Six Degrees of Separation, from Wifedom to Chef Maurice's Sleuthing

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme, now hosted by Kate @ books are my favorite and best.

On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point 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.

This month we start from:

0. Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder

"This is the story of the marriage behind some of the most famous literary works of the 20th century —and a probing consideration of what it means to be a wife and a writer in the modern world. 
At the end of summer 2017, Anna Funder found herself at a moment of peak overload. Family obligations and household responsibilities were crushing her soul and taking her away from her writing deadlines. She needed help, and George Orwell came to her rescue.
Eileen O’Shaughnessy married Orwell in 1936. O’Shaughnessy was a writer herself, and her literary brilliance not only shaped Orwell’s work, but her practical common sense saved his life. But why and how, Funder wondered, was she written out of their story? Using newly discovered letters from Eileen to her best friend, Funder re-creates the Orwells’ marriage, through the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War in London. As she peeks behind the curtain of Orwell’s private life she is led to question what it takes to be a writer—and what it is to be a wife.” - Goodreads

This is yet another book I have not read. But the word "Invisible", and the premise of the book: a famous author's spouse, instantly reminded me of another biography of another 'invisible' woman behind a famous author:

1. The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin

It's a biography of Ellen Ternan, Charles Dickens' mistress.

Excerpt from my review, particularly about Nelly:
"It is so ironic, that a woman, who once had a great influence towards a great man, must be kept hidden for centuries, scrapped from histories. Even until now, no one knows the exact life of Ellen Ternan. Historians and biographers could only do detective works and deductions, but could never (at least ‘till this day) reveal the whole mystery. Nobody was sure of Nelly’s feeling and aim when she decided to accept Dickens in her life. I think both Nelly and her mother were fascinated and flattered at first, that a man of such importance paid attention to her. They must have thought it’d be a better future for her, for she could never expect a better husband, not with her theatre background. But Nelly was used to adventurous life in theater, and so living secretly and anonymously might have distressed her. Poor Nelly, I only hope that whatever happened in her last years, she have had once happy moments with Dickens." - here's the full review.

Naturally you'd think I would pick a Dickens for my next chain, wouldn't you? So, I would! And this one is the most hilarious I've ever read so far:

2. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

I've read this two years ago, and I remember there are quite many hilarious comical scenes throughout the story. One I remember vividly because it reminded me of similar scene in another book. Here's the excerpt from my post:

"Then there is the eccentric neighbor of the Nicklebys, an old gentleman who likes to throw vegetables over the wall to express his love to Mrs. Nickleby, which reminded me of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot who throws a marrow over his garden wall in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd." – And this is the full post if you’re curious.

Do you know an author whose one of favorite character from books was from Nicholas Nickleby? Agatha Christie! She mentioned the vegetable-throwing in her autobiography, which I've picked as my third chain:

3. Agatha Christie: An Autobiography

A remarkable person, Agatha Christie was, and a charming autobiography she's written! Here's an excerpt from my review containing the particular scene:

"...Though I enjoyed every second of my listening to this book (I listened to audiobook), as a reader, my favorite part is when Agatha's taking about her favorite books, her writing and publishing books I've read, and various inspirations of them. Agatha's favorite character from Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby was the man who courted Mrs. Nickleby by throwing vegetable marrow. Did this where Poirot's throwing vegetable marrow in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd came from? (She said "maybe", but I'm certain it did!)" - here's the full review.

Now for the next chain, you've probably guessed...

4. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

I don't think I need to put a summary of this book. If you haven't read it, you missed one of the most genius Golden Age crime fictions, with one of the best plot twists ever written. But if you have, you'd probably need this line from the book to refresh your mind about that vegetable-throwing scene: "Now I give up on you. You shall torment me no longer. I will KILL you! [throws vegetable marrow from the garden, and it lands near Dr. Sheppard's feet] Sacre - ! My dear doctor, I beg of you a thousand pardons, but these vegetable marrows, they have driven me to the edges of barbarity! Ah, please to forgive me.” 

The story is narrated by Dr. Sheppard. And this reminded me of another crime fiction I read this year which is told also from a Doctor's point of view - well, he's actually a vet, but still, we call him a Doctor, right?😛

5. Fifty-Four Pigs by Phillip Schott

Excerpt from my review:
“Our sleuth is Dr. Peter Bannerman, an introverted veterinarian who is obsessed with orders, numbers, and lists. One day he saw a swine barn exploded. It belongs to Tom Pearson, one of his neighbors in New Selfos, a small lakeside town near Manitoba. When the Police investigates, they find fifty-five bodies – fifty-four of the pigs (as hinted in the title), and one of human being's.” The full review is here.

Another cozy mystery with a pig would be my last chain:

6. Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle by J.F. Lang

Excerpt from my review:
“One day Chef Maurice was annoyed because their mushroom supplier, wild food importer and local foragers, Ollie Meadows, failed to deliver their order. So, Maurice went to Ollie's house, helped himself in through the back door, and found... nobody. Inside the fridge, however, he found a bag of truffle. An exceptional quality of white English truffle, in fact.

Suspecting that Ollie might have found a patch of truffle nearby, Maurice adopted a micro pig whom he trained as a truffle-hunter. Well, he'd prefer a dog actually, but little Hamilton (the pig's name) reacted perfectly to the smell of truffle, so... Off they went one day to nearby woods - Maurice, Arthur, and Hamilton. Then after a few miles, lo and behold… Hamilton ran and squeaked excitedly over there. Did he find it? Yes, he did! Not truffle, though, but Ollie's dead body.” - click here for the full review.

A micro pig pet named Hamilton - isn’t it charming?


Have you read those books? If you do #sixdegree, how it worked out for you this time?