Book picks similar to
The Woman from Kerry by Anne Doughty


at-local-library
historical-fiction
irish
womens

The Early Birds


Laurie Graham - 2017
    The women are now in their seventies and time is rendering its Accounts Payable: arthritis, cataracts, forgetfulness, and departures.From the dawn of the new millennium - at which the anti-Christ unaccountably fails to appear, despite evangelist Gayle's predictions - Peggy soldiers on through new upheavals, including her ex-husband Vern's Alzheimer's diagnosis, and the death of one of her live-in friends. Then, on a clear blue day in September 2001, the US Air Force scrambles too late to save America from four hostile attacks, and for the first time Peggy wonders if being a USAF wife - the constant worry about your husband, the faraway postings in Alaska, Norfolk, Siberia, the lack of control over your own life - was worth it.You're getting very negative in your old age, Peggy Dewey, says Lois. Sure it was worthwhile. Leastways we're not speaking Russky. And besides, we had some fun. Didn't we have some fun?

The Jilted Earl


Kelly Anne Bruce - 2016
    It wasn't that she didn't want a husband, she just hated the crowds and false joy of the parties. And then when she finally met a man she knew she could love, he was quickly taken by another. She knew she was unremarkable compared to the other young women in society, but she still managed some hope that she would marry for love. Nicholas of Meadcaster was only an earl. This was the second strike against him at the moment. The first was that he had been quite ill - to the point of near death - and he was still recovering. His brother encouraged him to go to London to find a suitable wife. A wife who would care for him should his illness return. Nicholas makes some poor choices and Isabella is forgotten. When his choices haunt him, will Nicholas look for a new path or wallow in misery? Will Isabella find the courage to be bold and claim the man she is falling in love with?

Rising of a Mage


J.M. Fosberg - 2012
    He looked up at Anwar and smiled. "That is the name I will be known by in the magical world," Anwar said. Gabrielle nodded, sat down and began leafing through the book written by his former apprentice. When farm boy Anwar discovers he has the ability to use magic he goes to the local wizards guild for help. As apprentice to Master Gabrielle, he soon surpasses his teacher's skills and knowledge and becomes a formidable member of the City Guard. While studying the magic arts, he meets Mariah, apprenticed in the art of healing. Anwar discovers that the girl he has fallen in love with will fight by his side with sword, knife and bow. When their city is attacked by a horde of marauding goblins, Anwar becomes a local hero. After the senseless slaughter of his family, Anwar vows to hunt the evil in the world and protect those who cannot protect themselves. Anwar, Mariah and his best friend Jabaal take off in search of knowledge and adventure. It doesn't take long for them to find it.

Stars in the Southern Sky


Elizabeth Haran - 2003
    From its passionate people, to its mystic wildlife, the outback becomes its own character in Elizabeth Haran's novel about learning how to thrive in the face of adversity.London 1954: When Estella is abandoned by her lawyer husband, James, her life of luxury crumbles. Not only had he left his job and frittered away their savings, James was cheating on Estella - with her cousin Davinia. But the family secrets didn't end there.Heartbroken, Estella turns her back on England. Her distant uncle Charlie beckons her to Australia, where she accepts a new position - village veterinarian. She had studied veterinary medicine, but she'd never had a real job. As Estella sets off for the outback, she carries secrets of her own: she is pregnant with James' baby.Day one in the bush brings the young Londoner to tears. Kangaroo Crossing, population thirteen, was not what Estella had expected. Sweltering. Dusty. Fly-infested. From the gruff propeller plane pilot to the perpetually drunken town doctor, the locals eye the newcomer with suspicion.After a series of harrowing events, Estella strives to prove herself capable of the job. Just as the villagers of Kangaroo Crossing start to accept Estella - and a romance starts to blossom - her past catches up with her. She's been hiding things from them.Back in England, James has gotten wind of the baby. His new wife, Davinia, can't have children - but her lavish inheritance depends on an heir. James will stop at nothing to get what is his. Can Estella save her baby - and herself - from the wild Australian bush? Will she ever learn to love again?

