Emily Hourican – författare

''A gloriously good read'' Sunday Independent LIFESURROUNDED BY WEALTH, GLAMOUR AND EXCITEMENTLady Honor Guinness is a reluctant wallflower. But that all changes when she marries Henry ''Chips'' Channon, a charming and ambitious American. On his arm, she finds herself at the heart of 1930s London''s most elite social circles, mingling with aristocrats, politicians and royalty. But it''s not too long before Chips begins toprioritise his aspirations over all else, and Honor begins to wonder who exactly she has married.By her side is her best friend Doris, a young woman eager to establish her place in society. A social butterfly who keeps the details of her family background to herself, Doris is hopeful her beauty and charm will win her a suitable husband, but she has no interest in a romantic attachment. Until she is introduced to ''the most devastating man in London''.Inspired by true-life events, The Other Guinness Girl: A Question of Honor is an elegant, captivating story of two young women navigating friendship, loneliness, love and desire as they try to find their places in a society where the rules seem to change every moment.PRAISE FOR THE GUINNESS GIRLS NOVELS''Utterly captivating ... an absolute page-turner'' IRISH INDEPENDENT''Masterfully and glamorously told'' SUNDAY BUSINESS POST''Fans of Downton Abbey will adore this'' SUNDAY TIMES

''Perfect for fans of The Crown and Downton Abbey '' Hazel Gaynor, bestselling author of The Last Lifeboat''A breathtaking, glamorous and escapist read'' Irish TimesLondon 1938: Daughter of the US ambassador, Kathleen ''Kick'' Kennedy is a huge hit in society''s most elite circles, though she isn''t always sure she fits in. While Kick is falling for duke-in-waiting Billy Cavendish, a man her parents will never let her marry, across the city Lady Brigid Guinness has no interest in love or society connections. But her ambitious brother-in-law has other ideas and seems determined to engineer a match with a German prince.When they are invited to an exclusive gathering at a country estate, the young women soon form an unlikely friendship: the stuck-up aristocrat and the brash American. Then Billy and Prince Fritzi join the party, and tensions rise as Kick and Brigid discover that beneath the group''s façade of politeness, nothing is as it seems.As the days at Kelvedon Hall pass in a haze of sunshine, secrecy and surprising revelations, Kick and Brigid beginto rethink their hopes and plans for the future. Do they still want what they once did? And with the world aroundthem constantly shifting, as war in Europe looms, will they ever be able to have it?

Two powerful families. A changing world.When Kathleen ''Kick'' Kennedy left England to return to America, Europe was facing war and Billy Cavendish, future Duke of Devonshire and the man she loves, had told her he could never marry her. Now, in 1943, as London stands a shell of its former self, Kick returns hoping to reunite with Billy - but there are many obstacles ahead.Lady Brigid Guinness has swapped high fashion and exclusive dinner parties for long shifts as a nurse helping wounded soldiers, forming a close bond with one in particular. And yet the only person she can really talk to is a man shunned by her inner circle. Meanwhile, wide-eyed Sissy Maddington has arrived from Ireland under the care of the Guinness family. She''s eager to explore everything London seems to offer - while she tries to forget where she came from.As the three women navigate a changed city, they each discover a capacity for love they never could have expected.But will they find the strength to stay true to themselves?Inspired by real events, A Kennedy Affair is a powerful story of friendship, forbidden passion - and how in the worst of times we can discover the best of each other.

''A Circle of Friends for the 21st century'' Irish TimesA haunting tale of friendship, loyalty and how one decision, one night, can decide the future.In an exclusive all girls'' secondary school, they become friends. They choose the same university, and through smoke-filled nights, lectures, sexual encounters and first loves, their bond deepens: a friendship which seems like it will last for evermore.But then, at an end-of-year party, something happens which changes everything ... Afterwards, they drift apart. Now Stella, a lawyer in New York, lives for her work; Laura, a struggling journalist in Dublin, is still waiting for the scoop to kick-start her career; while Amanda, broken and beautiful, lives a life of slow decay in London. Then the phone call comes which brings them back together, to the friendship they swore would last, and the night when it all went wrong.

