Historical fiction – Scuffed Granny

A Theatre for Dreamers by Polly Samson

Worth reading for the island setting only, which I warmed to immediately in Samson’s description, but felt much less for the characters

A story of a boy, his family and friends, navigating loss, anxiety and uncertainty at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

A nice, heart-warming read about teenager Frances Finkel and her yearning to become a fighter plane pilot in the Second World War

A tale of a frontier town and the promise offered by gold prospecting – dark, threatening and thrilling, and excellently told

The wonderfully told story of Toby Wey who, from humble origins, has an adventurous, character-filled life surviving by living on his wits

A well-paced thriller set in Paris in the 50s about a man trying to find the truth of his wife’s death, in a troubled and war-scarred city

Just what you want in historical fiction-the machinations of the ambitious, the glamour of the French court, enlivened with great characters

A tension-filled historical novel of the Deep South, with characters to love, family relationships, corruption, and the legacy of slavery

A contentious piece of American history taken and woven into a well-written and evocative historical novel with vivid characterisation

An exceptionally good book, set mainly in Alaska, of exploration and discovery, love and friendship, spirit magic and natives. Recommended!