Six Degrees of Separation is hosted by Kate at Books are My Favourite and Best. The idea, inspired by Frigyes Karinthy’s 1929 short story, Chains, is that everyone in the world is separated from everyone else by just six links. Here, we bring the idea into the world of books.

This month’s starting book is “I Capture the Castle” by Dodie Smith, which is such an evocative coming-of-age story for me. I love the two main characters, sisters Cassandra and Rose, and in particular the internal dialogue of Cassandra. I also love the immersive and atmospheric setting of the castle where the girls grow up. It is almost another character, an embodiment of that messy, intense and romantic childhood time that you both long to leave behind and feel nostalgic for when it is gone.

Another book where I’d class the castle setting as a character in its own right is “Assassin’s Apprentice”, the first of the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. This is my favourite long fantasy series of all time – and whenever the main character Fitz comes back to the castle of his childhood in later books of the series it is always a bittersweet and characterful moment. Fitz is an outsider, plagued with a taboo magic that allows him close commune with specific animals, in particular dogs and wolves. 

Through this magic, I’m making the next connection – to another book I enjoyed when growing up: “Wild Magic” by Tamora Pierce. In this, the main character Daine has ‘wild magic’ which again allows her special commune with animals, and particularly wolves. It is similarly considered a lesser magic to that of the aristocracy. 

Most of the Tamora Pierce books I read growing up, including “Wild Magic”, had as a theme a girl or woman making her way in a masculine environment. Another book that had that vibe for me was “The Ruby in the Smoke” by Phillip Pullman, a Victorian suspense story in which heroine Sally Lockhart uncovers the dangerous mysteries of her family’s past. 

I love a good Victorian setting, and there’s another one in “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern. I love the lyrical prose and dark but whimsical treatment of the magical circus in this book. 

This leads me to a book I haven’t actually read yet – but I really want to, the similarly titled “Nights at the Circus” by Angela Carter, which tells the story of Fevvers, a London woman born with wings, who is an aerialiste in the circus. 

And now my final link in the chain: “The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender” by Leslye Walton. Ava is another girl character born with wings, whose life is shaped strangely – and sometimes sadly – around them. 

I enjoyed this chain, which went through castles, forbidden magic, gothic settings, circuses and wings! Where did your chains lead you? I look forward to reading as many as I can.