A broken woman, New York, 2016. A fearless rebel, Dublin 1916. And a gripping story that spans a century. USA Today Bestselling Author Jean Grainger, wants to take you to Ireland. During a time of great upheaval and unrest in Ireland, as men and women run to take up arms against the tyranny and occupation of the British Empire, the lives of three women are forever altered, and thereby inextricably linked over the span of a century. Mary Doyle arrives in Dublin in 1913, doomed she fears, to a life of domestic service. Instead, however, she finds herself deeply affected by the social and political turmoil of a fledgling nation struggling for independence. Suddenly, all that was once inevitable is no longer a certainty as she is embroiled in the very heart of the Easter Rising. Scarlett O’Hara has had many hurdles to cross in her life, not least her name. A successful political correspondent, she finds herself at a crossroads when one error of judgement jeopardises everything she has worked so hard to overcome and achieve. In the process of rebuilding her life, Scarlett faces the difficult and ultimate choice of starting all over again. At ninety-three years old, Eileen Chiarello thought her time for adventure and wonder was over, before a chance meeting with Scarlett draws her back to Ireland, the land her parents fought for and loved so passionately. Now, at the end of her life, Eileen has the opportunity to fulfil a promise she never thought she could. Historically sweeping and beautifully written, Shadow of a Century draws a circle around the Irish Rebellion and carefully traces the magnitude of its significance against the backdrop of three women’s lives across history. Described by reviewers as ‘so much more than an Irish love story,’ and another said ‘Jean Grainger’s story telling is so enthralling I gave up sleep.’ Is there ever a sacrifice that is too great, when the stakes are so high?
Author
Jean Grainger was born in Cork, Ireland. She has been a tour guide of her beloved home country, a teacher, a university lecturer and a playwright. She began writing fiction at the suggestion of her clients on tours, many of whom were sure all the stories she told them would make for a great book. Her first book, The Tour, has become a Number 1 bestseller on Amazon. It tells the story of a disparate group of American visitors to Ireland, who, along with their Irish tour guide have a life changing experience in the magical Emerald Isle. Her second book, So Much Owed, is a family saga set during the Second World War. The story centres on the Buckley family of West Cork and how their lives are pulled in different directions as they become embroiled in the war. It is a sweeping family saga of intrigue and romance against the background of occupied Europe. In her third novel, Shadow of a Century, she tells a tale of a battered old flag found in New York in 2016, a century after it was used during the Easter Rising, when Ireland made her final bid for freedom from Great Britain. This tells the story of a journalist who uncovers a story, one with much more to it than a flag. Her fourth novel, due out in Spring 2016, Under Heaven’s Shining Stars, is set in the 1970s in Cork, Ireland and is a novel about friendship. Three boys, Liam, Patrick and Hugo, though from very different backgrounds are united in a deep but often times challenging friendship. As their lives progress, only by staying strong, can they prevail. Or fail. Her novella, Letters of Freedom, tells the story of Carmel, stuck in a pointless marriage, when a figure from her past emerges and changes everything with a ‘like’ on Facebook. This quick read will touch your heart. She lives in Cork with her husband and her two youngest children. The older two come home occasionally with laundry and to raid the fridge.
