Emma Donoghue - Frog Music

Booker-nominee Emma Donoghue’s latest outing is a work of historical fiction which deals with the story of four French emigres in San Francisco in the late 19th century.

Blanche is a dancer and prostitute whose world is turned upside down when she meets Jenny Bonnet, a wilful free spirit who dresses in men’s clothes. Blanche’s beau/pimp Arthur and close friend Ernest are unimpressed with the mischievous bohemian whose presence changes all their lives irrevocably.

Meticulously researched, the text, is replete with detailed descriptions and precise cultural references conjuring vivid sights, sounds and smells, making the reader’s journey all the more impactful.

This story is essentially a murder mystery, the structure of which Donoghue handles masterfully, alternating the narrative between events before and after the crime. Delightful.