Molly

1898: When Molly O’Dowd sees her young sweetheart gunned down in an Irish village street she vows to escape – from the poverty and privation that have been her life until now and from her violent and alcoholic father’s fanatical politics. She dreams of the London that her English friend Mary has spoken of; however, the city in which, alone and naive, she finds herself is unsurprisingly a far cry from her rosy expectations. It is not the glittering West End that awaits the little Irish immigrant, but the squalid East End, of docks and sweatshops, of exploitation and prostitution. A combination of chance and courage sees her through her initial brush with danger but it is when she encounters and is befriended by the gregarious Benton family that she finds warmth and laughter and begins truly to feel at home in her new life. Above all she has conceived a dream – a dream of security and above all of independence - and from that she will not be deflected. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to work – and to fight – for it. With a new century dawning she sets out to bring her ambitions to reality. But the times are stormy; industrial unrest and political turmoil stalk the country, women battle police on the streets, strikes and hunger marches disrupt industry and commerce. And on the horizon, all but unnoticed, the war clouds are gathering, the heralds of a brutal conflict that will smash lives and shatter families, a war the like of which has never been experienced before......

Praise for the novels of Teresa Crane:

‘Teresa Crane is a smashing story teller.’ - Irish Times

‘Wonderful storytelling - a book you’ll be sorry to see the end of.’ - Woman’s World

‘A fine, rich, readable story that you won’t want to put down.’ – Manchester

Evening News

‘A wonderful storyteller.’ - Daily Mail