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Of Woman Born
 
 

Of Woman Born [Kindle Edition]

Eileen Townsend
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Product Description

This is the unforgettable story of Maeve Donovan. Set in troubled Ireland and America, and spanning sixty years of the twentieth century, this exhilarating and heartrending saga tells of the passions, triumphs and tragedies that governed her life and those of her children and grandchildren.

Maeve is the daughter of a wealthy Dubliner, a Protestant. Strong-willed and unorthodox, she flouts her parents’ wishes by marrying Danny, a rebellious and idealistic young Roman Catholic. On the day that her son Kieran is born, Danny is in the thick of the Easter Rising, fierce in his idealism yet as conventional in his views of women and marriage as Maeve is unconventional. When Danny’s unruly temper begins to direct itself against Maeve and Kieran, Maeve finds herself deeply attracted to Danny’s strong and gentle brother, Dermot. But Dermot is a priest, and therefore forbidden. Their passion and guilt have dire repercussions for generations to come.

About the Author

Eileen Townsend is the author of the bestselling novels ‘Of Woman Born’, ‘In Love and War’, ‘The Love Child’, ‘The Other Woman’, ‘Child of Fire’, ‘Dreamtime’ and ‘Thine is the Kingdom’. With her husband, Professor Colin Townsend, she compiled ‘War Wives’, the widely acclaimed story of women in the Second World War.

Born in Scotland, she spent of most of her childhood in Cumbria. She is an MA graduate in Modern History and Political Science.


Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 818 KB
  • Print Length: 576 pages
  • Publisher: Peach Publishing (2 Oct 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B005S1BZRS
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #7,903 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Brilliant 4 Oct 2011
Format:Kindle Edition
I was completely taken by this book. It is a really skillful and compelling take on an area of history I knew little about. It's a must for those fond of well-written historical fiction. Very, very good indeed.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
A very 'Real' book! 20 May 2003
Format:Hardcover
Set in Ireland and America, Of Woman Born spans 3 generations and 3 wars. The story begins in the early 1900’s with Maeve Ballantine, only daughter of a rich, Protestant family who falls in love with Danny Donovan, a Roman Catholic committed to the Irish rebellion. Maeve leaves her family and marries Danny only to find herself repelled by his temperamental nature and his dedication to a cause she cannot bring herself to believe in.

Barely a year into their luckless marriage, Danny is a wanted man after his participation in the Irish Easter Rising of 1916. When Danny dies in a raid, a widowed Maeve turns with her orphan son, to his elder brother for understanding and sympathy. Although Dermont is a Catholic priest, a long-standing, forbidden attraction between them leads inevitably to a consummation of their passion, leaving Dermont with a heavy burden of guilt for breaking his vows of celibacy … and Maeve with child.

Knowing that Dermont will never give up his faith for her, Maeve returns to her family and marries her father’s American partner. She migrates to the States without telling the man she really loves that she is expecting their child. The story then follows the lives of her children during the Second World War, as they make their own mistakes and face the consequences of their decisions in love and war.

The final part of the story comes a full circle and brings Maeve back to Ireland with Danny, Dermont’s grandson, in an attempt to make her peace with old enemies and finally lay the ghosts of her past to rest after 50 years.

In telling the story of one family, Eileen Townsend questions the futility of wars that claim the innocent lives of enthusiasts who sometimes do not even fully understand the cause they are fighting for. There is no ‘good guys beat bad guys’ or ‘happy ever after’ ending in this book. It is a story about the harsh realities of life and the fact that things never turn out quite as you want them to.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Excellent read! 14 Mar 2012
Format:Kindle Edition
I really enjoyed this book. I had downloaded this book as it was free and the Kindle was still new to me. I hadn't read any other books by Eileen Townsend so didn't know what to expect. I shall certainly buy her other books, I found this read fascinating.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Of Woman Born
Brilliant read!! A little Irish history backed up with a really good story - couldn't put it down!! Reading recommended :-)
Published 1 month ago by yummyjojo
great history and great love stories
At first I thought this was all about the history of Ireland but on reading I found a wonderful story. Read more
Published 1 month ago by gesher
Good story line but.....
I was a bit disappointed in this book as it had all the makings of a gripping story but I found myself getting annoyed at the amount of poetry randomly thrown in at various stages. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Desparate Dan
Outstanding
I started to read this book when I was in the airport waiting to fly home, we were delayed for over 10 hours - and I was so glad I had this book - on my Kindle - I could not put it... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Carol432
of women born
love this book made me cry hope to read some more like this its about Ireland and america spans 3 generations and 3 war excellent read
Published 3 months ago by dot1956
Thoroughly enjoyable
An exciting, fast-paced story that brings the most colourful period of Irish history to life. The characters leap from the page and have the reader laughing and crying with them... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Peggy
Unputdownable
A poetic sensual, historical yarn - this book swept me away into a different world yet still retained a timeless quality. Read this and I know you will agree.
Published 7 months ago by Mary
Compelling
I loved this book. I not only learned a lot about Irish history (on my first visit to Dublin, really felt an affinity when walking the streets where the action took place) but the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Patricia
Great book
I hadn't read any of Townsend's books before but I shall try and pick up more. It's a really enjoyable read and it's great it's available as an e-book because it gives you the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by KindleFan
Of Woman Born
This is one of those books you just don't want to put down. It is brilliantly researched and beautifully written. I shall be on the lookout for more of Eileen Townsend's books.
Published 7 months ago by Elise
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