#6Degrees of Separation – A book chain from Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser to Talland House by Maggie Humm

It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for 6 Degrees of Separation.

Here’s how it works: a book is chosen as a starting point by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

Kate says: Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal or esoteric ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge. Join in by posting your own #6Degrees chain on your blog and adding the link in the comments section of each month’s post.   You can also check out links to posts on X using the hashtag #6Degrees.

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This month’s starting book is Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser, winner of the 2025 Stella Prize. As usual it’s a book I haven’t read but the mention in the blurb of it ‘taking up Woolf’s quest for adventurous literary form’ provided me with inspiration. Links from each title will take you to my review or the book description on Goodreads.

Is Flush by Virginia Woolf, a book narrated from the point of view of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning’s spaniel, an example of ‘adventurous literary form’? Debate amongst yourselves. I’m not a dog lover but I enjoyed Woolf’s sly, mocking humour which kept it from becoming overly sentimental.

In poker, a flush is a hand consisting of five cards of the same suit. Let’s pick a suit… diamonds. Mila Pavlichenko, the heroine of The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn, is based on the real life Lyudmila Pavlichenko who became a sniper and served in the Russian army on the frontline in World War 2. She also forms an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of then President Franklin D Roosevelt, also features in Kane by Graham Hurley. The book opens shortly after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour, the event which resulted in the entry of the United States into World War 2.

In Eagle & Crane by Suzanne Rindell, the lives of two young aerial stuntmen, one the son of Japanese immigrants, are changed following the attack on Pearl Harbour and the US government’s decision to intern Japanese Americans.

Eagles, cranes… There are more birds in House of Birds by Morgan McCarthy. They’re not real ones but part of the design of wallpaper in a room of a derelict house inherited by the girlfriend of the main character. Whilst clearing the house he discovers a hidden diary from the 1920s. It reveals a story of forbidden love, and the cruel and longlasting legacy of the First World War.

Talland House by Maggie Humm is partly set in First World War London and features Lily Briscoe, a character from Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, bringing me full circle to the starting book.

My chain features dogs, birds and Woolfs. Where did your chain take you?