You can escape a place. But you can't escape yourself. Hanna flees the scene of a terrible crime in her native Sligo. If she can just vanish, re-invent herself under a new name, perhaps the police won't catch up with her. London seems the perfect place to disappear. Lara has always loved Matthew and imagined happy married life in Dublin. Then comes the bombshell – Matthew says he wants to join the priesthood. Humiliated and broken-hearted, Lara heads to the most godless place she can find, King's Road, Chelsea. Matthew's twin sister, Noreen, could not be more different from her brother. She does love fiance John, but she also craves sex, parties and fun. Swinging London has it all, but without John, Noreen is about to get way out of her depth. All three girls find themselves working for Bobby Chevron – one of London's most feared gangland bosses – and it's not long before their new lives start to unravel.
When Ava manages to seduce the gorgeous Irish singer, Patrick, after a gig in New York, she can't quite believe her luck. Can it really be true that he loves and wants to marry her? She knows that his first great love, Rose, broke his heart by marrying someone else. When they move back to Ireland and Ava sees Rose, jealousy begins to grip her. Worse is to come, when she intercepts a letter from Rose to Patrick and her anger starts to spiral.
Grace's mother Eileen is a great list maker, so when Grace walks into Eileen's kitchen and sees her garish 'To Do' pad, she thinks nothing of it - until she sneaks a look. There, at No 8, ranked in importance below bread, telephone bill and bins is 'Tell G I have ovarian cancer, probably terminal'. Grace goes into shock, primarily at the thought that her mother is dying, but also at the fact that her mother simply couldn't tell her to her face. Eileen has been brought up in rural Ireland in the 1950s, in thrall to the rules of her community. So she's had little time for herself and even now finds it impossible to put her own problems and desires to the fore. It is only when Grace confronts her that she is able to go back over her past to find memories of happiness and unbearable tragedy that have coloured her life forever...
Glamorous, gripping and moving. I just loved it' MARIAN KEYES. Joy is beautiful, but she has a secret fear. Although she is the toast of 1950s New York Society, with everything money can buy, she is afraid that one day her beauty will fade and she will lose the love of her glamorous husband. Honor is a young seamstress, who has been working her fingers to the bone with little reward, but her luck is about to change. For her 30th birthday, Joy commissions Honor to create the the most dazzling dress ever seen. Lily has always loved vintage clothes. Thousands follow her fashion blog. One day she stumbles upon an article about a legendary evening dress, created in the 1950s, but now lost to history. She knows that she must find out more. What Lily uncovers is a story of glamour, friendship and love betrayed. The story of two women, one ruthless man – and a dress so sublime, nothing in couture would ever match it again.
How do you break your daughter's heart? Little Miracle is a poignant, but ultimately uplifting, novel that reveals a unique relationship between a mother and her daughter, and tells of a woman whose life has been restricted by the mores of duty, honour, and religion. Growing up in 1950s rural Ireland, young Eileen is bound by the unspoken rules of her tight-knit community: church, virtue and family above all else. So when Eileen, in thrall to the church, falls pregnant, she gives her beloved baby up for adoption. Forty years pass and Eileen still harbours her secret. That is, until she is diagnosed with terminal cancer and her daughter, Grace, discovers the brother she never knew she had by chance. Grace tries to persuade her mother to reconcile, but crippled with years of loss, Eileen cannot break the spell of shame and regret. *Originally published as The Miracle of Grace*
Ellie and John are inseparable. There is nothing that will tear them apart. Marrying young despite their families’ objections and surviving a poverty-stricken Ireland, they have each other. When John is injured in the War of Independence, their love is tested when Ellie ‘emigrates for one short year’ to pay for his vital operation. Overwhelmed by the seductive energy and promise America offers, Ellie finds herself drawn to the compelling freedom she experiences in Jazz Age New York. When the year is up, Ellie chooses to stay, returning to Ireland only when her father dies. Reunited with her beloved she realises that freedom isn’t a gift from another country, it comes from within. In the 1930s, events compel Ellie to return to New York. Hoping the city’s energy and vibrancy will distract her from thoughts of home she is shocked to find the Depression has rendered the city unrecognisable. Horrified by the suffering around her, Ellie pledges to help and pours her energy into providing a refuge for the homeless. Until, one day, someone she thought she’d never see again steps through her door. It seems that even the Atlantic isn’t big enough to prevent the past catching up with her . . .
An uplifting, inspiring and heart-warming story of a woman truly ahead of her time. Of loves lost and found, of courage and determination. It is the 1930s and when her beloved husband, John, suddenly dies, young Ellie Hogan decides to leave Ireland and return to New York. She hopes that the city's vibrancy will distract her from her grief. But the Depression has rendered the city unrecognisable - gone is the energy and party atmosphere that Ellie once fell in love with, ten years before. Ellie plunges headfirst into a new life pouring all her passion and energy into running a home and refuge for the homeless. In return they give her the kind of love, support and friendship she needs to try and overcome her grief. Until, one day, someone she thought she'd never see again steps through her door. It seems that even the Atlantic isn't big enough to prevent the tragedies of the past catching up with her . . . The heart-rending but inspiring follow-up to TV Book Club bestseller ELLIS ISLAND.
