#6Degrees of Separation: From True History of the Kelly Gang to Sugar in the Blood

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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 six degrees 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 Twitter using the hashtag #6Degrees.

This month’s starting book is True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, a book I haven’t read but which I know tells the story of notorious Australian bushranger, outlaw and gang leader, Ned Kelly.

The exploits of a gang are also the focus of The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers. Set in Yorkshire in the 1760s, it tells the story of the Cragg Vale Coiners. ‘Coining’ was the illegal practice of removing shavings of gold from the edges of genuine coins, milling the edges of those coins smooth again and then using the shavings to produce counterfeit coins.

Benjamin Myers’ first novel, Pig Iron, is the story of John-John, the son of bare-knuckle boxer. One of the stories in Daniel Mason’s collection A Registry Of My Passage Upon The Earth features a bare-knuckle fighter preparing to face his most fearsome opponent.

A Registry Of My Passage Upon The Earth was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2021. The winner was The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich. Set in 1953, it concerns the impact of the passing of the Emancipation Bill which aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American society.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry is set one hundred years earlier and features two men – Thomas McNulty and John Cole – who fight in the Indian Wars against the Sioux and the Yurok but end up adopting a young Sioux girl.

The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. also features a relationship between two men, in this case slaves Isaiah and Samuel who live on a Mississippi cotton plantation.

Sugar in the Blood by Andrea Stuart is her memoir of delving into her family’s history and discovering her earliest ancestors were owners of a sugar plantation in Barbados that made use of slave labour.

My chain has taken me from Australia to Barbados. Where did your chain take you?

#BookReview Devorgilla Days by Kathleen Hart @tworoadsbooks

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Devorgilla DaysAbout the Book

Nine years ago, Kathleen Hart was diagnosed with breast cancer. Further complications led to a protracted recovery and months spent in hospital, where Kathleen had to learn how to walk again. While recuperating, she came across a small, whitewashed cottage for sale in Wigtown, Scotland. Driving hundreds of miles on nothing more than a few photographs and an inkling, she bought it that very same day, and named it Devorgilla after the formidable 13th century Scottish princess.

Heartwarming and deeply moving, Devorgilla Days is an inspiring tale of one woman’s remarkable journey, a celebration of community, and a call-to-arms for anyone who has ever dreamt of starting over.

Format: Paperback (352 pages)    Publisher: Two Roads
Publication date: 14th April 2022 Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Find Devorgilla Days on Goodreads

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My Review

Resilience is the word that springs to mind when reading about Kathleen Hart’s long and arduous recovery from life-threatening illness, a process that was not without its setbacks.  Devorgilla Days charts her decision to leave her old life behind (a surprisingly glamorous one, we learn) and move to Wigtown, known as Scotland’s book capital. A town with twelve bookshops – how fantastic is that? The rather dilapidated cottage she renovates she names Devorgilla after a 13th century Scottish princess whose independence of spirit Kathleen emulates in spades.

The author writes of her surprise at the generosity of the local people and how readily they welcome her into the community. It’s the sort of place where people leave fresh lobsters at your door, bring you a hot drink at the beach on a cold day or check up on you if they haven’t seen you for a few days.  However, I think Kathleen underplays her own willingness to throw herself into the life of the town, chatting to people she meets in the street and embracing the various social activities Wigtown has to offer. ‘Have a go’ becomes her motto and so we see her taking art and tai chi classes, joining ‘Knit and Natter’ sessions in the village hall, attempting to learn Scottish country dancing (even if she describes her efforts as those of ‘a geriatric elephant’), attending pub quiz nights and, eventually, taking a course in beekeeping.

Central to her new life though – and an essential part of her physical and mental recovery- is her daily swim in the sea. One of the lovely features of the book is the chapters in which Kathleen relates details of her daily swim and the wildlife she encounters – everything from ‘belligerent gulls’ to ‘a bedraggled skein of geese’ to jellyfish (the latter with rather unfortunate results). Although she lives alone, it’s by choice; a conscious decision to focus on what’s important to her and to prioritise her own wellbeing. As she observes, ‘I’m learning to be my own best friend.’  The cottage itself, which she gradually fills with furniture from the Aladdin’s cave which is the community shop, she describes as her sanctuary, ‘a hug of a place where I feel comfortable and safe’.

Devorgilla Days is an unflinchingly honest account of recovering from the trauma of serious illness. It’s also a wonderfully uplifting book about the power of the human spirit, the role of nature in our health and wellbeing, and the importance of community.

My thanks to Xanthe Rendall at John Murray Press for my review copy.

In three words: Truthful, moving, inspiring

Try something similar: Where the Hornbeam Grows by Beth Lynch

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Kathleen HartAbout the Author

Kathleen Hart was educated at a convent school in Cheshire before experimenting with various occupations, from air hostess to antiques dealer, but her favourite so far is author. She does her best writing in Devorgilla Cottage, where she keeps bees, swims in the sea and every day encourage thousands of her PoshPedlar Instagram followers to ‘make room for the magic’. (Photo: Twitter profile)

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