Little Gods by Anna Richards

Little Gods

Anna Richards

Larger than life story of Jean and how she survives her cruel upbringing by an embittered mother in wartime Britain to become a Hollywood film star in her own unique way. An enjoyable unusual story recommended especially for the atmospheric first section – Jean’s childhood - which reads like a dark fairytale.

Extract
Wisteria found Jean's physical excesses quite shameless, as if the child were deliberately drawing attention to herself, and she suspected Jean of some monstrous, concealed vanity that she did her best to wring out of her. She starved her and kept her constrained in too-small clothes until Jean burst out of them like overcooked sausage. But the girl was unstoppable.
Parallels
  • Seventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman
  • The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
  • An Arsonists Guide to Writer's Homes in New England by Brock Clarke