Regular price: $27.99
Fans of Patrick Taylor’s best-selling Irish Country novels know Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly as the irascible senior partner of a general practice in the colourful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. But there was a time, shortly after arriving in Ballybucklebo, that Dr. O'Reilly was not widely accepted by the villagers. This touching short story tell of how O'Reilly, with a little help, began to overcome their objections.
Heartwarming and gloriously eccentric, Dr Tom's stories capture the beauty of the Lowlands, the joys and sorrows of its inhabitants and the richly rewarding experiences of life as a Scottish country doctor.
In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Natalie's Bistro has always been warm and welcoming. Nowadays 22-year-old Siobhan O'Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago. It's been a rough year for the O'Sullivans, but it's about to get rougher. One morning, as they're opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table with a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest.
Maisie Dobbs isn't just any young housemaid. Through her own natural intelligence - and the patronage of her benevolent employers - she works her way into college at Cambridge. After the War I and her service as a nurse, Maisie hangs out her shingle back at home: M. DOBBS, TRADE AND PERSONAL INVESTIGATIONS. But her very first assignment soon reveals a much deeper, darker web of secrets, which will force Maisie to revisit the horrors of the Great War and the love she left behind.
In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo's estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father's funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.
As England enters World War II's dark early days, spirited music professor Primrose Trent, recently arrived to the village of Chilbury, emboldens the women of the town to defy the Vicar's stuffy edict to shutter the church's choir in the absence of men and instead carry on singing. Resurrecting themselves as The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, the women of this small village soon use their joint song to lift up themselves and the community as the war tears through their lives.
Fans of Patrick Taylor’s best-selling Irish Country novels know Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly as the irascible senior partner of a general practice in the colourful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. But there was a time, shortly after arriving in Ballybucklebo, that Dr. O'Reilly was not widely accepted by the villagers. This touching short story tell of how O'Reilly, with a little help, began to overcome their objections.
Heartwarming and gloriously eccentric, Dr Tom's stories capture the beauty of the Lowlands, the joys and sorrows of its inhabitants and the richly rewarding experiences of life as a Scottish country doctor.
In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Natalie's Bistro has always been warm and welcoming. Nowadays 22-year-old Siobhan O'Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago. It's been a rough year for the O'Sullivans, but it's about to get rougher. One morning, as they're opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table with a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest.
Maisie Dobbs isn't just any young housemaid. Through her own natural intelligence - and the patronage of her benevolent employers - she works her way into college at Cambridge. After the War I and her service as a nurse, Maisie hangs out her shingle back at home: M. DOBBS, TRADE AND PERSONAL INVESTIGATIONS. But her very first assignment soon reveals a much deeper, darker web of secrets, which will force Maisie to revisit the horrors of the Great War and the love she left behind.
In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly 30 years later, Hugo's estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to arrange her father's funeral. Among his personal effects is an unopened letter addressed to Sofia. In it is a startling revelation.
As England enters World War II's dark early days, spirited music professor Primrose Trent, recently arrived to the village of Chilbury, emboldens the women of the town to defy the Vicar's stuffy edict to shutter the church's choir in the absence of men and instead carry on singing. Resurrecting themselves as The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, the women of this small village soon use their joint song to lift up themselves and the community as the war tears through their lives.
Evan Evans is a young police constable who has traded in the violence of city life for idyllic Llanfair, a Welsh village tucked far away from trouble. Nestled among the Snowdonia mountain range, Llanfair looks to Constable Evans like a town forgotten by time, but he quickly learns that even the bucolic countryside has its share of eccentric - and deadly - characters.
At the end of her first unsuccessful season out in society, Lady Georgiana has all but given up on attracting a suitable man - until she receives an invitation to a masked Halloween ball at Broxley Manor. Georgie is uncertain why she was invited, until she learns that the royal family intends to marry her off to a foreign prince, one reputed to be mad.
Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they've just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life. But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There's a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation...
Tired of the pace and noise of life near London and longing for a better place to raise their young children, Mary J. MacLeod and her husband, George, encountered their dream while vacationing on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides. Enthralled by its windswept beauty, they soon were the proud and startled owners of a near-derelict croft house - a farmer’s stone cottage - on “a small acre” of land. Mary assumed duties as the island’s district nurse.
