The epic and heartbreaking story of three extraordinary women fighting for Ireland’s freedom

Rebel Sisters

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER 
 
A moving story about one real-life family at the heart of the Dublin 1916 Easter Rising.

The No.1 bestselling novel from one of Ireland's most loved writers! 
 
With the threat of the First World War looming, tension simmers under the surface of Ireland. 
 
Bright, beautiful and intelligent, the Gifford sisters Grace, Muriel and Nellie kick against the conventions of their privileged, wealthy Anglo-Irish background and their mother Isabella's expectations. 
 
As War erupts across Europe, the spirited sisters soon find themselves caught up in Ireland's struggle for freedom. 
 
Muriel falls deeply in love with writer Thomas MacDonagh, artist Grace meets the enigmatic Joe Plunkett - both leaders of 'The Rising' - while Nellie joins 'The Citizen Army' and takes up arms to fight alongside Countess Markievicz in the rebellion. 
 
On Easter Monday 1916, the Rising begins, and the world of the Gifford sisters and everyone they hold dear is torn apart in a fight that is destined for tragedy. 
 
____________ 
 
'Engrossing' Sunday Times 
 
'Marvellous ... A gripping read' Irish Independent 
 
'Finally, women are being written back into the history of [Ireland's] awakening' Irish Mail on Sunday

Conlon-McKenna's marvellous book could not be more timely. As painful as the story of these three sisters is, it is told with a light and deft hand. Her attention to historical detail is meticulous, her prose is easy and fluid. To tell a tale where the ending is already known and yet hold the reader spellbound throughout is an admirable trait in a writer, and Conlon-McKenna has accomplished this tricky manoeuvre beautifully. It's simply a gripping read

A deft retelling of the story [of the Easter Rising] . . . Engrossing

Finally, women are being written back into the history of [Ireland's] awakening . . . There is such a story to tell, and the author skilfully handles her considerable amount of research

What is most admirable, most brave about Rebel Sisters, is that Marita Conlon-McKenna has dared to write a book that lacks a hero or heroine. In the violent times of its setting there can be no losers nor winners, only those who survive and those who do not. It is a mark of her moral honesty that Marita Conlon-McKenna does not run from such difficult confusions and conclusions. She will deliver the truth as her story tells it, and in doing so, pay searing testimony to the Giffords’ lives. I congratulate her on a most moving, and indeed necessary book. It is a terrific achievement by a terrific writer

Marita Conlon-McKenna is a hugely successful Irish children's writer. Her first novel, UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE , sold over 250,000 copies in the Irish market alone. 
 
Her debut adult novel, THE MAGDALEN, was a number one bestseller in Ireland. 
 
Marita lives in Dublin with her husband

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER, SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 IRISH BOOK AWARDS 
 
With the threat of the First World War looming, tension simmers under the surface of Ireland. 
 
Bright, beautiful and intelligent, the Gifford sisters Grace, Muriel and Nellie kick against the conventions of their privileged, wealthy Anglo-Irish background and their mother Isabella’s expectations. 
 
As War erupts across Europe, the spirited sisters soon find themselves caught up in Ireland’s struggle for freedom. 
 
Muriel falls deeply in love with writer Thomas MacDonagh, artist Grace meets the enigmatic Joe Plunkett – both leaders of ‘The Rising’ – while Nellie joins ‘The Citizen Army’ and takes up arms to fight alongside Countess Markievicz in the rebellion. 
 
On Easter Monday 1916, the Rising begins, and the world of the Gifford sisters and everyone they hold dear is torn apart in a fight that is destined for tragedy. 
 
‘Engrossing’ Irish Sunday Times 
 
'Marvellous ... A gripping read' Irish Independent 
 
‘Finally, women are being written back into the history of [Ireland's] awakening’ Irish Mail on Sunday

The Matchmaker

Marita Conlon-McKenna is a hugely successful Irish children's writer. Her first novel, UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE, sold 250,000 copies in the Irish market alone. Her debut adult novel, THE MAGDALEN, was a number one bestseller in Ireland, followed by PROMISED LAND, MIRACLE WOMAN, THE STONE HOUSE and THE HAT SHOP ON THE CORNER. She lives in Dublin with her husband and four children.

