You may not have heard of Dorinda Balchin, but she is a novelist with a growing following amongst readers who love historical fiction. Dorinda is someone who has always had a love of history from reading novels as a child, through her university studies and on to years spent as a teacher. Her twin passions for the past and for education have naturally come together in her writing as a historical novelist. As Dorinda explains, a novel can educate as well as entertain, as long as it has a good plotline woven into a background which is well researched and grounded in historical fact.

Dorinda’s series of novels, The Wars of Jenny McLeod, is a perfect example of this, melding fact with fiction. The action takes place during the Second World War and the years that follow, and Dorinda’s love of history is clear in the depth of her research into the events she writes about. Her novel, No Job for a Woman, is no exception with its wide range of characters giving an understanding of the politics of the time as they live through the lead up to war, the early battles in North Africa, and beyond. Yet this is not a dry history book. The characters are engaging and the reader genuinely cares about what is happening to them.

As a keen historian Dorinda has a particular focus is writing war-time historical fiction. She has always been fascinated by the way conflict brings out the best, and worst, in people and so her books are a blend of historical events and the personal angle – how this particular war impacts on the protagonist’s family and friends. Dorinda uses the characters in her novels to explore the full range of human emotions, from love and loyalty to persecution and loss. The divisions caused by politics within communities, and even families, is obvious when writing a book set during a World War but, as Dorinda explains, those feelings remain as true today as they were almost a century ago. We only have to look at the divisions in the world today to see that nothing really changes and that, when a battle has been won or lost, it is almost as difficult to win the peace.

For her current project, Dorinda has returned to writing about the Second World War, which was the focus of her debut novel, Heronfield. The series of five novels follows Jenny McLeod, a female war correspondent, through North Africa, Burma and Europe. The first three novels have already been published, and research is underway on the final chapters of Jenny’s story.

If you are a lover of historical fiction with strong plotlines and believable characters, then Dorinda Balchin is a writer to watch.