Jack's a retired ex-cop from New York, seeking the simple life in Cherringham. Sarah's a Web designer who's moved back to the village find herself. But their lives are anything but quiet as the two team up to solve Cherringham's criminal mysteries. This compilation contains episodes 1 - 3: MURDER ON THAMES, MYSTERY AT THE MANOR and MURDER BY MOONLIGHT.
Bill Vokes has played Santa at the children's Christmas show for years. But with the show just hours away, he vanishes with no explanation. The whole village is baffled. Did something bad happen to loveable Bill, upstanding citizen, churchgoer, life and soul of the party and the holiday season? Jack and Sarah are on the case - and soon discover there are secrets about this Santa that no one could have imagined.
It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's 60 years old.
Mary J. Macleod and her husband left the London area for an idyllic place to raise their young children in the late '60s, and they found the island of Papavray in the Scottish Hebrides. There they bought a croft house on a "small acre" of land, and Mary J. (also known as Julia) became the district nurse.
It's Christmas 1909, and for once Lady Hardcastle - respectable gentlewoman, amateur spy - and her lady's maid, Florence Armstrong, are setting sleuthing aside. They are invited to the festivities up at The Grange, as guests of Sir Hector and Lady Farley-Stroud. But barely have corks been popped and parlour games played when a mysterious crime comes to light.
World War II comes to Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5 operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with determining if the man is a German spy. The assignment also offers Ben the chance to be near Lord Westerham's middle daughter, Pamela, whom he furtively loves. But Pamela has her own secret.
Here is Edward Rutherfurd's classic novel of London, a glorious pageant spanning 2,000 years. He brings this vibrant city's long and noble history alive through the ever-shifting fortunes, fates, and intrigues of half-a-dozen families, from the age of Julius Caesar to the 20th century. Generation after generation, these families embody the passion, struggle, wealth, and verve of the greatest city in the world.
When Abi inherits her uncle's quaint and storied single malt distillery, she finds herself immersed in a competitive high-stakes business that elicits deep passions and prejudices. An award-winning photojournalist, Abi has no trouble capturing the perfect shot - but making the perfect shot is another matter. When she starts to receive disturbing, anonymous threats, it's clear that someone wants her out of the picture.
Long before Doctor Fingal Flahertie O’Reilly became a fixture in the colourful Irish village of Ballybucklebo, he was a young M.B. with plans to marry midwife Dierdre Mawhinney. Those plans were complicated by the outbreak of World War II and the call of duty. Assigned to the HMS Warspite, a formidable 30,000-ton battleship, Surgeon Lieutenant O’Reilly soon found himself face-to-face with the hardships of war, tending to the dreadnought’s crew of 1,200 as well as to the many casualties brought aboard. Life in Ballybuckebo is a far cry from the strife of war, but over two decades later O’Reilly and his younger colleagues still have plenty of challenges: an outbreak of German measles, the odd tropical disease, a hard-fought pie-baking contest, and a local man whose mule-headed adherence to tradition is standing in the way of his son’s future. Now older and wiser, O’Reilly has prescriptions for whatever ails...until a secret from the past threatens to unravel his own peace of mind. Shifting deftly between two very different eras, Patrick Taylor’s latest Irish Country novel reveals more about O’Reilly’s tumultuous past, even as Ballybucklebo faces the future in its own singular fashion.
It filled in the war years of Dr Fingal and his coming back married to Kitty.
A disappointing note is that we should have been advised that it should come after Fingal O'Reilly Irish Doctor. Unfortunately I listened to the book and wish I'd realised it was out of sequence in the series.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
A great adventure with Fingal during his first year in battles as some in the British Royal Navy from the historically famous HMS WarSpite. This artfully crafted to progressively teach basic naval terms and tactics in the north Seas throughout the first half then into a major all out naval battle in the Mediterranean. Also, as in other books, the "current" year in the 1960s in the village of ballybucklebo is woven throughout the book. One gets a sense of just pre war and start of war as it was impacting lives in both northern Oreland and the Republic of Ireland during the flashbacks. Simultaneously a small foreshadowing of the outbreak of fighting to come later in the century to the wee North.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
This is book nine in the Irish Doctor series. It is best to read this series in order as Taylor builds the next story on the past one. In this book Taylor flashes back and forth between Northern Ireland in the 1960s and the Wartime travails of 1939 to 1945 at home and at sea. Dr. Fingal O’Reilly served in the Royal Navy during World War Two. The author tells of O’Reilly’s wartime courtship of his wife, Deirdre. Deirdre was a nurse midwife in training when they met.
