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The heart-rending tale of Irish immigration in the 1880s
Like making lace –
she pieced together a new life from a single thread of hope
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Counterpart to Gwenna The Welsh Confectioner
Prequel to The Costumier’s Gift
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Eighteen-year-old Brigid faces an unimaginable choice. If she stays in her beloved Ireland, she is another mouth to feed in a land plagued by starvation and poverty. If she leaves, she will never see her family again. But leave she must.
Heartbroken, she travels by ship with her cousin Jamie to a new life in Australia. On the journey, Brigid meets a rough-and-ready Scots girl who becomes her best friend, a man who beguiles her, and a fellow Irishwoman who causes no end of trouble.
Brigid’s skill as a lacemaker soon attracts attention, but it is her selfless nature that draws people to her. When the burden of choice is forced upon her once again, Brigid must find an inner strength if she is to fulfil her dream.
A new start in New Zealand offers hope – until the day she encounters the man who seeks her downfall.
The historical aspects of the story are so accurate and described so perfectly that the reader will frequently need to remind herself/himself that the story is fiction ... This is a thoroughly satisfying read. It is the kind of story that passes the test as a work of history and is equally satisfying as a novel that will have your attention from first to last.
**** 4 stars – Frank O’Shea, The Irish Echo, Sydney