The heartrending and inspiring sequel to Ellis Island, Kate Kerrigan's City of Hope is an uplifting story of a woman truly ahead of her time When her beloved husband suddenly dies, young Ellie Hogan decides to leave Ireland and return to New York, where she worked in the 1920s. She hopes that the city will distract her from her anguish. But the Great Depression has rendered the city unrecognizable. Gone are the magic and ambiance that once captured Ellie's imagination. Plunging headfirst into a new life, Ellie pours her passion and energy into running a refuge for the homeless. Her calling provides the love, support, and friendship she needs in order to overcome her grief—until, one day, someone Ellie never thought she'd see again steps through her door. It seems that even the vast Atlantic Ocean isn't enough to keep the tragedies of the past from catching up with her.
Aileen Doherty is leaving her sheltered life on the island of Illaunmor for the first time, to go tattie picking for the summer in Scotland with her father and brothers. Then she meets the irresistible Jimmy Walsh, who falls for flame-haired Aileen the moment he sets eyes on her. Spending each day working side by side, the two fall passionately in love, until their happiness is cruelly cut short by a tragic accident, changing their young lives forever. Back on Illaunmor, Aileen finds solace in reviving an abandoned garden. Gradually, through the magic of hope, she brings the garden back to life - and herself with it. But it takes a true miracle to finally heal her broken heart.
This story is written with so much heart, its beat is palpable in every word on every page' Cecelia Ahern, author of P.S. I Love You. New York food writer Tressa returns from honeymoon worried that she has married her impossibly handsome new husband Dan out of late-thirties panic instead of love. In 1930's Ireland, her grandmother, Bernadine, is married off to the local schoolteacher after her family are unable to raise a dowry for her to marry her true love, Michael. During the first year of her marriage, Tressa distracts herself from her stay-or-go dilemma by working on her grandmother's recipes, searching for solace and answers through their preparation. Through the stories of these two women The Perfect Marriage challenges the modern ideal of romantic love as a given and ponders whether true love can really be learned. *Originally published as Recipes for a Perfect Marriage.*
WINNER OF RNA HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVEL OF THE YEAR. This is the story of three women and one charismatic man. A glamorous historical romance, perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy. It is 1950s New York, the time of dance halls, swing bands and the beginning of rock and roll. In The Emerald, Ava Brogan dances the night away, knowing that she will never be pretty like the other Irish girls there, wishing her mother wouldn't keep plotting to find her a husband. Here, too, Sheila Klein, Holocaust orphan, dreams of finding a star and making her name in the music industry. Tough and cynical, she has never let her heart be broken by any man. Enter Patrick Murphy, with a sublime voice, a hit song in his back pocket and charisma to burn. Ava and Sheila's worlds are about to be turned upside down. They do not know that Patrick's first great love from Ireland is on her way to New York – determined to find and get her man at all costs. Beautiful Rose is used to getting what she wants in life and that's not about to change any time soon. What people are saying about ONLY EVER YOU: 'Kate Kerrigan has exactly captured the emotion and consuming passion of first love. Truly lovely' 'I absolutely loved this book, it is pure romance' 'This was my first introduction to Kate Kerrigan, but before I even picked up the book I knew I'd been missing out!' 'A classic love story with a musical twist' *Originally published as It Was Only Ever You.
New York Times bestselling author Kate Kerrigan brings Dublin’s past vividly alive in her heart-wrenching short story about the forbidden passion between a soldier and a rebel, and the woman years later who discovers their secret. When British soldier Clive Postlethwaite wandered into Dublin’s National Gallery, falling in love with a fiery Irish girl was the last thing on his mind. As soon as he meets Eileen O’Hara, he’s instantly enthralled with her humor and beauty. But the Irish Republicans are rebelling against Home Rule every day, and Clive and Eileen may be forced to choose sides, forever. Originally published in the moving collection Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War, this e-book also includes an excerpt from Kerrigan’s novel Ellis Island, available now.
In this Christmas short story, Kate Kerrigan revisits the glamorous 1920s New York first portrayed in her latest novel, Ellis Island. Mae is a young Irish servant. She's left her family back home and is earning money as a ladies' maid to a wealthy socialite, Isobel. Mae looks up to the beautiful Isobel – she has the most amazing wardrobe, an enchanting life full of engagements and parties, more money than sense. But Mae's boss, Mrs Flannery, warns Mae against getting too swept up by Isobel. She mustn’t get 'above herself'. But Mae dreams of a life beyond that of a servant . . . If you love Susan Howatch, you'll love Kate Kerrigan
Mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved... 18-year-old Samantha Brown sits in a hand-me-down car with the keys clutched in her hand. Caught between a yearning for the unknown and feeling bound by expectation, she telescopes back to a time before her world had fallen apart. As she relives her senior year, we meet Sam’s well-intentioned helicopter mother Bev and her high school sweetheart of a boyfriend Adam, but it’s her painfully alive best friend Kelly that haunts her. Kelly was everything Sam is not – impetuous and daring. She pushed Sam to break rules and do the unexpected. When Kelly’s killed in a car wreck, Sam loses not only her best friend but also the part of herself that was learning to be brave. Now, Sam has to make a decision. Will she follow her mother’s dreams for her, or will she summon the courage to drive away from her friends and family into a future she can’t imagine?
This novel tells the stories of Tressa, a food writer who fears she has married in a late-30s panic, and her Irish grandmother, married off for financial reasons in the 1930s to the local schoolteacher.
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