From the author of So Much Owed, winner of Authors Choice Best Historical Fiction Award 2016
'What you get with a Jean Grainger book is warm, authentic writing that welcomes you into the heart of Ireland'
Kate Kerrigan, New York Times bestselling author of the Ellis Island trilogy.
A broken woman, New York, 2016.
A fearless rebel, Dublin 1916.
And a gripping story that spans a century.
During a time of great upheaval and unrest in Ireland, as men and women run to take up arms against the tyranny and occupation of the British Empire, the lives of three women are forever altered, and thereby inextricably linked over the span of a century.
Mary Doyle arrives in Dublin in 1913, doomed she fears, to a life of domestic service. Instead, however, she finds herself deeply affected by the social and political turmoil of a fledgling nation struggling for independence. Suddenly, all that was once inevitable is no longer a certainty as she is embroiled in the very heart of the Easter Rising.
Scarlett O’Hara has had many hurdles to cross in her life, not least her name. A successful political correspondent, she finds herself at a crossroads when one error of judgement jeopardises everything she has worked so hard to overcome and achieve. In the process of rebuilding her life, Scarlett faces the difficult and ultimate choice of starting all over again.
At ninety-three years old, Eileen Chiarello thought her time for adventure and wonder was over, before a chance meeting with Scarlett draws her back to Ireland, the land her parents fought for and loved so passionately. Now, at the end of her life, Eileen has the opportunity to fulfil a promise she never thought she could.
Historically sweeping and beautifully written, Shadow of a Century draws a circle around the Irish Rebellion and carefully traces the magnitude of its significance against the backdrop of three women's lives across history.
Described by reviewers as ‘so much more than an Irish love story,’ and another said ‘Jean Grainger’s story telling is so enthralling I gave up sleep.’
Is there ever a sacrifice that is too great, when the stakes are so high?
Jean Grainger lives in Cork, Ireland with her family. She is a teacher, a lecturer, a playwrite and a director of plays for young people. She is fascinated by the history of her country and writes inspired by its turbulent past. Her first novel, the Tour, is a story about a group of American visitors on a tour of Ireland and is based on her experiences as an Irish tour guide. Her second novel, So Much Owed revolves around the story of the Buckley family and is a saga spanning both world wars. The historical research was based on the research she did for a PhD on the Role of Women in the Second World War. Her third book, Shadow of a Century, is set during the Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin, which was the opening act of the drama that became the evolution of the Irish Republic. She has four children and works full-time in education.
