Jennifer Johnston – författare

Not every death is a tragedy. Not every silver lining is intact. Annie''s father is dead. She isn''t sorry. A rich and domineering man, he was always more passionate about money than the happiness of his wife and child. And when his lovely, fragile wife Jude died in mysterious circumstances when Annie was still very young, her father sent her to school in England, and tried to ensure that Jude was never mentioned again.Now, at last, his days of tyranny are over. And so Annie leaves London and goes back to Dublin, to the house in which he lived and her mother died, where she makes the first of several startling discoveries: he has left her the house she hated. Now, just when she thought she was free of him, she is expected to make a new life in Ireland, and live as he would have wished. Does she dare to defy him one more time? From Costa prizewinning and Booker-shortlisted Jennifer Johnston comes a beautifully crafted, alluring tale of family and secrets.

A poignant debut novel of age, loneliness and friendship across divides...Mr Prendergast, an elderly Anglo-Irishman, is living out his last years in the decaying splendour of his family mansion. As his mind wanders through the gloom he finds it peopled with memories of his neglected wife, his pale shadow of a father, his icily glamorous mother and Alexander, the son she so jealously loved, killed in the First World War.With only his ill-tempered alcoholic gardener left to attend to him, Mr Prendergast is content to pass his days in such ghostly company. Until young Diarmid arrives, keen-eyed and carrot-haired, to disperse the gathering darkness with curiosity, and the promise of friendship.''Assured and skilful'' Sunday Times

All families are complicated, but some are more complicated than others. And Christmas can only make matters worse. After Ciara''s estranged father is nearly killed by his second wife in a car accident - or was it an accident? - Ciara begins, gingerly, to re-enter his life. As her troubled family gather for the holidays, is it too much to hope that they begin to find peace at last? Of course it is. With twins, new loves and an unpredictably monstrous matriarch, Christmas was never going to be easy. But it proves both more disastrous and happier than any of the family could have guessed.''Her writing is a joy: dialogue snaps with life while Johnston''s distinctive prose is at once supremely comfortable and delightfully brisk'' Daily MailWhat readers say about FOOLISH MORTALS:''A very pleasurable and intelligent read; not a word wasted, and characters that feel real. Highly recommended''''One of my favourite authors''

The Great War is over; but the war in Ireland is only just beginning, as the IRA and the Black and Tans move on to the attack. It all seems very remote to Miranda Martin, during that miraculous Indian summer. Her father, hoping to forget his dead wife, thinks of nothing but his trees; Miranda thinks of the future, a future which must surely include Cathal, who brings news from Dublin. Everything seems calm and serene. But then Andrew, her officer brother, comes home, bringing his eccentric, likeable friend Harry, and as the Indian summer fades, the scene is set for tragedy.

''Assured, skilful, delicately comic and mutedly sad... a very good writer'' The Sunday TimesOnce, the villagers would tip their hats respectfully when the McMahons drove out through the ornate iron gates at the end of the drive. But that was back in the days when the Major''s family were prosperous. Now the estate is slipping into peaceful decay - and so, it seems, is the Major, its last occupant.Then Minnie, the Major''s rebellious niece, returns home. She disrupts his tranquillity, forming surprising friendships with the feckless Kelly family. For together, Minnie and Kevin Kelly have hatched a plan to raise badly needed money - a plan which involves the gates themselves...What readers said about THE GATES:''A tender tale with acute characterisation and a bleak but atmospheric setting in a rural Ireland facing huge changes'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Short and very sweet... Beautiful, unassuming prose'' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

A beautifully paced novel of solitude, healing and hope...On a rainy afternoon on Killiney Hill a young man out walking, without his overcoat, happens upon a woman gazing out over Dublin bay, standing perilously close to the edge. From their first chance encounter develops a remarkable friendship which will enable each to face afresh their very different, damaged pasts, and to look, however tentatively, towards the future.''Despite its desolate background it is both entertaining and uplifting... The book has a musical feel and makes a poignant symphony of its themes of love and grief'' Sunday Express''The Gingerbread Woman is Johnston at her observant, compelling best'' Image magazine