Monday 14 December 2009

Mary O'Grady (Lavin) 209


Mary O'Grady has been waiting for some time since I picked it up in a charity shop as being a lovely old green VMC whose author I had not come across before. What a wonderful treat I had in store. This was the story of Mary and her family, who live in Dublin at the start of the 20th century. Mary longs to keep her family close to her, because they are the pivot around which her life turns, but as they grow up, they seek their freedom. One son goes abroad to America, another to a seminary to train as a priest, two daughters die tragically young, and Mary has to come to terms with the fact that she cannot hold onto her family.

A simply told domestic drama with a number of storylines, this was a gem that I definitely would not have come across had it not been for its green spine.

Just the one green-spined cover above.

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