Gracelin O'Malley

Set during Irelands devastating potato famine, a spellbinding novel of a young woman torn between love for her family and duty to her English husband. Patrick OMalley names his newborn daughter Gracelin for the light of the sea that shines in her eyes. But when young Gracelin is only six years old, her mothers untimely death drains joy and laughter from the OMalley clan. At fifteen, Gracelin saves her family from financial ruin by marrying Bram Donnelly, the son of a wealthy English landowner. But, even though Gracelin is Protestant, she is snubbed by English high society for marrying above her station. To temporarily appease her husbands cruel nature, she intends to provide him with an heirbut that, too, will end in sorrow. As famine sweeps Ireland, Gracelin openly defies her husband by feeding the desperate souls who come to their door. In secret, she also sides with the rebels who call themselves the Young Irelanders. Led by Morgan McDonagh and joined by Gracelins beloved brother, Sean, the Irelanders are determined to fight and free their homeland from the yoke of English rule. A vivid chronicle of nineteenth-century Ireland, the first volume of Ann Moores popular trilogy introduces a courageous young heroine and movingly portrays an indomitable people as they struggle to survive the infamous famine and the brutal civil war that arrived in its wake. Fans of gripping historical fiction will love this epic saga that sweeps you into the life of a remarkable woman (Romantic Times).