Secret Sparrow - Book Review

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Jackie French is one of Australia’s most prolific authors, particularly in the realm of historical fiction for readers of all ages. Her work focuses on the untold stories of women and women’s experiences throughout history, particularly in war and significant historical events. Her most recent novel is Secret Sparrow, a story that was percolating in her mind for ten years before she was able to find the research to put it together.

In 1917, Jean McLean is working in the post office, when she enters a Morse Code competition and wins. This results in the British Army asking her to work as a signaller in France – desperate to win. Yet what Jean did is scrubbed from history, all evidence that she was there destroyed. In 1978, during a flood in a country town, she tells a young boy about what she did. Someone should know, even if there’s no official record. Jean has to tell someone.

Jackie French builds her historical fiction with lots of research and digging around with what she knew about female signallers in World War I, at the front and in the trenches, a paper helped unravel the secrecy and led to this story, which captures the harsh reality of war, what the front and trenches were like in detail – not shying away from the conditions and death – instead, she writes about them in an age-appropriate way that readers aged ten and over will be able to understand and comprehend. Jackie French’s ability to take little-known facts and spin an engaging story that educates and entertains is pure magic – and she has done it again with Secret Sparrow, a story that spans several decades as it moves in and out of 1917 and 1978 as Jean tells Arjun, the young boy, her story.

This meaningful story gives women a voice, and shows that they have always been part of history in so many ways – but there have been times that this has been hidden. Bringing it to life shows how important it is to remember these untold stories and keep them alive, to ensure that the contributions people like Jean made are remembered and valued. One thing that I love about Jackie French’s books is that they are always driven by a female character who isn’t always demure and willing to accept things as they are – they always want to make changes and act. The senses play a big part in this story, drawing the reader in, so you are there in the trenches, on the battlefield, hearing, feeling, and seeing everything that the characters do, and this enhances the reading experience.

If you are after a story about women and what they did in the First World War, and the stories that have been forgotten, then this is a great book to read.


Published 29th November 2023 by HarperCollins Australia

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