A Spoonful of Jam

by Michelle Magorian Book 2 in the Hollis Family Books series.

First published 1998

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4.0(876)

In the summer of 1947, Elsie Hollis is a scholarship pupil at a girls’ grammar school and an outsider in almost every part of her life. Bullied by other pupils and neglected by a father absorbed in his own disappointments, she finds refuge when a local theatre company offers her work and a place among people who recognise her intelligence and imagination.

The second Hollis Family novel portrays childhood during post-war austerity, when rationing, class distinctions and the lingering effects of war shape domestic life. Elsie’s growing confidence does not come through a simple escape from her family, but through learning to resist cruelty, form independent friendships and understand the complicated adults around her.