What happens when you invite an outsider in?It was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime - a luxury villa in Ibiza, a group of university friends, and their last chance to cut loose before embarking on their serious adult lives. But when when one of the group invites an outsider, the aloof and beautiful Natasha, tensions begin to simmer.The days pass amid the sweltering rays, and dissolve into wild, humid nights. And Natasha seems bent upon a path of destruction, leading her to Jennifer''s boyfriend, Todd - while Jennifer and the rest of the group look on . . .Then, one hazy afternoon, paradise is shattered.Ten years later, the friends reunite. Will what happened that afternoon at White Villa now destroy the lives and facades they have so carefully built?

''Insightful and astute writing ... Emily Hourican has a wonderful understanding of human nature'' Louise O''NeillThe summer she turned twenty-five, Anna felt invincible.In love for the first time, in a strange city far from home, she could be a new person. All that she had ever wanted was there for the taking. But the glorious possibility of those long sultry days ended in a reality far starker than she could have imagined.Now, fifteen years later, Anna is struggling to get through to her teenage daughter Jessie -- named in memory of Anna''s best friend -- who has developed an eating disorder. Mother and daughter were once close, but now Anna feels as if Jessie''s every word and action is a mystery. Though sometimes she wonders if Jessie can see right through her.And when her daughter starts to report dreams about the namesake she never met, Anna -- increasingly unnerved by just how much her daughter seems to know -- is forced to face the secrets of that summer when her life changed in one unravelling moment, and the brutal truth about the part she had to play.

''A brilliant blend of sweeping satisfying family drama with a tense undercurrent of psychological thriller that hooks on and doesn''t let go until [Hourican] delivers her last devastating page'' Sunday Independent''The Outsider is everything you could want from high-end commercial fiction - it''s sharp, compelling, and full of keenly observed truths about human behaviour. Emily Hourican has always been an insightful, astute writer but this may be her best novel yet.'' Louise O''NeillTwo very different families ... One is loud, eccentric, rich and confident. The other is less sure of their place in life. On holidays in Portugal, a near-drowning brings the ten-year-old daughters, Jamie and Sarah, together and a friendship is formed. As the bond between the girls grows deeper, so too do the ties between their families and an unsettling closeness develops between two of the adults. Then, as Jamie begins to feel suffocated by the intensity of Sarah''s friendship, cracks begin to show. What will it take to shatter the façade of friendship? The affair? The obsessive crush? And which family will be left whole? The Outsider is the compelling and unforgettable story of the complexity of friendship, marriage, hidden passions and teenage desire.

''An utterly captivating insight into these fascinating women and the times they lived in ... it''s an absolute page-turner'' Irish Independent''Masterfully and glamorously told ... essential reading for history and gossip lovers alike'' Sunday Business Post''An enthralling tale that will dazzle and delight ... If you loved the drama of The Crown, then you will adore The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal'' Swirl and Thread''Engrossing and page-turning ... I loved it'' Louise O''NeillAs Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh - the three privileged Guinness sisters, darlings of 1930s society - settle into becoming wives and mothers, they quickly discover that their gilded upbringing has not prepared them for the realities of married life.At Dublin''s Luttrellstown Castle, practical Aileen has already run out of things to say to her husband. Outspoken Maureen is very much in love but feels isolated at the crumbling Clandeboye estate in Northern Ireland. And, as romantic Oonagh''s dreams of happiness in London are crushed by her husband''s lies, she seeks comfort in her friends - but can they be trusted?As the sisters deal with desire and betrayal amidst vicious society gossip, their close friends, the Mitfords, find themselves under the media glare - and the Guinness women are forced to examine their place in this quickly-changing world.Inspired by true-life events, The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal is a dazzling, page-turning novel about Ireland and Britain in the grip of change, and a story of how three women who wanted for nothing were about to learn that they couldn''t have everything.