Bøker av Catherine Dunne

New updated edition of the seminal work by Catherine Dunne, which charted the lives of the London Irish, in all their variety and colour, now with a brand new foreword by Diarmaid Ferriter. Half a million Irish people left Ireland in the nineteen-fifties, forced by decades of economic stagnation. For many, Britain was their only hope of survival.

Four women gather to celebrate their friendship. A quarter-century of intimacies shared, betrayals survived, differences reconciled. There is Claire, with her unsuitable men; she knows that life will never give her the one thing she has always wanted. Nora, the perfect housewife, has kept something hidden from her friends for over twenty-five years. Maggie has been unhappily married to Ray for longer than she cares to remember. And then there is Georgie, feisty and opinionated, who has had her own way more than is good for her. But tonight, the complex web of spouses, lovers and secrets that has bound them all together is about to unravel. And one of the four women plans not to be there. At a Time Like This, things can never be the same again . . . 'Dunne is such a gifted storyteller that she credibly recreates a world that pulls the reader in deep . . . ' Evening Herald

Inspired by Greek mythology, The Years That Followed is a compelling tale of two women, thousands of miles apart, whose lives are thrown into turmoil by the power of love - and the desire for revenge. Revenge is sweeter than regret . . .It is 1966. Calista is seventeen, beautiful and headstrong. She meets the handsome Alexandros, and in an instant her whole life changes. Alexandros is magnetic, much older - and rich. He sweeps Calista off her feet. She leaves her safe, affluent Dublin home for a different life in Cyprus alongside her new husband. But his family treat her with suspicion.Meanwhile, Pilar is desperate to leave the grinding poverty of her life in rural Extremadura, so she moves to Madrid. There, she meets a man who offers her excitement and opportunity. Petros charms Pilar, and she begins to imagine a future with him - although she knows it's impossible for them to be together.Unknown to both women, tragic events are unfolding that will inextricably link their lives in a way that neither could have imagined - events that will change them and their families forever.

Part of the Open Door series of short books for emerging readers.

Lynda Graham has been fortunate in life. She is happily married, with two wonderful children, Ciaran and Katie. She has a beautiful home and garden in one of the most affluent suburbs of Dublin. Her world feels safe and uncomplicated, one she now takes for granted. That is until Jon, a friend of Ciaran's from university - handsome, charming and clever - inveigles his way into their lives.There's something about Jon that Lynda finds unnerving - he is almost too perfect. And her instinct is right: Jon's arrival sets in motion a spiral of events that contributes to the gradual disintegration of all she holds dear.When Jon leaves, his disappearance is even more destructive than his presence. Lynda's quest to track him down reveals unpalatable truths about his past and the reason for his existence in their lives. Lynda knows that Jon is out there somewhere - watching, waiting, malevolent. And she also knows that she must do whatever it takes to protect the most precious thing she has - her family.'Dunne has a clever knack of turning ordinary lives into compelling fiction'Irish Post

After twenty years of marriage, Ben ups and leaves his wife Rose, their children and their family home in Dublin. Just like that: no words of regret, no compromise, no note - only a simple 'I don't love you anymore'. It has taken Rose all this time to get her life together again: she's brought up her three children, Lisa, Brian and Damien single-handedly, and not without difficulty for never again does she want to be completely broke, or to have to revisit that night in hospital with Damien hovering between life and death. To think about it just makes her shudder. Now Rose is concentrating on her business, the 'Bonne Bouche' bakery, and all the clients she's won, all the friends she's made. Her accounts are in order, the business is blooming. Life really doesn't seem too bad. Until Ben returns, again without warning, and it is soon clear that he expects to infiltrate Rose's carefully created world in the most unwelcome of ways. A stunning sequel to In the Beginning, Catherine Dunne's first novel, Something Like Love is an astonishing portrait of a marriage, and of how the ties that bind are sometimes there forever.

Beth flew the coop as soon as she could, making a life for herself in London. James, her dutiful brother, stayed in Dublin, raising a family not far from their mother, Alice. Now Alice is dying and Beth has returned to the shabby grandeur of her childhood home to keep vigil by her mother's bedside. Unable to speak, the only way Alice feels she can bridge the gap of understanding between her daughter and herself is to write letters to her seeking reconciliation. Set during the last days of Alice's life, this is also an extraordinary perceptive novel about childhood and growing old.

Hannah, May and Eleanor are sisters. Their early life in Dublin, with their middle-class parents, has prepared them for a comfortable future of marriage, children and servants. Further north, Mary and Cecilia are also sisters. They are struggling to make a living in the linen mills of Belfast, amid rising political tension. The lives of all the sisters are destined to unfold in ways that none of them could have imagined. Another Kind of Life is the intricately crafted tale of how their lives entwine, against the backdrop of the rapidly changing Ireland of the late nineteenth century. In her eagerly awaited new novel, Catherine Dunne returns to the themes of family ties, love and loyalty which she has delineated so finely in her earlier work. But this time, she opens out her canvas to tell us a much wider story. Perceptive, absorbing and beautifully told, Another Kind of Life is an unforgettable portrait of a family, and of Ireland, which will stay with the reader long after the last page.

When Patrick Grant meets Ella, he seizes the opportunity of a new life with her. He imagines the future with his beautiful second wife by his side: the years ahead filled with all that is bright and promising. When Ella gives birth to Daniel, Patrick's happiness is complete. A son at last. Patrick adores Daniel: a golden child, talented, artistic, loving. And then, when Daniel is fourteen, tragedy strikes. Without warning, Patrick and Ella's world is shattered beyond repair and Patrick is forced to re-evaluate everything: his own life, his role as husband and father, all his previous assumptions about family. Together with Ella, he is forced to embark on a voyage of discovery. He must confront uncomfortable truths about himself and about the privileged world he and his wife inhabit. This is the story of a family torn apart by conflict, suspicion and loss. It is also a story, ultimately, of redemption and forgiveness - and the strength of severely-tested family bonds.

A powerful and compelling story which explores one of the most difficult decisions we might ever have to make.One morning in October, William Harris is confronted by the shocking disappearance of the woman he loves.Julia Seymour has vanished without trace - from his life, from her daughter's and from her own. Her sudden departure seems to be both deliberate and final.But William is determined to find her. In the days that follow, he tries to piece together what might have driven her away. His search takes him to London, to India - and to Julia's life before he met her.In the process, William discovers secrets about Julia's past that challenge and disturb his view of all they shared together. Secrets that illuminate the present in ways he could never have expected.Praise for Catherine Dunne'A real touch of Jodi Picoult . . . a domestic setting . . . tension . . . and a little bit of darkness'Arena Arts Review, RTE Radio 1