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Description

Dublin, 1907. A young actress begins an affair with a damaged older man, the leading playwright at the theatre where she works. Outspoken and flirtatious, Molly Allgood is a Catholic girl from the slums of Dublin, dreaming of stardom in America. Her lover, John Synge, is a troubled genius, whose life is hampered by convention and by the austere and God-fearing mother with whom he lives. Their affair, sternly opposed by friends and family, is quarrelsome, affectionate and tender. Many years later, Molly, now a poverty-stricken old woman, makes her way through London's bomb-scarred city streets, alone but for a snowdrift of memories. Her once dazzling career has faded but her unquenchable passion for life has kept her afloat.

Reviews

"A subtle wonder... Unmissible" Daily Mail "A spellbinding read" The Times "A superbly written, magically evocative novel" Scotsman "A virtuoso display of literary talent...brimming with sympathy and skill" -- Adrian Frazier Irish Times "Masterful in its management of re-imagined lives and the time they inhabit" -- Hugo Hamilton Financial Times