A Saint For The Summer


Marjory McGinn - 2018
    Journalist Bronte McKnight is summoned to a hillside village in the wild and beautiful Mani region of Greece by her expat father Angus. She must help him solve a family mystery from the Second World War when his father disappeared in Greece during the disastrous Battle of Kalamata, known as ‘the Greek Dunkirk’. With the country gripped by economic crisis, and the clock ticking against them, their near-impossible quest takes them from Kalamata to a remote mountain village where its inhabitants are bound by old traditions and secrecy. As tensions rise, the pair are helped in their search by a cast of unforgettable characters, especially charismatic doctor Leonidas Papachristou. He has a pivotal role, not least in challenging Bronte’s assumption that she hasn’t the time or the courage to fall in love in Greece. The secrets unearthed by Angus and Bronte will be painful and astonishing and the heart-warming conclusion is one you'll never forget. “Marjory McGinn is a very gifted author.” (Peter Kerr, best-selling writer, Mallorcan Series) Why readers love A SAINT FOR THE SUMMER "An excellent book. I was hooked from the first page." "When I read this author's books, I walk the journeys and with this book, I am Bronte." "I loved the characters and found it all so moving." "A brilliant read … there is closure, reconciliation and the hope of new life." "Marjory is a wonderful author, very funny and entertaining."

A Rare Ruby


Dee Williams - 2002
    Forced to leave school and help her mother wash clothes, Ruby closes the door on her childhood. When she takes a job at the local laundry, Ruby enjoys the friendship of the other women there, but there's also bitchiness and jealousy amongst the workers. At home there's growing tension with the live-in landlord as Ruby grows into an attractive woman, but not the kind who's willing to use her charms to win favours. Ruby's heart belongs to one man only, a local boy she's known all her life, but there are many battles to be fought before they start a life together...

Deadly Justice


Chet Cunningham - 2014
    Justice. Only three or four people know who Mr. Justice really is. He hears about some injustice in the West and goes to that area to battle the bad guys to bring justice to the common man who can't fight for it himself. This book finds Mr. Justice defending a north county sheriff who is falsely accused of back shooting and killing a man. Lance goes to the town, finds an eye witness to the actual killing, gets the sheriff released, then goes on a three man hunting trip to bring the real killers to justice. It's a long and dangerous trip and his life and that of the accused killers hang in the balance when he blunders into a war between two feuding families. We don't know if he will survive, let alone get back to the county jail with his prisoner

Luck Be A Lady


Anna King - 2017
    Her peaceful childhood in Kent is devastated when her parents and younger brothers are taken by smallpox. When her cousin Richard offers to take her in, it seems an offer too tempting to refuse. But Richard’s bedridden sister is in need of constant attention, and when Rebecca moves into Richard’s house in London’s East End, Richard moves out. Luck, it seems, has been anything but a lady. And when Rebecca is attacked while out shopping, it seems that fate is far from finished with her. Then Rebecca is rescued by Jimmy Jackson, an East End bookie with deep brown eyes and rugged good looks. And as she gets to know him, she realises she has found that rarest of men: one who is as kind as he is attractive… For readers of Katie Flynn, Annie Groves, and Rosie Goodwin, Luck Be A Lady is a heartwarming East End saga.

A Daughter's Journey


Anna Jacobs - 2019
    She's not intending to stay long, but after tracking down her distant family, Jo becomes more involved in village life than she could ever have imagined - and suddenly in danger too.Jo also finds herself drawn to Nick, a handsome newcomer to the village. Nick had planned to settle in Birch End and start a business, but as he grows closer to Jo, he realises he may have to choose between his dreams and a chance at love.Meanwhile, the new local council are faced with some tough decisions of their own. It's time to take a stand against the poor conditions in Backshaw Moss, the nearby slum, but some councillors want things to stay as they are - and will go to any lengths to make sure they get their way . . .Will the decent people of the valley win a brighter future for themselves? And can Jo find a way to stay with Nick in a place she's grown to love?

