Sophie Dahl is the bestselling author of four books for adults, and two for children. Her latest book for children is The Worst Sleepover In The World.
The last book that made me laugh
I’ve just finished Happy All The Time by the novelist Laurie Colwin, which is all about the messy business of being human. Colwin’s characters are loveable and fallible, and her observations knife sharp and hilarious.
What to read next
The last book that made me cry
The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey is such a strange and beautiful book. A group of men catch a mermaid, who was originally a land dweller, cursed by a group of jealous women. It’s a classic tale of an outsider turning life upside down in a town.
The book that changed the way I think
The Five by Hallie Rubenhold is about Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane, all of whom were the victims of Jack The Ripper in 1888. Having been so often reduced to faceless tabloid fodder, this book redresses who these women were in their lifetimes; daughters, mothers, lovers and friends. It’s a fierce social commentary on the brutality of being born a woman in Victorian England.
Black Swan The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold
The book that got me through a difficult time
Francis Weller’s incredible book, The Wild Edge of Sorrow, should be given to those in mourning as a matter of course. I lost a couple of people close to me in 2021, and kept coming back to the wisdom of this book. Weller writes so coherently and practically about grief, and the kinship between love and grief.
The book I most often give to others
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal by Jeanette Winterson, which is a brilliant memoir. Her writing is exquisite: furious, clever, funny and wise.
The Worst Sleepover in the World by Sophie Dahl, illustrated by Luciano Lozano will be published on 11 November (Walker Books)
