High Wages

In Dorothy Whipple's High Wages, a determined young woman makes her way in the world against the looming backdrop of World War I. High Wages is more than a tale of savvy entrepreneurship: Jane’s thoughts, feelings, adventures and disappointments in love and friendship are all laid bare.

Jane Carter sees an advertisement for a live-in shop assistant and jumps at the chance to leave her old life behind. After Chadwick the draper takes her on, Jane learns all there is to know about fabrics and dressmaking. She proves a talented saleswoman and befriends Maggie and Lily, the other employees.

The girls struggle under exploitative conditions: meagre pay; tiny portions of food; the boss cheating them out of commissions. When the young man Maggie is seeing falls in love with Jane, a bitter falling-out results in Maggie threatening to leave Chadwick’s. Armed with initiative and ideas, Jane decides to set up her very own clothing shop, but it’s not all plain sailing – far from it.

High Wages is part of the Persephone Audiobook Collection, a series of forgotten classics including neglected fiction and non-fiction by women writers. First published in 1930, this edition includes a new preface by author Jane Brocket.