Maggie Ryan can't help it! She constantly finds herself organizing and meddling in the lives of others, trying to match things and people together, from her neighbours in Dublin's Pleasant Square to her own family. With three bright, beautiful daughters who are still single Maggie decides that a little romantic matching is needed. 
 
However matchmaking is not as easy as it seems and Maggie's quest to find the perfect partner for each of her reluctant daughters is proving difficult. 
 
Her architect daughter Grace has had enough of heartbreak and given up on men deciding instead to concentrate on her career. Poetry obsessed Anna believes that no man can ever live up to her hero W.B.Yeats. While single-parent Sarah devotes so much time to her little girl Evie that romance constantly passes her by. 
 
Determined to get 'rings on those fingers' Maggie Ryan believes that the arrival of bachelor Mark McGuinness, who has just purchased a house on 'The Square', is an opportunity far too good to be missed!

The Hat Shop On The Corner

A gloriously warm-hearted novel about wonderful hats, but also about the people who buy them - and their remarkable stories.

Warm and uplifting, an absolute joy to read

One of those effortless reads which manages to grab the attention from the first page.

Hats! Hats! Hats!Upbrims, sidesweeps, silks, ribbons and trims all become part of Ellie's life when she inherits the little hat shop on Dublin's South Anne Street.But the city is changing and Ellie must decide if she wants to follow the hat-making tradition of her mother or accept a generous offer to sell the shop. 
 
Encouraged by her friends, Ellie takes on the hat shop and her quirky designs and tempting millinery confections soon attract a rich assortment of customers all in search of the perfect hat. 
 
Creating hats for weddings, shows, fashion and fun, and falling for the charms of Rory Doyle along the way, Ellie is happier than she has ever been before. But as her fingers work their magic she discovers a lot can happen in the heart of a city like Dublin...

The Rose Garden

An inspiring and warm-hearted new novel from the number one bestselling author of Three Women.

A light, appealing summer read and a gentle reminder for readers young and not-so-young, to stop and smell the roses. It's summer, after all.

Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland's favourite authors and a regular number one bestseller. She is the winner of the prestigious International Reading Association award and a regular contributor to Radio and TV. She lives in Blackrock, Dublin with her husband and family.

Molly’s perfect life comes crashing down following the unexpected death of her husband David. She is left alone with a big old house to maintain, finances in disarray and her hopes for happiness in a heap. But Molly is a survivor. Despite objections from her two daughters, Molly fears that the only solution will be to sell their beloved home. But as she finds herself drawn to the old neglected and overgrown walled rose garden and the dilapidated gardener’s cottage attached, shesuddenly sees a future as shedecides to restore them. 
 
As the rose garden takes on a new life and starts to bloom again, Molly finds that she can look to the future with new confidence and hope.

From the bestselling author of The Hungry Road

The Magdalen

Reissue of the Irish Number 1 bestseller.

This book pulls no punches...Marita Conlon-McKenna is breaking new ground with The Magdalen

Marita Conlon-McKenna is a hugely successful Irish children's writer. Her first novel, UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE, sold 250,000 copies in the Irish market alone. Her debut adult novel, THE MAGDALEN, was a number one bestseller in Ireland, followed by PROMISED LAND, MIRACLE WOMAN, THE STONE HOUSE, THE HAT SHOP ON THE CORNER, THE MATCHMAKER, MOTHER OF THE BRIDE, A TASTE FOR LOVE,THREE WOMEN and THE ROSE GARDEN. She lives in Dublin with her husband and four children.

Esther Doyle is a young Irish girl growing up in a small fishing community in Connemara in the 1950s. Her life is a stable one, bound by the slow rhythms of farming life and the joy of looking after her handicapped sister Nonie. But her existence is horribly changed when she becomes pregnant and is sent to the home for fallen women in Dublin, the Magdalen Laundry...

Three Women

Love and its consequences last a lifetime...

Marita Conlon-McKenna handles this story with exceptional grace...  deeply moving... the story in itself is enough to keep the pages turning but there is much more in this utterly contemporary book.  It's packed full of humour, love and financial woes that charts Dublin better than any map.

Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland's favourite authors. Her previous novels include The Matchmaker and the number one bestsellers The Magdalen and Mother of the Bride. She is the winner of the prestigious International Reading Association award and is a regular contributor on Radio and TV. 
She lives in Dublin with her family.

