Irish Life

Barry Laverty, M.B., can barely find the village of Ballybucklebo on a map when he first sets out to seek gainful employment there, but already he knows that there is nowhere he would rather live than in the emerald hills and dales of Northern Ireland. The proud owner of a spanking-new medical degree and little else in the way of worldly possessions, Barry jumps at the chance to secure a position as an assistant in a small rural practice. At least until he meets Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly.

Charles Dickens: A Life gives full measure to Dickens's heroic stature - his huge virtues both as a writer and as a human being - while observing his failings in both respects with an unblinking eye. Renowned literary biographer Claire Tomalin crafts a story worthy of Dickens's own pen, a comedy that turns to tragedy as the very qualities that made him great - his indomitable energy, boldness, imagination, and showmanship - finally destroyed him.

This anthology of popular American history presents the stories of nine incredible Irish immigrants as written by nine contemporary Irish-Americans. More than one in 10 Americans claims Irish ancestry and, with its celebrity contributors, Nine Irish Lives will have strong appeal for those listeners. It is also, though, a timely portrait of shared humanity. These are stories about immigrants - and in the tales of revolutionaries and visionaries, caretakers and unsung heroes, Nine Irish Lives reminds us of the values and the people that have shaped America.

For protection, my father orchestrates a fake marriage with a mob boss. Instead, it thrusts me into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Reese Bowman, the hunky, fierce mafia boss, is now my fake husband and the man who will take my virginity for real. On the second day of our ruse, a baby from his past appears on his doorstep. Add pretend mom to the act and the stakes couldn't be higher. Watching him command his dangerous world with ease, I fall hard. Despite his attempts to keep his distance, he can't keep his hands or his lips off me. When a long-lost enemy snatches me in the night, our ...

The sweeping hills and emerald hedgerows seem to dance in the pale Irish sun. Home after far too long, Ginny takes a deep breath and tries to shake off the past. She’s hidden the truth for years. And when Ruari looks at her, his long lashes shading his green eyes, she knows she can’t reveal it now. Her secret would destroy him, as much as it would her… When Ginny Kingston returns to Ireland’s windswept Roone Bay after ten years of self-imposed exile, the last person she wants to run into is black-haired Ruari Savage.

Escape to breathtaking Ireland in a story of passion, mystery, and heartfelt humor. "A joy to read with many laughs and happy tears along the way." - Amazon reviewer "Breathtaking romance, passion, humor, mystery, heartbreak, hope, and above all, love." - Amazon reviewer Follow the O'Brian family through a tale of unexpected love and buried secrets as each confronts their past, embraces their true selves, and fight for love they never expected. In this captivating saga, discover the bonds of family, the allure of Ireland, and the profound strength of friendship. This box set includes The ...

Escape to breathtaking Ireland in a story of passion, mystery, and suspense. She will fight to protect her heart. Stunning as a sunrise, Sondra Keane enchants men everywhere she goes. Fiercely independent, she has everything she needs: her own clothing shop, her best friend, Darcie, and a penchant for life that radiates from her every move. But underneath her vibrant exterior, a darkness shadows her heart. She trusts no one, especially herself. He will fight to protect her. Simon O’Brian loves the ladies and was perfectly happy with Miss Right Now - until Sondra. Sassy and intelligent, ...

He's ruthless, rich, and he'll do anything to protect her. Eliana: My first husband, Dante, was no good. He beat me, betrayed me, and when the chips were down, instead of having my back, he tried to put a knife in it. Now, I’ve rebuilt my life in Philadelphia, far from the horrors of Florida. A job with Aidan Quinn, the billionaire genius behind Quinn Technologies, is supposed to be my fresh start. Except, Aidan is more than just my enigmatic boss whose intensity both terrifies and tempts me. His dealings in the shadows hint at truths darker than I’ve ever known. And when danger strikes...

In The Wisdom of the Shire, Noble Smith sheds light on the life-changing ideas tucked away inside the classic works of J. R. R. Tolkien and his most beloved creation—the stouthearted Hobbits. Drawing on The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and other tales of Middle-earth, Smith shows how a snug hobbit-hole is actually just a state of mind and how even the smallest person can have the valor of a Rider of Rohan.

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery - or at least that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn't a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.

