Six Degrees of Separation – from Yesteryear to A Far-Flung Life

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. June’s starting point is Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, which has taken the book-reading world by storm. I started this bestseller about a tradwife but disliked the author’s characterization of Harvard and liked the heroine even less, so I gave it to my sister.

First Degree

Unlike Natalie in Yesteryear, the six friends in Half a Dozen Housekeepers by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1903) enjoy playing house when they take over a family cottage during their school vacation (Wiggin is better known for Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm).

Second Degree

Staying with a housekeeping, Housekeepers by Alex Hay (2023) is a historical heist novel set in 1905 London.  It follows a dismissed housekeeper, Mrs. King, who assembles a team of women to rob a lavish Mayfair mansion during a grand costume ball, seeking revenge and truth against their wealthy employers.  I was intrigued by the concept but found the delivery disappointing.

Third Degree

I always like a revenge theme, and particularly enjoyed Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge by Spencer Quinn (2023), about a generous grandmother who gets scammed when trying to bail her grandson out of jail. Humiliated and broke, she decides to find the criminals who took her money and get it back, against all odds. My review.

Fourth Degree

Falsely accused and imprisoned, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1846) is a story of suffering and revenge. The recent PBS series was well cast and enjoyable, and I recommend it.

Fifth Degree

Another falsely accused protagonist is Sara Dane by Catherine Gaskin (1954). She is convicted of theft and transported to the penal colony of Australia in the 18th century. Marriage to one of the naval officers on the ship gives her the opportunity to make a new life for herself. This is a real page-turner by a gifted author and apparently there is also a great miniseries.

Sixth Degree

As in Sara Dane, A Far-flung Life by M. L. Stedman (2026) does not pretend life on an Australian estate is easy. Sometimes it is heartbreaking. However, this story of a family’s love and suffering and resilience in the mid-20th century is hard to put down. My review.

Have you read any of these?  My book journey this month took me from Idaho to London, Romania and France to Australia.  For next month, August 1, Kate has chosen Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa.  I am intrigued because it is set in Cork where I am going later this month but the book is not yet out in the US.