Rachel Cooke, Foyles Bookshop

Legend has it that the 1950s were a pretty grim time for women. Received wisdom tells us that in the post-war years women were unceremoniously herded back to the kitchen, the nursery and the typewriter, with few opportunities to do anything else. British journalist Rachel Cooke decisively debunks this notion in her new book, Her Brilliant Career: 10 Extraordinary Women of the Fifties . She profiles an eclectic group of women who defied the odds to forge distinguished careers for themselves, and she will be discussing them with writer and comedian Viv Groskop in Foyles bookshop on November 19.

Of the ten women surveyed, there are some you may have heard of but many you won’t have, and yet all of them were trailblazers, and in a wide variety of fields; there’s a successful cookery writer, a TV personality, a magazine editor, an architect, a gardening writer, a QC, an archaeologist, a rally car driver and two sisters-in-law who became prominent in the film industry, one as a director, the other as a producer (who happened to give Dirk Bogarde his big break). 

You couldn’t wish for a more diverse or fascinating bunch. These were true career women, who followed their ambition and juggled hard graft with often turbulent private lives – who were determined to 'have it all' long before the women’s liberation movement. These women may have been the extraordinary, privileged few rather than the ordinary many, but their stories are an important piece of the jigsaw of women’s social history. Reserve your spot now and prepare to have all your preconceptions overturned.

Ticket price: Free, but booking is essential

Address and Map:113-119 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0EB ‎

Underground: Tottenham Court Road