Which famous adventurer would Adele Parks take to a desert island?

Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory. It’s not out until October but I’m lucky to have an advance copy.

It’s a thrilling story about ambition, power struggles and the deeply cruel and dark side of the Tudor court. I’m a big fan of Philippa’s work and am fascinated by her depictions of the terrifying machinations, loves and betrayals of the Tudor period.

This time she’s telling the story of Jane Boleyn, Anne’s sister-in-law. A woman famously branded as a traitor, but whose real story was far more complex.

The thought of being limited to one book horrifies me! I suppose I should pick something very long and meaty – Shakespeare, Dickens or Tolstoy perhaps. Something I could read and reread, assuming I’m on the desert island for a while. I think there would be comfort in the enduring classics.

Or maybe I should take something practical. How to Stay Alive: The Ultimate Survival Guide for Any Situation by Bear Grylls seems like a good shout.

My childhood favourite was Charlotte’s Web, by E. B. White. I remember an old schoolteacher reading it in ten-minute snatches before the chiming of the home-time school bell.

The carpet was itchy; I longed to see my mum and sister at the school gate and the girl who sat next to me pinched my legs for no other reason than she felt like it.

Yet, despite the distracting circumstances, I adored that book. Fern and Charlotte were heroines. Even then I’d realised that, as far as I was concerned, a good book was one which made me laugh and cry.

Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. This is my husband’s favourite book. When we first met and were in the romantic stage of wanting to love everything the other loved, he gifted me a copy.

I don’t read sci-fi but gave it a chance as he’d raved about it. It wasn’t for me. I have only ever enjoyed a handful of sci-fi books and those would be considered on the edge of the genre, for example Vox by Christina Dalcher, which features a dystopian United States where women are limited to 100 words per day.