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 All Fours by Miranda July. I haven’t read it and probably won’t as it doesn’t really appeal to me, but here’s what it’s about:
A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, beds down in a nondescript motel and immerses herself in a temporary reinvention that turns out to be the start of an entirely different journey.
Miranda July’s second novel confirms the brilliance of her unique approach to fiction. With July’s wry voice, perfect comic timing, unabashed curiosity about human intimacy and palpable delight in pushing boundaries, All Fours tells the story of one woman’s quest for a new kind of freedom. Part absurd entertainment, part tender reinvention of the sexual, romantic and domestic life of a 45-year-old female artist, All Fours transcends expectations while excavating our beliefs about life lived as a woman. Once again, July hijacks the familiar and turns it into something new and thrillingly, profoundly alive.
I had no idea how to get started with this month’s chain – I couldn’t think of anything similar I’ve read and nothing in the blurb inspired me. Eventually, I decided to go with another book written by a Miranda: in this case Miranda Malins, author of two historical novels about the family of Oliver Cromwell. Set in the years of Cromwell’s Protectorate following the English Civil War, The Puritan Princess (1) tells the story of his youngest daughter, Frances.
Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris (2) is the story of a manhunt involving two former soldiers who fought in Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army and signed the death warrant that led to the execution of King Charles I. When the monarchy is restored several years later, the two men flee to New England to go into hiding in the new Puritan colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay and New Haven.
Another book with the word ‘act’ in the title is Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie (3). This is a Poirot novel which also features one of her other recurring characters, Mr Satterthwaite. The two investigate the death of a guest who drops dead at a party hosted by an actor. The book was originally published in 1934.
Also published in 1934 was A Pin to See the Peepshow by F. Tennyson Jesse (4), now available as part of the British Library’s Women Writers series. Part of the novel is based on a true crime known as the Thompson-Bywaters case which took place in 1922. However, the crime element of the story was not as strong as I’d expected and I found it more of a character study of the main character, Julia Almond.
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (5) is set in London in 1922 and is also inspired by the Thompson-Bywaters case. The ‘paying guests’ of the title are Leonard and Lilian Barber, a married couple who become lodgers in the home of Frances Wray and her mother. What seems at first to be a quiet domestic novel slowly becomes something much more dramatic.
The Paying Guests appeared on the longlist for the 2015 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction but didn’t make the shortlist. A book that did get shortlisted that year was A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie (6). Set in the early 20th century, it follows three characters – a British archaeologist, a Pashtun soldier and a twelve-year-old-boy – who are linked by a search for the legendary Circlet of Scylax.
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And that’s my chain for this month! My links have included: the name Miranda, Oliver Cromwell, the word ‘act’, books published in 1934, the Thompson-Bywaters case and the 2015 Walter Scott Prize.
In July we’ll be starting with Michelle de Kretser’s Theory & Practice.
She Reads Novels 
Starting with the authors first name was clever!
Sorry, I hit ‘send’ too soon. The two books about the true crime case sound interesting.
I often find myself using author’s names when I’m struggling for a link! Yes, the two books based on the Thompson-Bywaters case are both interesting – and both very different as well!
Clever chain. It’s so interesting to see all the different ways people create their chains.
Thanks! Yes, it’s interesting that we all end up going in such different directions from the same starting point.
Both A Pin to See the Peepshow and The Paying Guests are delightfully ominous books. Great chain!
I enjoyed both of those books – in fact, it was seeing that Waters had mentioned A Pin to See the Peepshow in the acknowledgements for The Paying Guests that made me want to read it!
I especially like the link from A Pin to The Paying Guests, I have a copy of A Pin to see the Peepshow so I’ll add Paying Guests to my list!
They’re both good books – although I would probably recommend reading A Pin to See the Peepshow first as it was the inspiration for The Paying Guests. I read them the wrong way round!
will do!
Well, I don’t have any books with an author by the name of Miranda, so I went in a different direction. This is a fascinating chain!
It was lucky that I managed to find a book I’d reviewed by another Miranda, because I was really struggling to think of a first link!
I always love seeing these bookish chains and the creative way you link books together. 😀
I enjoy putting these chains together, although sometimes it’s difficult!
Such an interesting chain. I had no idea Robert Harris delved back into the Oliver Cromwell era. I’ll look out for this. I like the look of the Shamsie and teh Waters too. Thanks!
Yes, the Cromwell era was an unusual setting for Harris, as most of his books are set in either the 20th century or Ancient Rome! I enjoyed the Shamsie and Waters too, although neither are my favourite books by those authors.
Well done for overcoming the challenge of the first link! The starting book doesn’t appeal to me either.
I often struggle to get started when the first book doesn’t appeal!
A great chain! I read The Puritan Princess at your recommendation and really enjoyed it. I meant to buy her other books while I was in London.
I’ve also read Three Act Tragedy and The Paying Guests. I have not read that particular Harris book – maybe I have only read Enigma.
Isn’t it funny that he is married to Gill Hornby? Did you see the recent adaptation of Miss Austen? I missed the first episode but liked it, although thought the characters’ relationships would be hard to keep track of if one did not know the family.
I’ve read a lot of Robert Harris books, but Enigma isn’t one of them! I keep forgetting that he’s married to Gill Hornby. I love her books as well and did enjoy the Miss Austen adaptation. I’ve just started reading her new book, The Elopement, which was published here in May.
I enjoy Three Act Tragedy, it’s nice occasionally to dip into a Christie that isn’t a Poirot or Marple
Three Act Tragedy was a good one!
All Fours doesn’t appeal to me either. I enjoyed reading your chain. The only one of these books I’ve read is the Agatha Christie. Robert Harris is one of my favourite authors but I missed his Act of Oblivion. A shame because it sounds good.
I enjoyed Act of Oblivion – the plot was less exciting than some of his others, but I found the New England setting fascinating.
It has been very interesting to see the directions that people have taken for their first link. I looked for a Miranda but I didn’t have one so had to do something different!
I was very lucky that I had read another book by a Miranda as I couldn’t think of any other first links at all!
Enjoyed your chain, Helen–and very pleased to see Three Act Tragedy on it since that was a book I very much enjoyed. Cromwell’s daughter would make for an interesting character–come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve read anything set around his family unlike in the case of Thomas More. Both the Thompson-Bywaters books look intriguing as well–lots of potential candidates for my TBR this time!
I often seem to have Agatha Christie in my chain – she wrote so many books, it’s usually possible to find a link leading to or from one of them! Yes, the two Thompson-Bywaters books are both very good – and also quite different.
I seem to have her often too, though interestingly not this time.
What a good chain! I must try The Paying Guests again–it came in with a bunch of others at the same time at the library.
Thanks! I enjoyed The Paying Guests so I hope you get another chance to read it.
I loved The Paying Guests!
Yes, it’s a good one! I’ve enjoyed all of Sarah Waters’ books.