ABOUT THE BOOK
“There is some really atmospheric storytelling and joyful language at play here, with Jackson as an entertaining mistress of ceremonies.” – Ben East, The Observer
What can we say about this book from Tina Jackson except that it’s something very special indeed.
Three young women; Chrysanthemum, Rose & Orage are thrown together on the stage of Fankes’ Theatre during the closing days of the Second World War performing as The Three Graces.
It’s there they come under the spell of wardrobe mistresses Dolores and Janna – a chance encounter that will guide and change all of their fates forever.
Set in the dying days of vaudeville theatre and laced with mysticism, fortune tellers, ghosts, and evocative descriptions of the closing days of the War – The Beloved Children will literally make you laugh out loud and perhaps even shed the odd tear.
The Beloved Children is wise, funny, heart-breaking, joyous, poignant, and entirely entirely enthralling.
Tina Jackson has conjured characters that you will fall unapologetically in love with and placed them in a world that you won’t want to leave.
If any Fahrenheit book is ever going to be nominated for The Booker Prize it’ll be this one.
“This book genuinely weaves a spell around the reader and once you make friends with Janna, Dolores, and The Three Graces you’ll never want to be without them in your life again.”
PUBLISHED BY FAHRENHEIT PRESS
PURCHASE LINK
MY REVIEW
What a special little book this turned out to be! I’m always delighted to find a little gem of a story and if you’re looking for something that’s a little bit magical, emotional, funny and imaginative then look no further!
Set around the three characters of Rose, Chrysanthemum and Orage whose paths cross when they are all young girls auditioning for a theatre show, this is their story of how they became family and where life took them all. They are all very different personalities but they click and I just loved how they looked out for one another during their time at the theatre, through love, disappointments, secrets and lots more!
This starts out at the end of the war and you just can just picture life backstage at the theatre and it really brings back those ‘old days’ theatre feels! It was so easy to picture in your mind as you followed the story unfold – you could almost smell that dusky scent and hear the performers preparing to go on stage.
As the girls grow up into women, life throws them different curveballs and as you become more involved with them as characters then it did get quite emotional to see what they had to go through. There are many twists in their life journeys, and the always imposing characters of Dolores and Janna were always around to whip them into shape!
The story also had the viewpoint of 60 years later, with Rose and Chrysanthemum looking back on their lives together – the memories of special moments shared and troubled times faced – it was very difficult not to fall in love with these characters as they all went through so much and made them realise the importance of the roles that they all played in the life on one another. The real definition of the dysfunctional family that they became to one another!
One of my books of 2020!! Glorious stuff!!
★★★★★
My thanks to the team at Fahrenheit for the advanced reader copy in return for a fair and honest review.
Books and Me! 
Wow one of your faves from this year sounds great! x
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Thanks! I always love it when one sneaks in late to the list!! It’s been such a good year for books… again!! Never gets any easier picking favourites!! x
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