It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for another Six Degrees of Separation, hosted by Kate of Books are my Favourite and Best. The idea is that Kate chooses a book to use as a starting point and then we have to link it to six other books of our choice to form a chain. A book doesn’t have to be connected to all of the others on the list – only to the one next to it in the chain.
This month we’re starting with Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
Published in 1782, just years before the French Revolution, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a disturbing and ultimately damning portrayal of a decadent society. At its centre are two aristocrats, former lovers, who embark on a sophisticated game of seduction and manipulation to bring amusement to their jaded existences. While the Marquise de Merteuil challenges the Vicomte de Valmont to seduce an innocent convent girl, the Vicomte is also occupied with the conquest of a virtuous married woman. But as their intrigues become more duplicitous and they find their human pawns responding in ways they could not have predicted, the consequences prove to be more serious, and deadly, than Merteuil and Valmont could have guessed.
Dangerous Liaisons has been adapted for film several times, sometimes transposing the setting to different periods and countries. The most famous version was the 1988 one, which received seven Oscar nominations including one for Glenn Close for Best Actress. She also appeared in an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Crooked House (1) in 2017.
In the foreword, Christie states that “practically everybody has liked Crooked House, so I am justified in my own belief that it is one of my best”. Similarly, Thomas Hardy named his novel The Woodlanders (2) as a personal favourite, saying “I like it as a story best of all”. It’s one of my favourite Hardy novels as well – definitely in my top three!
Trees grow in woodlands, so the next book I’m linking to is The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (3). This fascinating novel is set in Strasbourg in 1518 during a plague of dancing – something which may sound strange, but did actually happen!
Another novel I’ve read with a dancing theme is Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay (4) in which a retired ballerina looks back on her career with the Bolshoi Ballet in the 1940s and 50s.
A simple link to another book with ‘winter’ in the title: The Winter Garden by Nicola Cornick (5), which tells the story of the family of Robert Catesby, one of the conspirators involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. I found it interesting to read about Catesby as the name usually associated with the Gunpowder Plot is Guy Fawkes.
Lizzie Fawkes is the main character in Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore (6). Although the novel is set in England, the lives of the characters are affected by events in France as the French Revolution gathers pace. With our starting book, Dangerous Liaisons, being set just before the Revolution, I think this brings the chain full circle!
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And that’s my chain for February! My links this month have included: Glenn Close adaptations, authors’ personal favourites, woods and trees, dancing, the word ‘winter’ and the name Fawkes.
In March we’ll be starting with Prophet Song by Paul Lynch.
She Reads Novels 
I love the links that you’ve used to connect some of these books and how you managed to bring your chain full circle. I actually haven’t read any of these. I do need to give Agatha Christie a try sometime as I’ve loved the adaptations I’ve seen but never picked up any of her books. And I really want to read The Dance Tree sometime, although I have two of the authors other books on my physical TBR so will probably start with those. Mentions of dancing plagues always sound so intriguing though. And I find the French Revolution a fascinating setting for books.
Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors. I definitely recommend trying one if you’ve enjoyed the adaptations. The Dance Tree was fascinating. I hadn’t even heard of dancing plagues until I read that book!
I’ll definitely make sure to try one out sometime. I think I’ve seen them referenced in other book blurbs (I’m sure there’s one by Anna Marie Mclemore and something else I’m forgetting) and there’s a Kate Bush song about shoes that cause it too. I didn’t realise that those plagues actually happened though. I kind of figured it was fairytales 😂
I rarely manage the full circle! Always a pleasure to see Helen Dunmore mentioned. One of my favourite authors, sadly missed.
Yes, I was sad about Helen Dunmore as well. I still have a few of her older books to look forward to.
I think The Hunter’s Daughter could fit into your forest and outdoor theme.
https://harvee44.blogspot.com/2025/02/sunday-salon-three-new-books-reviewed.html
Yes, I think it would. Thanks for the link!
Love Helen Dunmore, so good to see her in your links. I haven’t written my post yet, but was also going to start with film adaptations.
I think a few of us have used film adaptations this month! I love Helen Dunmore as well, although Birdcage Walk isn’t my favourite.
Great chain, Helen. I love the Crooked House/Glenn Close link. I liked Crooked House but found it a little too unsettling to rate it among my favourite Christies. The Woodlanders on the other hand is among my favourite Hardy books, too. I like the sound of both Russian Winter and Winter Garden.
Crooked House isn’t one of my absolute favourites by Christie either, although I did enjoy it. It’s interesting to see which books authors think are their best!
Good chain. I especially liked the author’s favorite links–that was very clever.
Thanks! I always think it’s interesting to see which books an author names as their own favourites.
Haha, I love your link from the Christie (which I haven’t read) to the Hardy (which I have, and like a lot too). The idea of author’s favourites was a fun one. Most authors in my experience don’t like to name their favourites, but I was listening to a podcast today in which an Aussie writer named the one of hers she’d like on her grave!
Thanks! I suppose it’s often difficult for an author to choose their own favourites – and when they do it’s sometimes not the ones you would expect.
I think that’s often the case. Certainly the example I gave is an outlier for that author.
I like the way you make your connections. I read Hardy when I was young but have forgotten all of them. I should decide on one to read now. Helen Dunmore is new to me and I should look into her books.
Thank you! Helen Dunmore’s books are great – I think my favourite is Exposure, although I haven’t read all of them yet.
I love your link using author’s favourites and The Woodlanders ia one of my favourites too.I’d like to read more of Helen Dunmore’s books as I thoroughly enjoyed Birdcage Walk.
It’s interesting to see which books are an author’s own favourites! I enjoyed Birdcage Walk too, but I liked Exposure better – I can definitely recommend that one, if you haven’t read it.
Excellent links! I love the cover of The Dance Tree and will recommend it to a former intern who just returned from a semester there.
I’ve had a copy of Russian Winter for some time and need to move it higher on my TBR.
The book by Helen Dunmore I keep meaning to read is Zennor In Darkness because I went there! Maybe soon although it sounds like it might not be her best.
I’ve read Zennor in Darkness and didn’t like it as much as the other books I’ve read by Helen Dunmore, but it’s beautifully written and will probably interest you as you’re familiar with the place. I think Exposure is my favourite by Dunmore, but I haven’t read all of her books.
The Dance Tree is one I’ll need to check out, I’ve liked other books by this author. Great chain.
The Dance Tree is a fascinating book – I knew nothing about dancing plagues until I read it!
I love learning from books that aren’t nonfiction
Such great links, Helen! And several books that I’ve been wanting to read for ages. Never enough time!
Thanks! There’s definitely never enough time!
I love that you went straight to an Agatha Christie novel, I feel like with enough thought so many different books could be linked straight to Christie. My first three books of the year were revisiting Christie novels in audiobooks form.
I love Christie and often include her in my Six Degrees chains. As you say, it’s easy to think of ways to link to her books!