Kate Cassidy is about to celebrate twenty five years of marriage to Paddy. But the secret she has kept all this time is about to be discovered. 
 
Erin Harris has always known that she is different from the rest of her family. Over the years she has begun to put the pieces together and now she has to discover who she really is and where she comes from. 
 
Nina Harris has always put her marriage and family before everything. But now she must face up to the truth as her daughter is prepared to run off and search for a woman she doesn't know. 
 
There is no escaping the past. Kate, Erin and Nina all have to come to terms with what happened so many years before, and to find their own way of dealing with it.

Miracle Woman

A powerful rollercoaster of a novel about a woman who discovers she has the power of healing hands.

Miracle Woman is another terrific book, easy to read, with a story that grabbed my attention from the first page... I recommend this book highly. The story is original, cleverly told and the pace of the writing carries the reader onwards effortlessly

Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland's favourite authors. Her other novels include The Matchmaker and the number one bestsellers The Magdalen and Mother of the Bride. She is the winner of the prestigious International Reading Association award and is a regular contributor on Radio and TV. She lives in Dublin with her family.

Martha MacKenzie was an ordinary woman. Nothing extraordinary had ever happened to her, unless she counted her marriage to Dan and the birth of her three perfect, healthy children. Until the day of the accident, when she touched the Lucas boy as he lay dying on the tarmac, and they said she saved him. That was the start of it all... 
 
As word of her healing spreads, Martha's life and the lives of those around her are radically altered. Hounded by the media and those in desperate search of hope and miracles, Martha is forced to decide what is most important in her life.

Promised Land

A powerful saga about a young girl's fight for ownership of her father's farm from one of Ireland's best-loved writers.

Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland's favourite authors. Her other novels include The Matchmaker and the number one bestsellers The Magdalen and Mother of the Bride. She is the winner of the prestigious International Reading Association award and is a regular contributor on Radio and TV. She lives in Dublin with her family.

Inheritance changes everything, as Ella Kennedy soon discovers when her father dies and the hundred-acre farm she has grown up on and run for years in the Wexford countryside is no longer hers. Hurt and angry following a fight with her brother, Ella leaves her home and people she cares for and joins her wild cousin Kitty in Dublin. 
 
Exiled in the city, Ella is forced to make a new life for herself like the other country girls. She tries to forget the farm, pushing all thoughts of Sean Flanagan, the neighbour she had loved, from her mind. In time she hopes to return to the home she left and find true happiness with a man who wants her for herself, and not what she will bring him.

A Taste for Love

The delicious new novel from this number one bestselling author.

Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland's favourite authors. Her previous novels include The Matchmaker and the number one bestsellers The Magdalen and Mother of the Bride. She is the winner of the prestigious International Reading Association award and is a regular contributor on Radio and TV. 
She lives in Dublin with her family.

Alice loves to cook. She believes the secret of good food is to cook with passion. 
 
Her love affair with cookery has taken her from her parents' seaside hotel, to Paris and then one of Dublin's finest restaurants. Then she marries Liam, and is happy to hang up her chef's hat and cook for her family and friends instead. 
 
But now she's cooking for one! 
 
Her marriage to Liam over, it's high time she learns to stand on her own two feet and begin again... 
 
Alice opens The Martello School of Cookery and a group of total strangers learn from her to create food that is tasty and delicious. And in the comfort of her kitchen they discover, not only how to cook - but recipes for life... 
 
By the number one bestselling author of The Mother of the Bride

Mother of the Bride

A summer wedding - what could be more perfect?

Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland's favourite authors. Her previous novels include The Matchmaker and the number one bestseller The Magdalen. She is the winner of the prestigious International Reading Association award and is a regular contributor on Radio and TV. A romantic by nature, Marita was swept off her own feet and got married aged twenty to her tall dark handsome husband. They live with their family in Dublin.

Everyone knows that Amy and Dan are made for each other. So when they announce their engagement their families are over the moon, especially Amy's mother Helen. 
What could be more exciting than planning a daughter's wedding? 
 
But as the countdown to the Big Day begins, and mother and daughter throw themselves into creating the wedding of their dreams, not everyone's prepared for the commotion this involves. 
 
