her memoir. Agreeing to go forward with the project, Ruby sets about telling her life to her new assistant but this memoir has a difference: it's told by means of her memories of twelve men in her life and the adventures she had both home and away. Via New York, Berlin, Budapest, Venice and Vietnam, and of course England, the reader accompanies Ruby on a journey through her past. What a life she had!

My favourite sections were those set in England. In many ways these were the least adventurous but for me they were the most interesting and the men in those sections seemed the most fleshed out. However, as a whole this book is quite fascinating, a romp through the second half of the 20th century with several of those scandals referred to in the title making an appearance.

Ruby really has some quite incredible experiences. She's a wonderful character, feisty, no-nonsense, strong, wily and fun, and when life knocks her down she gets back up again. She has her good times and her bad, just like in any life. Her tale felt fresh and real, and yet also surreal at times. I enjoyed reading it and think M J Robotham has done a really great job at crafting this fictional memoir. I don't think I'll forget Ruby in a hurry. ( )

Her publishing house wants to squeeze one more book out of 90 year old author Ruby Devereaux. She has led a colorful life and her memoir might be just the thing. A Boy Friday is hired to assist her in recording her memories and also in providing her tea and refreshments. She has traveled the world and had adventures few women of her time have experienced and chooses to recount her history by focusing on her interaction with twelve men in her life. Thus we learn of her history from the days of World War II through the present.

I have read and enjoyed a number of Mandy Robotham’s historical fiction books, particularly those set during the World War II and Cold War eras. This book is quite different and yet it is a chronicle of the times spanning the days from the 1940s onward. While alternating chapters between a book within a book style and interactions with Ruby’s present publisher and staff, Robotham captures well the culture of the various time frames…including the post war peace, the machinations of the Cold War, the haze of the 60s, the hell of Vietnam…while also revealing the personal loves and pains of Ruby’s experiences, as well as a bit of the writing process

Ruby is an indomitable character, and I enjoyed this romp through life with her. I also loved the different international settings, from London to New York, Venice, Budapest, Vietnam.

Thanks to @netgalley and @ariafiction for the DRC. ( )