On New Year’s Day 1925 Ivy Rose Murphy awakes to find her world changed forever. Her irresponsible Da is dead. She is grief – stricken and alone but for the first time in her life free to please herself. After her mother deserted the family, Ivy became the sole provider for her Da and three brothers. As she visits the morgue to pay her respects to her Da, a chance meeting introduces Ivy to a new world of money and privilege, her mother’s world. Ivy is suddenly a woman on a mission to improve herself and her lot in life.
Not my favorite I checked the other reviews of this book, and was a bit surprised. I don’t mind books that lend themselves to sequels, but each one should stand alone. Too many unanswered questions – a woman’s death not reported by the story’s supposed heroes, the sudden arrival of a child, the failure of Ann Marie’s family to question her involvement – just didn’t make sense to me. The insight into impoverished Ireland might have been genuine; I lack the historical knowledge to comment on that.
Disappointed A look into the lives of poor Irish people during the 1920’s living hand to mouth in destitution was captivating to start, but deteriorated into a melodrama as the story began to become a bit unrealistic. Would a wealthy, naive spinster really want to befriend a poor, ragged nobody and spread her wealth among theÂ
Gemma Jackson gives the reader a wide-open look into the lives of the Irish poor of the early 20th century A remarkable book. Gemma Jackson gives the reader a wide-open look into the lives of the Irish poor of the early 20th century; without relying on the usual tear-jerker, “pity the poor” kind of writing. Not at all. While the back streets of Dublin are described with attention to realistic detail (just how did you imagine a woman actually “relieved” herself while hampered by all those clothes, and without indoor plumbing, after all?), the book is up-beat and hopeful from beginning…