Holtby, feminist writer and anti-war propagandist, is perhaps best known now as the subject of Vera Brittain's Testament of Friendship.

The pair met while studying at Somerville College, Oxford, after they both lost loved ones in the First World War. Holtby had left Oxford for a time during the war to join the WAACs in France, returning after peace was declared. After graduating in 1921, the two friends shared a flat in London where both embarked on their respective literary careers. Holtby led a full and fulfilled life a life that faced outwards towards society rather than inwards towards personal needs and satisfactions. Shaw writes her story through the lives of the people who were important to her.