Best Book Forward

Julie Owen Moylan on Elizabeth & Marilyn | Best Book Forward Podcast
What an incredible way to kick off a brand new season of Best Book Forward.
In this episode, I’m joined by novelist Julie Owen Moylan to talk about her stunning new historical novel, Elizabeth & Marilyn. Set in the summer of 1956, the book reimagines the extraordinary moment when two of the most famous women in the world, Marilyn Monroe and Queen Elizabeth II, were, incredibly, neighbours in Windsor.
We explore:
The real historical backdrop behind Elizabeth & Marilyn
Writing historical fiction about real-life figures
Balancing emotional truth with historical accuracy
The pressures of fame and life in the public eye
The shared vulnerabilities of two 20th-century icons

Julie shares how she approached portraying Marilyn and Elizabeth as complex, human women rather than untouchable symbols, and how themes of autonomy, identity, ambition, and resilience run through the novel.
If you love historical fiction, stories about iconic women, or thoughtful conversations about the writing process, this episode is for you.
📚 By Julie Owen Moylan
Elizabeth & Marilyn
Circus of Mirrors
73 Dove Street
That Green Eyed Girl

✨ Books Mentioned
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck
I’ll be back next week with another author conversation, and I’d love for you to join me for that too.
In the meantime, if you’ve enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review Best Book Forward, and don’t forget to tell your friends... it really helps new listeners discover the show.
See you tomorrow, and happy listening.
Listen & Subscribe Now:
https://best-book-forward.captivate.fm/listen
To stay in touch with Best Book Forward news please follow me on Instagram @bestbookforward or visit my website: https://bestbookforward.org/

🎙️ Best Book Forward – Season 5 Trailer
A brand new season of Best Book Forward is almost here.
Join host Helen for another chapter of bookish conversation, where each week she sits down with authors to explore the books that have shaped their lives—think a literary take on Desert Island Discs.
📅 Season 5 launches: Thursday 2nd April
📚 What’s coming: 8 weeks of brilliant author interviews and irresistible book recommendations
🔍 This season, expect…
A dangerously blurred line between patient and therapist
Moral dilemmas that will make you question your own choices
The chilling idea that every crime begins with someone’s child…
A novel from this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist
A journey to the Suffolk countryside filled with new beginnings and unexpected romance
A glimpse into the lives of two of history’s most iconic women
A sweeping historical romance crossing oceans, cultures, and timelines
A glamorous 70th birthday party… that ends in murder

👀 Can you guess the authors?
The first episode drops on Thursday 2nd April—and if you’re subscribed, it’ll be ready and waiting.
🎧 Listen & Subscribe
https://best-book-forward.captivate.fm/listen
📲 Stay Connected
Follow on Instagram: @bestbookforward
Website: https://bestbookforward.org/

Well I can’t quite believe it but this is the final episode in this Season. I have had so much fun recording these episodes and I really hope that you have enjoyed it too.
We’re ending the Season on a complete high as I am delighted to welcome the incredible Ruth Ware to the show. In this episode, Ruth takes us back to The Woman in Cabin 10 before talking about how readers were desperate to find out more from Lo, and how the moment of inspiration came for The Woman in Suite 11. We talk about her writing life, what it was like to see Kiera Knightely bring Lo Blacklock to the screen and we get a little glimpse into what she is working on now.
And of course, no episode of Best Book Forward would be complete without book recommendations! Here’s everything we mentioned, with links to buy:
📚 By Ruth Ware
The Woman in Suite 11
The Woman in Cabin 10
The Turn of the Key
✨ The Five Books That Shaped Ruth’s Life
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
Wide Sargasso by Jean Rhys
On Writing by Stephen King
✨ Other Books Mentioned
Marple
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
And that’s a wrap for Season 4. Thank you so much to my wonderful guests; Jane Fallon, Ellie Levenson, Nicola Gill, Alexandra Potter, Emma Steele, Jennie Godfrey and Ruth Ware.
I’m currently hard at work on Season 5 and I hope to be able to share it with you soon. If you have subscribed to the show you’ll get a notification whenever a new episode lands. If you haven’t yet, I would be so grateful if you could please subscribe, rate, and review Best Book Forward, and don’t forget to tell your friends... it really helps new listeners discover the show.
Thanks for listening and see you soon.
Listen & Subscribe Now:
https://best-book-forward.captivate.fm/listen
To stay in touch with Best Book Forward news please follow me on Instagram @bestbookforward or visit my website: https://bestbookforward.org/

What a joy it was to chat to Jennie Godfrey, I could have happily chatted for another hour. Jennie’s new book The Barbecue at No. 9 is out today and it is fabulous. One you absolutely do not want to miss.
No episode of Best Book Forward would be complete without book recommendations! Here’s everything we mentioned, with links to buy:
📚 By Jennie Godfrey
The List of Suspicious Things
The Barbecue at No. 9
📚 The Books that have shaped Jennie
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp (currently unavailable on bookshop.org)
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
To Kill a Mockingbird
Persuasion by Jane Austen
I’ll be back next week with the last in this season, don’t worry more are on the way, I’d love for you to join me for that too.
In the meantime, if you’ve enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review Best Book Forward, and don’t forget to tell your friends... it really helps new listeners discover the show.
See you tomorrow, and happy listening.
Listen & Subscribe Now:
https://best-book-forward.captivate.fm/listen
To stay in touch with Best Book Forward news please follow me on Instagram @bestbookforward or visit my website: https://bestbookforward.org/

This was such a fun conversation with Emma Steele, we’ve been chatting online for a while so it really felt like catching up with a friend. In this episode we talk about Emma’s fabulous new novel, The Love of Our Lives, her writing life, what draws her to write speculative fiction and of course the five books that shaped her life (well there were a few more than 5).
And of course, no episode of Best Book Forward would be complete without book recommendations! Here’s everything we mentioned, with links to buy:
📚 By Emma Steele
The Love of Our Lives
The Echoes of Us
📚 The Books that have shaped Emma
After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
✨ Books Mentioned
Someone Else's Shoes by JoJo Moyes
Land by Maggie O'Farrell
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Night Road by Kristin Hannah

I’ll be back next week with another author conversation, and I’d love for you to join me for that too.
In the meantime, if you’ve enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and review Best Book Forward, and don’t forget to tell your friends... it really helps new listeners discover the show.
See you tomorrow, and happy listening.
Listen & Subscribe Now:
https://best-book-forward.captivate.fm/listen
To stay in touch with Best Book Forward news please follow me on Instagram @bestbookforward or visit my website: https://bestbookforward.org/