I found the part of the story about O’Reilly’s service on HMS Warspite most interesting. Taylor tells of HMS Warspite’s action in the Battle of West Fjord in Norway and later off Italy. Then he covers HMS Warspite’s in time in Alexandria, Egypt. O’Reilly was a medical officer on the Warspite.
The book opens in the 1960s with housekeeper Kinky’s wedding. Young Barry Laverty is back in Ballybucklebo and medical student Jenny is helping out for the summer.
The book is well written and researched. I really enjoyed the various Irish accents, the humor and the pithy insights. In this book, aboard HMS Warspite there is a wide variety of accents from Scottish to Cockney. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
The book is thirteen and a half hours long. John Keating does a fantastic job narrating the book. This series works best as an audiobook because Keating does such a great job with all the various accents and the pronunciations of the Irish words. Keating has narrated the series from the beginning. Keating is an Irish actor and award-winning audiobook narrator.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Being Of Irish dissent as well as being in medicine I truly enjoy Dr.Patrick Taylor's gifted writings.mr. Keating's narration it's phenomenal bring so much more pleasure to these books.I am listen to all of them and I am always anticipating the next one. I can say without a doubt that Dr. Patrick Taylor it's my favorite writer. What a winning combination we have between his gifts and Mr. Keating's gifts thank you so very much.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Patrick Taylor's story with John Keaton as narrator is a great duo. I'm addicted to the series. it isn't a super dramatic storyline. it is just clean and fun and well written. I can't even imagine reading the book in lieu of audio book because the narrator has set the voices so well in my mind.
Very enjoyable continuation of the series - storyline, characters and narration continue to be pleasing!
Narrator was authentic and well done, couldn't wait to get to next chapter. Story great although a little over done on descriptions, but did serve purpose well of picturing settings.
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
The story was extremely boring
Would you ever listen to anything by Patrick Taylor again?
I love Patrick Taylor and have listened to this entire series but this book was so incredibly dull and not like any of the others.
What about John Keating’s performance did you like?
John Keating's voice is fantastic and he makes the Country Doctor series an enjoyable listen.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
The narrator was the only redeeming quality.
Any additional comments?
Patrick Taylor is an incredible and entertaining author however this book was not like the others in the series. It really was dull and it dragged on way too long.
Would you try another book from Patrick Taylor and/or John Keating?
I have very much enjoyed all the other books in this series. This is the first one that I rated only 3 of 5. There was a long angst-y section in the middle that seemed rather out of character for Fingol, and I just felt was overdone. At least twice I said out loud, "I got it! Move on!" But it was not horrible, it just didn't live up to the high standards of the earlier books.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Cut out all 90% of the painful introspection.
What about John Keating’s performance did you like?
Great, as usual
What made the experience of listening to An Irish Doctor in Peace and at War the most enjoyable?
What a great book! I liked the switch of stories between the experience Fingal had on his ship during the war and back in his present days. It is easy to figure out whether you will hear the war time or the present time stories. The description of events on the ship in battle is very well done, without being too awful, but you can feel the pain, fear, anger, etc. it must have caused to experience and survive on a ship under attack. The daily stories of his little village are entertaining as usual. And there is not only sunshine for Fingal, as Kitty has something to tell him from her past...
What was one of the most memorable moments of An Irish Doctor in Peace and at War?
The description of Fingal's thoughts about war in general, and how to treat all patients the same regardless of their nationality. Even when he had to operate a wounded man of the "other" side, he made no difference.
Have you listened to any of John Keating’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I have listened to all other "An Irish Country Doctor" audiobooks, and John Keating's performance is always at its best!
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When he was thinking of his fiancé who was far away, and who helped him cope with his war experiences.
Any additional comments?
Interesting that quite a few people did not like the switch between the years, although this is not a new concept and is used in books and films all the time. I found it very well done, as there was always something in Fingal's life that triggered his memories. It makes him even more human and alive as he already is and gives more depth to the story.