Escape to breathtaking Ireland in a story of passion, mystery, and suspense. Her heart was shattered the day he was taken. Now a widow, Nan O’Brian’s time for love is a thing of the past. She no longer thinks about herself, but instead, lives for her nephews, doting on them as if they were her own. But surviving is not living, and when an unexpected encounter sparks something she thought long buried, she wonders if a heart can get a second chance. She was his one and only. Shamus O’Day spends his time devoted to the memory of his beloved wife. Knowing there will never be another, his ...

The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie’s once-lucrative car business is going under—but Dickie is spending his days in the woods, building an apocalypse-proof bunker with a renegade handyman. His wife, Imelda, is selling off her jewelry on eBay and half-heartedly dodging the attention of fast-talking cattle farmer Big Mike, while their teenage daughter, Cass, formerly top of her class, seems determined to binge drink her way through her final exams. As for twelve-year-old PJ, he’s on the brink of running away.

When Grace arrives tired, tearful and rain-soaked in Roone Bay, the little Irish village where her grandmother Caitlin grew up, she is overwhelmed with longing for Caitlin's safe, warm arms. The crumbling wreck of Caitlin's once-beautiful childhood cottage—whose key Grace was given on her wedding day as a secret refuge if she ever needed it—is not the fresh start she'd hoped for. But with her young daughter Olivia to look after and a painful past to hide from, Grace has to stay strong.

In the shadow of Ireland’s Great Famine, Myles, a resilient laborer, clings to hope as hunger and despair ravage his community. With his wife, Hannah, and their infant son, he tends a fragile existence in a stone cottage, warmed only by a dwindling turf fire. But as the potato blight devastates crops and ruthless evictions tear families apart, Myles faces an unenviable choice: remain in a land of starvation and loss or risk everything for a new life in America. Driven by love and desperation, Myles and his family embark on a harrowing journey aboard an emigrant ship bound for New York. ...

Isobel McKenzie is an experienced and intuitive psychotherapist who is on sabbatical while recovering from illness. Reluctantly she goes to London to help out an old friend, solicitor Peter Wright, who is uneasy about the partisan nature of a proposed divorce settlement. He asks her to meet the couple, Thomas and Anne Banks, to assess the situation. Is Anne, a recovering alcoholic, possibly being coerced into signing an agreement which not only gives Thomas control of all their assets but also sole custody of their son? Isobel immediately senses that something is awry and, despite herself, ...

Eilis Lacey is Irish, married to Tony Fiorello, a plumber and one of four Italian American brothers, all of whom live in neighboring houses on a cul-de-sac in Lindenhurst, Long Island, with their wives and children and Tony’s parents, a huge extended family. It is the spring of 1976 and Eilis is now forty with two teenage children. Though her ties to Ireland remain stronger than those that hold her to her new land and home, she has not returned in decades.

In An Irish Country Christmas, the third book in Patrick Taylor's Irish Country Books, Barry Laverty, M.B., is looking forward to his first Christmas in the cozy village of Ballybucklebo, at least until he learns that his sweetheart, Patricia, might not be coming home for the holidays. That unhappy prospect dampens his spirits somewhat, but Barry has little time to dwell on his romantic disappointments. Christmas may be drawing nigh, but there is little peace to be found on earth, especially for a young doctor plying his trade in the emerald hills and glens of rural Ireland.

The New Year brings challenges and changes to the colorful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. The Christmas holidays have barely passed before a fire engulfs the humble thatched cottage housing of Donal Donnally and his family. Although the family escapes the blaze more or less unsinged, Donal, his wife, their three small children, and their beloved dog find themselves with nothing left but the clothes on their back.

Welcome to the Village of Ballybucklebo. Come and say hello to Dr. O'Reilly's odd-as-two-left feet patients, his housekeeper, Mrs. "Kinky" Kinkaid, and O'Reilly's pets, Arthur Guinness, the beer-swilling black Lab and Lady MacBeth, the demonically possessed white cat. And of course, to young Dr. Barry Laverty. After Barry's first month as an assistant to crusty Dr. O'Reilly, he has been offered a permanent spot. But Laverty's excitement is dashed when one of his patients unexpectedly dies.

This is the story of George and Alice, two lonely hearts unknowingly orbiting each other's lives. But will their paths converge—and what will happen if they do?