Suzanne Leal is the author of novels The Watchful Wife, The Teacher's Secret and The Deceptions, winner of the Nib People's Choice Prize. Her time-travel novel for middle-grade readers, Running with Ivan, is on the Children's Book Council of Australia Notables List for Young Readers and was shortlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize and the NSW Premier's History Awards. 

An experienced facilitator and interviewer, Suzanne is the founder of Thursday Book Club, a relaxed book club connecting readers online.  Suzanne's new novel for middle-grade readers is The Year We Escaped, an adventure story set in WWII France.  www.suzanneleal.com

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

I'd have dinner with Jane Austen because she would be such fabulous company.