Books set in a mix of worlds both fictional and real

Submitted: 28th May 2019

There are many novels which mix fact and fantasy to spellbinding effect. Books which imagine the life of a writer behind the scenes, the life of a spouse history has forgotten, or a story re-imagined.

A few novels capture the magic of the fictional and real worlds so the line blurs and vanishes in to thin air leaving behind just the magic…

Books set in a mix of worlds both fictional and real…

Becoming Mrs Lewis by Patti Callahan

Fact v fiction: The wife of the famous author C S Lewis: her story.

The story of Mrs Lewis, the wife of the famous writer C S Lewis. The man who brought the world Narnia is a captivating character in his own right, but what was he like behind closed doors. Who was Mrs Lewis and what was her life like? We think it would be a lovely life married to a man who created such fantastical worlds, but this story reimagines that time and brings it to glorious life.

I loved this book and was completely immersed in the story, setting and the characters. Mrs Lewis was a fascinating woman in her own right and her voice is carried on in this novel.

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Betts

Fact v fiction: The story behind how The Wizard of Oz came to be a film

It’s always exciting to read about how a iconic film was made. When it’s a great book turned into a film even more so. So the story of how The Wizard of Oz turned from a novel into the big Hollywood blockbuster it was makes for compelling reading.

Don’t you just love stories that get behind the scenes and under the skin of another story? And one as iconic as this one?

Fled the story of Mary Bryant by Meg Keneally

Fact v fiction: The story of a real life convict sent to NSW

A convict from Cornwall is sent to NSW. Then she escapes. This is the story of Mary Bryant – a real life convict who was sent on a ship from England to Australia to work with other convicts on the camp there. Her story is fascinating and so compelling as you get to experience the conditions on board such a ship at these times. You also get to know the stories of those on board and it makes for compelling reading. There is a good mix of fact and fiction, all stirred with a little dose of creative imagination.

The Ghost Hunters by Neil Spring

Fact v fiction: The story behind the most haunted house in Britain.

When a story or place is this iconic, it takes a unique author to weave a fictional tale around it. Neil Spring’s first book took us back to the time when Borley Rectory was a place of residence, long before it became the most haunted house in Britain. What happened there? Who lived to tell the tale and who isn’t afraid of going back there now?

The Cottingley Secret by Hazel Gaynor

Fact v fiction: Did the fairies really exist?

Everyone knows the story about the two young girls who faked photos of fairy folk in the fields beside their house. But what really happened and why and how was everyone taken in? Some of the great minds of their day were convinced there was magic at play. Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame was a particular supporter of the findings.

The story is remarkable on many levels and Hazel Gaynor reimagines how it all began…..