AN AWARD-WINNING AND REMARKABLE IRISH NOVELIST
‘A superior type of romantic novel . . . quasi-intelligent and discursive’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
‘Writes with almost poetic intensity of the ecstasy and anguish of love’ VAL HENNESSY
‘A description of a bull-fight that rivals Hemingway . . . dramatic . . . smooth’ KIRKUS REVIEWS
Mary Lavelle, a beautiful young Irish woman, travels to Spain to see some of the world before marrying her steadfast Fiance John. But despite the enchanting surroundings and her three charming charges, life as governess to the wealthy Areavaga family is lonely and she is homesick.
Then comes the arrival of the family’s handsome, passionate – and married – son Juanito and Mary’s loyalties and beliefs are challenged. Falling in love with Juanito and with Spain, Mary finds herself at the heart of a family and a nation divided.
‘A superior type of romantic novel . . . quasi-intelligent and discursive’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
‘Writes with almost poetic intensity of the ecstasy and anguish of love’ VAL HENNESSY
‘A description of a bull-fight that rivals Hemingway . . . dramatic . . . smooth’ KIRKUS REVIEWS
Mary Lavelle, a beautiful young Irish woman, travels to Spain to see some of the world before marrying her steadfast Fiance John. But despite the enchanting surroundings and her three charming charges, life as governess to the wealthy Areavaga family is lonely and she is homesick.
Then comes the arrival of the family’s handsome, passionate – and married – son Juanito and Mary’s loyalties and beliefs are challenged. Falling in love with Juanito and with Spain, Mary finds herself at the heart of a family and a nation divided.
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Reviews
A superior type of romantic novel . . . quasi-intelligent and discursive, colourful and unorthodox
She writes with almost poetic intensity of the ecstasy and anguish of love
There's some brilliant and powerful writing . . . a description of a bull-fight that rivals Hemingway . . . dramatic . . . smooth. It's a grand job. She deserves to be better known, as few are doing more significant work
With characteristic elegance and subtlety, Kate O'Brien, one of Ireland's most beloved writers, illuminates the anguish and ecstasies of a young woman at the heart of a family and a nation divided
Its captivating account of a young Irish woman's year as a governess in Spain in 1922 bowled me over with its weave of flawless prose, in-depth casting and mesmerising plot, all in service of its heartbroken story of illicit love
