Marita Conlon-McKenna je autorka, ktorej diela sa ponárajú do kľúčových období írskej histórie, najmä do Veľkého írskeho hladomoru. Jej písanie sa vyznačuje hlbokým porozumením historickým udalostiam a ich dopadu na jednotlivcov, najmä na deti. Conlon-McKenna dokáže prenikavo vykresliť témy ako strata, odolnosť a hľadanie identity v náročných časoch. Jej schopnosť spojiť historickú presnosť s emocionálnym rozprávaním z nej robí významnú postavu v literatúre pre deti a mládež.
The first book in the famine trilogyUnder the Hawthorn Tree is Ireland's top selling children's book and a classic for young readers worldwide. Set during the Irish famine, it follows three children as they travel across the country to find their family.
Maggie Ryan can't help it! She constantly finds herself organizing and meddling in the lives of others, trying to match things and people together, from her neighbours in Dublin's Pleasant Square to her own family. With three bright, beautiful daughters who are still single Maggie decides that a little romantic matching is needed.
But as she finds herself drawn to the old neglected and overgrown walled rose garden and the dilapidated gardener's cottage attached, shesuddenly sees a future as shedecides to restore them. As the rose garden takes on a new life and starts to bloom again, Molly finds that she can look to the future with new confidence and hope.
The second book in the famine trilogy At seven, Peggy made a terrifying journey through famine-stricken Ireland. Now thirteen, and determined to make a new life for herself, she sets off alone to America ...
This is the final book in the "Famine trilogy". For Eily, Michael and Peggy the memory of the famine is still strong. But Mary-Brigid, Eily's first child, has the future to look forward to. What kind of future is it? Ireland is in turmoil, with evictions, burnings, secret meetings, fights over land. Eily and her family may be thrown off their farm. Michael may lose his job in the big house. And Peggy, in America, feels trapped in her role as a maid. Will they ever have land and a home they can call their own? Eily, Michael and Peggy have once shown great courage. Now this courage is called on again!
This is the story of a young Irish girl growing up in Connemara in 1950 whose existence is irrevocably changed when she becomes pregnant and is sent to the home for fallen women in Dublin, the Magdalen Laundry.
The orphanage is the only home Blue has ever known. She is desperate to find out who she really is. The closed file in stern Sister Regina's office holds the secret of her identity. And that is forbidden territory ...
Katie's whole world is turned upside down when her family's home is destroyed by fire. Everything they had is gone, and instead of pulling together it seems as though her family is falling apart.
"Following the disastrous failure of Ireland's potato crop, the people of Skibbereen and West Cork are soon faced with unprecedented disaster. Hunger, disease and death stalk the roads, fields and farms, the cottages and cabins, during Ireland's Great Famine. Mary Sullivan's dreams of a better future are shattered in 1845 with the arrival of the strange blight which destroys their potato crop. Refusing to give in to despair, she must use every ounce of courage and strength to protect her family as she and her husband and children fight to survive. Dr Dan Donovan is Medical Officer to the Skibbereen Union. The arrival of 'the hunger' soon brings starving men, women and children crowding into the town and the workhouse desperate for help. His wife Henrietta does her best to support him but her life is thrown into turmoil when friends and then her own family fall victim to fever. Meanwhile, Parish priest Rev John Fitzpatrick's faith is tested by the suffering and hardship endured by the starving families all around him. The story of this one town and its people mirrors the story of towns and villages all across Ireland during 'The Great Hunger'."--Publisher description
This novel is a story of love, loss and the power of sisterhood and family relationships to survive the deepest hurts and secrets.