Episode details

Radio 2,04 Aug 2026,15 mins
'The Scandalous Ladies Football Club' by Frances Quinn
The Radio 2 Book ClubAvailable for over a year
Author Frances Quinn joins Sara in the studio to discuss her new novel, 'The Scandalous Ladies Football Club'. They chat about the real-life inspiration behind the story, how she nearly gave up writing the whole thing because of a sticky plot point - and why she hides ABBA references in all her books. (yes, she's a mega fan) Sara also asks her about her Tonkinese cats and her 'other job', writing food packaging for a well-known supermarket. (apparently she loves using the word 'buttery') We also get a great book recommendation from her - and - hear a clip from the audiobook too! Here's a little more info on Frances' novel: London, 1897. Minnie Newton – twenty-eight-year-old schoolteacher and women’s rights advocate – has a passion for football. But in Victorian society, football is a men's game. That is, until Minnie decides to take matters into her own hands and place an ad in the newspaper, asking for volunteers to join the first ever women’s football team. From a motley collection of replies, Minnie puts together a squad. Most of the women have never kicked a ball before – but a little thing like that isn’t about to stop them. And when they take the game public, it isn’t long before they are drawing huge crowds, stirring controversy across the capital and beyond. But Minnie is hiding an explosive secret. Soon, all the attention the club is getting begins to threaten the life she has built for herself. Can she walk the line between independence and safety, or will the truth about who she really is finally come out? And is the beautiful game enough to save her freedom?
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