Kate O'Brien – författare

AN AWARD-WINNING AND REMARKABLE IRISH NOVELIST

''This subtle and beautifully constructed novel deals with the conflict between human and divine love'' SUNDAY TIMES

''If novels can be music, this is a novel with perfect pitch'' CLARE BOYLAN ''A fuller appreciation of modern literature and a greater understanding of twentieth century Ireland'' IRISH TIMES

Mere Marie-Helene once turned her back on life, sealing up her heart in order to devote herself to God. Now the formidable Mother Superior of an Irish convent, she has, for some time, been experiencing grave doubts about her vocation. But when she meets Anna Murphy, the youngest-ever boarder, the little girl''s solemn, poetic nature captivates her and she feels ''a storm break in her hollow heart''. Between them an unspoken allegiance is formed that will sustain each through the years as the Reverend Mother seeks to combat her growing spiritual aridity and as Anna develops the strength to resist the conventional demands of her background.

AN AWARD-WINNING AND REMARKABLE IRISH NOVELIST''A grave and beautiful story, exquisitely composed and cut to a jewel-like fineness'' DAILY TELEGRAPH''Rush out for the works of Kate O''Brien. You are in for a treat'' VAL HENNESSY''A gem of a novel'' TAMSIN HARGREAVESIreland, 1880 and a prosperous, provincial family observes the three great autumnal feasts of the Church. As Teresa Mulqueen lies dying, her family gather round her and beneath this drama another, no less poignant, unfolds. Unmarried daughter Agnes awaits the return of her sister Marie-Rose and brother-in-law Vincent. She adores her sister, but secretly, passionately, loves Vincent. And their marriage, she knows, is unhappy . . . Ahead lies a terrible battle between her uncompromising faith and the intensity of her love.In this delicately imagined novel, originally published in 1934, Kate O''Brien lays bare the struggles between personal need and the Catholic faith with the sympathy and insight which is the hallmark of her craft.

AN AWARD-WINNING AND REMARKABLE IRISH NOVELIST''This family tale mirrors the history of a country that can never evade its own past'' The TIMES''Rush out for the works of Kate O''Brien. You are in for a treat'' VAL HENNESSY ''A fuller appreciation of modern literature and a greater understanding of twentieth century Ireland'' IRISH TIMESIt is 1939, the last summer before the outbreak of war. French actress Angele Maury abandons a group of friends travelling through Ireland and takes herself to picturesque Drumaninch, birthplace of her dead father. She has come to make sense of her past. Self-conscious with her pale, exotic beauty, Angele braves the idiosyncratic world of the Kernahans: her enigmatic aunt Hannah, her ridiculous but loveable uncle Corney and her three cousins - Martin, charming, intense; Tom, devoted to his mother, and their bright sister Jo, who combines religious faith with a penchant for gambling.But is there some mystery surrounding the past? History threatens to repeat itself as Angele finds herself seduced by the beauty of Ireland, and by the love of two men . . . first published in 1943, The Last of the Summer is a perfectly structured psychological love story.

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.

AN AWARD-WINNING AND REMARKABLE IRISH NOVELIST''A fuller appreciation of modern literature and a greater understanding of twentieth century Ireland'' IRISH TIMES ''Writes with almost poetic intensity of the ecstasy and anguish of love'' VAL HENNESSY''Stunning, unforgettable stories of sexuality and families, of self-discovery'' MICHELE ROBERTSSpain in the years before the Armada, and high passion meets high politics. Ana, Princess of Eboli is a remarkable woman. Married at thirteen and losing an eye in a duel a year later, Ana is also heiress of Spain''s leading family, widow of Philip II''s wisest counsellor and rumoured to be the King''s mistress. Unexpectedly - and unwisely - she falls in love with Don Antonio Perez, dandy, adulterer, skilled politician. With her unusual looks, her aristocratic arrogance and the simplicities of her faith, Ana cannot understand why her private life should become entangled with the affairs of state and, finally, incur the terrible vindictiveness of the King himself . . . Kate O''Brien''s understanding and love of Spain enhance the beauty of this passionate and intelligent novel.

AN AWARD-WINNING AND REMARKABLE IRISH NOVELIST''Rush out for the works of Kate O''Brien. You are in for a treat'' VAL HENNESSY ''The first time I realised how powerful the small ordinary family life story can be'' MAEVE BINCHY''A peculiarly beautiful and arresting piece of fiction'' J. B. PRIESTLY When Anthony Considine creeps into Mellick town with a stolen horse in 1789, it sets the destiny of his family for decades to come. By the 1850s, through thrift and hard work, his son Honest John has made the Considines a leading Mellick family. With his father''s money, John''s son Anthony builds a grand country house for his wife and children - but especially for his youngest son Denis, who he adores, little knowing that one day Denis will threaten the toil of generations with his love for a peasant girl . . .

Cara and Sally are the best of friends. As life takes them in different directions, grief and desire, moon dust and magic trigger a chain of events from which they will never recover.

Holly and Ethan are the best of friends. While one child is harshly neglected the other is loved beyond measure.

Their mothers'' secrets and one wild promise bind them together in ways they may never truly fathom.

Kate O''Brien presents her second novel, The Pixie Plot a dark tale of friendship, faerie folk and betrayal set against the backdrop of a tiny Yorkshire village.

With a passion for gothic literature, magic realism and faerie folklore, Kate O''Brien''s stories are inspired by local landscapes and places visited on bygone family holidays, now explored with her own children.

Kate is the author of Driftwood and Amethyst. She writes stories and poetry which tiptoe on the edge of magic and folklore while rooting themselves in reality. She lives in South Yorkshire with her two sons and two cats and spends her days writing, teaching and being a mum all played out to a constant stream of good music.

Accounts of female offenders’ journeys into the criminal justice system are often silenced or marginalized.

Featuring a Foreword from Pat Carlen and inspired by her seminal book ‘Criminal Women’, this collection uses participatory, inclusive and narrative methodologies to highlight the lived experiences of women involved with the criminal justice system. It presents studies focused on drug use and supply, sex work, sexual exploitation and experiences of imprisonment.

Bringing together cutting-edge feminist research, this book exposes the intersecting oppressions and social control often central to women’s experiences of the justice system and offers invaluable insights for developing penal policies that account for the needs of women.

Accounts of female offenders’ journeys into the criminal justice system are often silenced or marginalized.

Featuring a Foreword from Pat Carlen and inspired by her seminal book ‘Criminal Women’, this collection uses participatory, inclusive and narrative methodologies to highlight the lived experiences of women involved with the criminal justice system. It presents studies focused on drug use and supply, sex work, sexual exploitation and experiences of imprisonment.

Bringing together cutting-edge feminist research, this book exposes the intersecting oppressions and social control often central to women’s experiences of the justice system and offers invaluable insights for developing penal policies that account for the needs of women.