Author:Katie Flynn
Liverpool, 1923
Lizzie is an orphan living with her Aunt Annie, Uncle Perce and two boy cousins in Cranberry Court, within a stone's throw of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Lizzie loves her aunt but is hated by her uncle and escapes whenever she can.
She makes friends with Geoff Gardiner, another orphan, and is teaching him to swim in the Scaldy when Clem Gilligan rescues the pair of them from drowning. Clem works on the Canal boat, The Liverpool Rose, with Jake Pridmore and his wife, plying between the great cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
But Lizzie's situation at home starts to worsen as her uncle grows surlier and more violent. Eventually the worst happens and Lizzie is forced to flee from the Court or risk serious injury, perhaps even death. Her first instinct is to make for the canal, but finding Clem is not so easy . . .
Light up your life this Christmas with the BRAND NEW NOVEL from SUNDAY TIMES Number One Bestselling author KATIE FLYNN. 1939. All over Britain children are being evacuated, and Eve Armstrong is headed for Devon. As the train pulls out of London she takes a last look at the crowded platform, the shabbily dressed evacuees, and a rude little boy sticking his tongue out. She’s looking forward to a change of scene.
—— from the publisher's descriptionA touching story of war-time romance. Filled with love, loss and laughter you'll be instantly engrossed and won't want to put it down.
—— Under the Christmas Tree BlogI think that the author captures time and place really well, combining the descriptions of eventful life on the canals with the personal stories of the crew members
—— Jaffa Reads Too BlogThis was my first book by Milly Adams and it most certainly won’t be the last
—— As The Page Turns BlogWell researched, with an engaging heroine and a delightful ending
—— Love Book Groups BlogI thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more from Milly Adams in the future
—— Over The Rainbow BlogMilly Adams’ writing is so rich in detail’ ‘I will definitely be back to see how things pan out for a group of women I loved spending time with
—— Shaz’s Book BlogThe Waterway Girls gives an insightful glimpse into the invaluable aid women provided for their country
—— Culture Fly
Another great story from this author. She can certainly immerse you in her way of telling a story
In Toibin's careful hands, the story of Clytemnestra, who avenges her daughter after her husband Agamemnon sacrifices her to secure safe passage from Troy, is told with such a vivid grasp of the emotional pulse that even those who know the story well will be transfixed.
—— Claire Allfree , Daily MailWhat is truly miraculous, though, is how Tóibín has made us sympathize with people who do terrible, unthinkable things
—— Boston GlobeA dramatic, intimate chronicle of a family implosion set in unsettling times
—— Publishers' WeeklyIf there is a more brilliant writer than Tóibín working today, I don't know who that would be
—— Karen Joy FowlerThis is a novel about the way the members of a family keep secrets from one another, tell lies and make mistakes.. .
—— Literary ReviewTóibín's retelling is governed by compassion and responsibility, and focuses on the horrors that led Clytemnestra to her terrible vengeance. Her sympathetic first-person narrative makes even murder, for a moment, seem reasonable (...) Tóibín's prose is precise and unadorned, the novel's moments of violence told with brutal simplicity. But its greatest achievement is as a page-turner. In a tale that has ended the same way for thousands of years, Tóibín makes us hope for a different outcome
—— The Economist[An] intense, thought-provoking and original novel . . . Toibin's book transforms this ancient story into a lyrical, melancholy meditation on closeted desire, which implicitly comments on the aftermath of the Irish Troubles'
—— Emily Wilson , TLSGraphic, vicious, beautiful retelling of ancient myths.... Ultimately the book is a stark, timeless and brilliantly rendered tale of power in a world, as ever, riven by conflict.
—— 'I' NewspaperIn a novel describing one of the Western world's oldest legends, in which the gods are conspicuous by their absence, Tóibín achieves a paradoxical richness of characterisation and a humanisation of the mythological, marking House Of Names as the superbly realised work of an author at the top of his game.
—— Daily ExpressA spellbinding adaptation of the Clytemnestra myth, House of Names considers the Mycenaen queen in all her guises: grieving mother, seductress, ruthless leader - and victim of the ultimate betrayal.
—— VogueA haunting story, largely because Tóibín tells it in spare, resonant prose...
—— Lucy Hughes-Hallett , New StatesmanA Greek House of Cards... Just like Heaney at the end of his Mycenae lookout, Toibin's novel augurs an era of renewal that comes directly from the cessation of hostilities.
—— Fiona Macintosh , Irish TimesThe book's mastery of pacing and tone affirm the writer as one of our finest at work today.
—— John Boland , Irish IndependentA daring, and triumphant return, to the Oresteia... bleakly beautiful twilight of the Gods.
—— Boyd Tonkin , The Arts DeskIt couldn't have been done better
—— ScotsmanA visceral reworking of Oresteia
—— ObserverThe escalation of violence and desire for revenge has deliberate echoes of the Irish Troubles
—— Observer Books of the Year