I read A Family Affair by Claire Lynch in May and was shocked to discover a piece of history I knew nothing about – the removal of children from lesbian mothers in custody cases as recently as the 1990s – through a short and perfectly formed novel.

This is the story of Dawn, who falls in love with Hazel in the early 1980s whilst married to Heron, and her daughter Maggie. Maggie has been brought up by her father since she was 3 and in the present day in her forties is shocked to discover her true history, the secret her father kept from her and the enormity of what he did when he fought for sole custody, claiming Dawn was an unfit mother for being gay. All the more so because Maggie finds out by accident and because of her close relationship with her father, recently diagnosed with cancer. Maggie’s story of coming to terms with who she is and the mother she lost is interspersed with Dawn’s story from 40 years before and the pain of fighting to keep her daughter and losing.

This is sobering and powerful reading and is bringing this history into the light. I am very glad I read it.