Marginalia: 'I don’t want to hurt, I want to hope'

Delicious book chat with Francesca Segal: balancing books and motherhood; comfort reading; the joys of the 19th century novel, and the Tuga trilogy.

Welcome to Marginalia — my ‘from the front-line-of-motherhood’ round-up of the very best things I have been trying to read whilst looking after my two young sons, which is available to all of my paid subscribers.

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Hot Mum Summer Reading List 2025

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The Ultimate Escapist Reads

If you are looking for books which provide escape hatch, I can think of none better than Welcome to Glorious Tuga and Island Calling, the first two installments of Francesca Segal’s gorgeous new series about a far-flung British overseas territory. The books follow zoologist, Charlotte Walker — who travels to remote, tropical Tuga on a research fellowship — and is quickly (and willingly) entangled in the island’s warm-hearted community (and an unexpected love triangle).

These novels have been described as ‘a modern day Jane Austen’ and this is apt – they have all the best qualities of the literary classics. There’s certainly a sprinkling of Austen’s sparkling social comedy and shrewd observation; plotting reminiscent of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, which follows intertwined lives and everyday dramas of a community, and the kind of good old-fashioned, third-person narration that gives the reader the reassuring sense of being in the hands of a seasoned storyteller.

This, combined with the trilogy’s lush, balmy setting — sandy beaches and jewelled rainforests — makes for the ultimate escapist read. And yet — this book is more than beachside romance and soapiness. Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of time for frothy, mojito-drenched, sun-lounger reads but the Tuga books offer the reader something richer, and more emotionally resonant. It isn't fantasy that these books give the reader, but something more vital – a vision of how good the world can be. And, of course, the delicious weather doesn’t hurt.

A few weeks ago I met Francesca for coffee in the British Library’s Members Room. We chatted about balancing reading and motherhood, as well as the delights of reading literary classics and the influence of these books on Welcome to Glorious Tuga and Island Calling.

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A Delicious Conversation About Books with Francesca Segal

Tell me a little about your specific juggle when it comes to motherhood, reading and writing?

Reading for me has always been, even before children, like a muscle that had to be worked. I’ve always gone through phases where my reading has atrophied because of life or other influences, or stress or fatigue. At other times when I've practiced and worked that muscle and it feels stronger, and I'm accustomed to the habit of grabbing the book or putting my headphones in, my reading is really, really intensive. Those are always the richest, happiest times. This makes it sound joyless, but the preparation for it does almost feel like exercise! It needs to be worked and practiced, in order to extract maximum joy! When I’m out of it, I always feel desperate and a bit deflated.

I always think reading is not necessarily about making time but about being in the habit, having a book with you and having the idea of reading in your mind.