Under the Hawthorn Tree
By Orla Melling
1990
First Published
4.21
Average Rating
150
Number of Pages
Part of Series
It is the late 1840s and the Great Famine has ravaged Ireland. The potatoes are black and rotten, and the people have nothing to eat. Eily, Michael and Peggy are alone in their cottage. Their parents went out in search of work and food, but never returned. Now the children must fend for themselves. Desperate to avoid being sent to the workhouse, they set out on a journey to find their great-aunts. On their journey, they encounter the devastation caused by famine people scrabbling for food, abandoned children, soup kitchens, beggars, disease, wild dogs, death. Led by twelve-year-old Eily, the children use all their strength and ingenuity to survive and find their way to Castletaggart.
Avg Rating
4.21
Number of Ratings
4,414
5 STARS
44%
4 STARS
37%
3 STARS
15%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
1%
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