The Diamonds of Tilly Devine by Jackie French

From bestselling author Jackie French comes a compelling book about the choices we make and the chances we never dreamed we’d be given.

1931. The height of the Depression, Sydney, New South Wales

They were diamonds: beautiful, sparkling and irresistible.

Nice girls do not accept employment from infamous Tilly Devine, the brothel owner with jewels on her fingers and a pistol in her handbag. All of Sydney knows her as the queen of crime, ruling an empire of bootleg whisky and gambling clubs, and rumour has it she’s quick to pull the trigger on anyone who crosses her – including her husband.

Yet, destitute after her mother’s death, Constance McKie realises she has three choices: starve, jump over The Gap, or enter a life no respectable girl would dare consider. When Tilly Devine offers her a role as one of her ‘diamonds’, Connie finds that perhaps she’s not the girl she thought she was.

A diamond’s role is complex, demanding, usually glamorous and entirely secret, and kept far away from Tilly’s world of gang wars, bribery and blackmail. But when murder is suspected in the mansion that becomes her home, Connie soon learns that it’s not only diamonds that are tougher than steel.

PRAISE FOR JACKIE FRENCH

‘I personally consider Jackie French the queen of historical fiction, and let me tell you, she did not disappoint … I was absolutely hooked until the final page.’ Better Reading on The Whisperer’s War

‘There aren’t many books that make me reach for a tissue as I read the final chapter, but this did.’ Good Reading on The Whisperer’s War

About the Author: Jackie French AM is an award-winning writer, wombat negotiator, the 2014-2015 Australian Children’s Laureate and the 2015 Senior Australian of the Year. In 2016, Jackie became a Member of the Order of Australia for her contribution to children’s literature and her advocacy for youth literacy. She is regarded as one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors and writes across all genres – from picture books, history, fantasy, ecology and sci-fi, to her much-loved historical fiction for a variety of age groups. ‘A book can change a child’s life. A book can change the world’ was the primary philosophy behind Jackie’s two-year term as Laureate.

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30 Jun 2026
 

The Diamonds of Tilly Devine by Jackie French ISBN 9781038903907