Based on a True Story by Sarah Vaughan is the fourth book I’ve read by Vaughan, best known for Anatomy of a Scandal which was made into a series on Netflix. This centres around a family gathered for the 70th birthday of a renowned children’s author amid threats to that author–promising to reveal long-buried secrets that could potentially destroy her career and life–and her three adult daughters all grappling with secrets of their own.
Reputation by Sarah Vaughan is the third book I’ve read by the former English political correspondent. I enjoyed her the popular Anatomy of a Scandal which has been adapted for television and coming to Netflix in April 2022. I wasn’t as enamoured with Little Disasters which had a stronger parenting focus as – regular readers of my reviews will know – my eyes glaze over at the mention of judgmental parents and parenting wars and the like.
She’s returned to what she knows best here however and the focus is very much on the world of politics. (And the private lives of those who run for office and the media reporting on them.)
I keep vowing to stop reading books about parenting. I realise actual parents probably enjoy them and can definitely relate; but the mummy (mommy) wars and good vs bad parenting dilemma aren’t really high on my relevance agenda. Having said that, I do read a lot of books about sociopaths damaged by bad parenting, so…. I guess there’s that.
As it happens, I decided to read Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan however because I’d read and enjoyed a previous novel, Anatomy of a Scandal, by the former political reporter.
I’d had an advance copy of this book for quite some time before I finally read it. I’d been waiting until closer to its publication date, but had I realised I’d enjoy it as much as I did, I might not have left it so long.
The book’s author, Sarah Vaughan was formerly a news reporter and political correspondent so is well-placed to write about politics and British Parliament and she certainly includes a lot of information about political landmarks and easily and casually references political machinations and the political game-playing ‘behind’ the politics.