The Ticket


Debra Coleman Jeter - 2015
    R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up, the Weather Underground bombs the U.S. State Department, and Bill Gates founds Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As Communist forces take Saigon and the Vietnam War winds down, Tray Dunaway, an ordinary teenager from a poor Southern family, longs to become part of the popular clique at school.Tray's mother, Evelyn, lies in bed most days with her bipolar tendency toward extreme highs or desperate lows. Meanwhile, Tray's grandmother Ginny, still grieving over the loss of her husband, would love to move out and find a place of her own. Maybe even a bit of romance to replace the loss she feels. But given the sorry state of the family's finances that's not possible.Then the Dunaways' luck changes. Or so it seems.Tray's father drives a down-and-out friend of the family, Pee Wee Johnson, to Hazard, Illinois, so Johnson can buy lottery tickets. As a gesture of thanks, Johnson gives a ticket to Tray's father. And what do you know? The Dunaways' are suddenly rich.When Johnson demands his cut of the winnings, Tray's dad refuses. As Evelyn's illness spirals toward madness, Johnson threatens the family. Out of time, Tray makes one poor decision after another until what initially seemed like a stroke of good fortune quickly becomes a dangerous game of life and death for the Dunaways.

Before the Fall (Irish Trilogy, #2)


Orna Ross - 2012
    "A highly ambitious, engaging, and evocative novel and a hauntingly captivating read." -The Sunday IndependentWhat happens when a woman is haunted by the sins of her foremothers–and the men who betrayed them?Facing the birth of her child, and single motherhood, Jo Devereux has spent the last six months in Mucknamore, the Irish village she fled twenty years ago.A trunk of letters and diaries left by her grandmother and great-aunt has revealed a heartbreaking legacy of bitter secrets that have haunted the women of her family for four generations.Now she must find out the ultimate truth: What other secrets and lies lie under her mother’s and grandmother’s unshakeable silence? How does it connect with her failed life as a gender-bending agony aunt in San Franciso? And what of Rory… her lost love, son of her family’s sworn enemies?Will Jo’s mission to uncover the past unlock a possible future together? Or are they about to lose everything all over again?As she pieces together the poisonous fragments of the past, Jo must now face into the guilt and shame that were her legacy and see how she might best redeem them in her own life.

Stormbird: A Preview (Wars Of The Roses, #1)


Conn Iggulden - 2013
    The appearance and contents of this proof may not resemble the finished book and under no circumstances may it or any of its contents be reproduced before publication of the finished book without the publisher's consent.'Comes with a set of five artwork postcards introducing the reader to four of the main characters.

The Baby Snatchers


Mary Creighton - 2017
    You've sowed the seed of Satan. You are nothing.'Mary Creighton was just 15 when she found herself pregnant out of wedlock, in 1960s Ireland. She dreamed of a happy life with her child, but that was shattered when she was sent away to Castlepollard - a home for mothers and their unborn babies.Stripped of their clothes and forced into gruelling work whilst pregnant, those who survived childbirth were made to force-feed their children for adoption into wealthy families. Babies were ripped out of their mother's hands, but Mary refused to let that happen to her. She managed to escape only to later lose her beautiful daughter to social services and the meddling nuns... who always managed to catch up with her. After spending time in an infamous Magdalene Laundry, and having another two children snatched away, Mary sought to find her lost children, and demand answers for the atrocities committed supposedly in God's name.This is a haunting account of a mother's worst nightmare, as Mary continues to fight for justice for the mothers who suffered there and the babies of Castlepollard: hundreds of which died and are still buried in the grounds today.

The Trail of Roses


Donna C. Keenan - 2013
    A helpful stranger becomes their worst enemy and sickness, death and madness fill their days and nights. Teenagers Rebecca and Sarah Williams must try to survive and get themselves to help or die alone out in the vast plain that is now Wyoming.

Expecting Jeeves


P.G. Wodehouse - 2016
    Originally published in The Strand magazine from 1918 to 1922 and later collected as The Inimitable Jeeves, these ten tales by comedic master P. G. Wodehouse abound in sparkling wit. "Scoring off Jeeves" recounts a lunch with Aunt Agatha ("A pretty frightful ordeal … Practically the nearest thing to being disemboweled."), who insists that Bertie propose to Honaria Glossop ("simply nothing more nor less than a pot of poison"), necessitating Jeeves' rescue of the perennial bachelor ("and according to my nearest and dearest, practically a half-witted bachelor at that"). Other stories include "The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace," featuring Bertie's frolicsome cousins ("as innocuous as a pair of sprightly young tarantulas"); "Aunt Agatha Takes the Count," involving our hero's formidable relative and her intrusion upon his vacation in the south of France; and "Comrade Bingo," in which Bertie's school chum masquerades as a Bolshevist and Jeeves comes very near to being rattled.