This month’s celebrated author is the American, Kate Quinn. Quinn differs from previous subjects, in that she is essentially a writer of historical fiction only. This genre is a special one in that it combines the usual need in fiction for interesting characters/plot, with the advantage of learning something from history. Kate Quinn is most adept at providing relevant characters [often strong women] with entertaining plots, and bringing her audience up to scratch with some amazing historical events.

The novels of Kate Quinn have been set in three historical eras, being the Roman Empire, the Italian Renaissance, and the World Wars of the 19^t” century. My interest in her is limited to the final category because of the subject matter of the novels covering this era. The individual novels from the third era are:

. The Alice Network [ covering a spy ring of female spies sent into enemy territory in Word War I]

. The Huntress [where a former female Russian pilot joins forces with an ex- British Officer to hunt down a nazi killer of innocents]

.The Rose Code [ three female code-breakers at Bletchley Park who root out a spy after World War II]

.The Diamond Eye [ a female Russian sharpshooter/assassin who is legendary in the German advance on Moscow in World War II, who is ultimately forced into negotiating peace with the Americans]

.The Briar Club [ a haunting collection of female friends in a Washington boarding house during the McCarthy era]

Kate Quinn takes often unknown historical facts and weaves them into a first class narrative, often with unexpected twists. She produces very strong female characters in plots which give access to hitherto unappreciated events of historical interest. Highly recommended.