Bride-to-be Amy sees her best laid wedding plans start to unravel and things go from bad to worse, as Helen struggles to pick up the pieces and get her family back on track. 
Amy and Helen each discover what love and marriage is all about... but is it too late? 
 
It's not easy being a mother, let alone the Mother of the Bride!

The Stone House

The new novel from one of Ireland's best-loved writers - a compelling story of love, loss and the power of sisterhood and family relationships to survive the deepest hurts and secrets.

Terrific...original, cleverly told and the pace of the writing carries the reader onwards effortlessly

Everything changes for Kate, Moya and Romy when they receive word that Maeve Dillon, their mother, is critically ill. It is time to return from Dublin, London and New York to Rossmore and the old stone house overlooking the Irish Sea where they grew up. But ancient jealousies surface as each sister confronts the past and the decisions they have made. 
For work-driven Kate it is time to take stock of her role as a high-flying ambitious lawyer and single parent; life is a battle between work and looking after Molly with little time for a proper relationship. Even Patrick, the man she once fell for, has ended up marrying her sister. Beautiful and intense Moya must take a hard look at her marriage to the charming but unfaithful Patrick and consider her own worth. For wild child Romy who has travelled the world and hasn't put a foot on Irish soil for years, it is time to finally stop running and find the courage to confront her family. 
A good and caring mother, Maeve Dillon has somehow over the years labelled each of her three daughters: Moya the beautiful, Kate the brains, and Romy, the bold and wild one. Now it is finally time for all three to break out of the box.

Marita Conlon-McKenna

Compelling … An accessible and essential book, which does great service to Irish history and charts the courage and steadfastness of the human spirit

Powerful ... Conlon-McKenna has assembled an excellent cast of characters ... Myriad small, moving details help to illustrate the enormity of the tragedy

Captivating … This well-researched novel brings the atrocity of the famine to life

(Marita Conlon-McKenna has) done a great service to history ... I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I raced through it ... It’s a must-add to your collection.

There’s no doubt that The Hungry Road deserves attention: it’s a gripping read - full of mesmerising and horrifyingly visceral detail

Conlon-McKenna writes about this period with great passion and fury, and even in the midst of all the tragedy, she finds a way to weave in a love story

It’s a great read - it has the feeling of an epic film.

The No.1 bestselling novel of the Great Irish Famine from one of Ireland's most beloved writers 
 
Ireland's hopes for freedom are dashed with the arrival of a deadly potato blight that strikes terror in the heart of its people. 
 
1845. Seamstress Mary Sullivan's dreams of a better future are shattered as she looks out over their ruined crop. Refusing to give in to despair, she must use every ounce of courage and strength to protect her family as they fight to survive. 
 
Dr Dan Donovan is Medical Officer to the Skibbereen Union. The arrival of 'The Hunger' soon brings starving men, women and children crowding into the town and the workhouse, desperate for assistance. 
 
Fr John Fitzpatrick's faith is tested by the suffering that surrounds him as his pleas for help fall on deaf ears. 
 
Inspired by true Irish heroes, The Hungry Road is the heartbreaking story of the Great Irish Famine told by one of Ireland's best loved writers. 
 
__________ 
 
'Compelling ... An essential book' Sunday Times 
 
'Heartbreaking and powerful' Her.ie 
 
'Gripping' Business Post 
 
'Captivating' Sunday Independent 
 
'Powerful ... illustrate[s] the enormity of the tragedy' Irish Independent

Marita Conlon-McKenna

Praise for The Hungry Road

Compelling … An accessible and essential book, which does great service to Irish history and charts the courage and steadfastness of the human spirit

Heartbreaking and powerful

Powerful ... Conlon-McKenna has assembled an excellent cast of characters ... Myriad small, moving details help to illustrate the enormity of the tragedy

Compelling … An accessible and essential book, which does great service to Irish history and charts the courage and steadfastness of the human spirit

Heartbreaking and powerful

Powerful ... Conlon-McKenna has assembled an excellent cast of characters ... Myriad small, moving details help to illustrate the enormity of the tragedy

Compelling … An accessible and essential book, which does great service to Irish history and charts the courage and steadfastness of the human spirit

Heartbreaking and powerful

Powerful ... Conlon-McKenna has assembled an excellent cast of characters ... Myriad small, moving details help to illustrate the enormity of the tragedy

Books by Marita Conlon-McKenna

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