Beautiful | Beguiling | Bubbles

towards the end of May, Rahla Xenopoulos will be launching her latest novel, Bubbles, at the Book Lounge in Cape Town. the evening will include a theme - 40's glamour - that goes hand-in-hand with a theme that runs through the novel itself. with the editor of Glamour magazine, Pnina Fenster, leading the conversation with Rahla, it will indeed be a promising evening of fun and glam. love it.

"Pretty, pretty, pretty . . . That's been me all my life."  

Bubbles bubbles bubbles. what is Bubbles?

On a winter's morning in 1949, in an empty field north of the city of Johannesburg, the lifeless body of a beautiful young girl was found by a passer by. She was identified as Bubbles Shroeder, 18, and she appeared to have been strangled. This is her story. 

the book Bubbles is a fictional account of what might have been the life (and death) of Bubbles Shroeder - whose murder is still a mystery. The wonderful author, Rahla Xenopoulos took cues from what little information was known about Bubbles and imagines a charming ingénue way of life, as well as providing a voice that is at once delightful and tragic. 

411 of Bubbles Shroeder

Bubbles was born in the poorer part of the town of Lichtenburg. she grew up with a bitter mother and a dull-witted aunt. (she never knew her father). from a young age she dreamed of a better life and constructs an alluring world filled with furs, jewels, Chanel No.5, and handsome men that whirl her around a dance floor and send her roses.


it is not long before she is befriended by the sophisticated Winifred Walker who teaches her a veneer of sophistication, and most importantly, she introduces her to erotic love. 
from here, Bubbles moves away from the sophistication of Winnie and into the arms of a tawdry, middle-aged bookie, Barry. she see's her fantasy world in reach. she is convinced that the perfect beau will swoop her up and "carry her away" to a home of luxury sometime soon. . . 

     . . . the world to which she aspires too, soon turns menacing and,ultimately, fatal. 

I will indeed be posting more news on the launch itself and hopefully some pickies too. 


have a good week. 


xo xo