THE BORD GAIS ENERGY IRISH BOOK AWARDS
It is that time of year again when the people of Ireland get to vote for their favourite books.
As always the short list is interesting and sure to cater to the taste of most if not all readers.
One of the titles nominated in Sunday Independent New Comer of the Year category is The Herbalist by Niamh Boyce. I was fortunate enough to read this book last June and have to say that I agree completely that this title deserves to be included.
The Herbalist is the electrifying first novel from Niamh Boyce, winner of the
2012 Hennesssy XO Award for New Irish Writing.
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#rhzpjIajHSwjLFUI.99
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#rhzpjIajHSwjLFUI.99
The Herbalist is the electrifying first novel from Niamh Boyce, winner of the
2012 Hennesssy XO Award for New Irish Writing.
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
The Herbalist is the electrifying first novel from Niamh Boyce, winner of the
2012 Hennesssy XO Award for New Irish Writing.
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
Synopsis, taken Amazon:
The Herbalist is the electrifying first novel from Niamh Boyce, winner of the 2012 Hennesssy XO Award for New Irish Writing.
It is a devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets up his stall in the market square.
In
this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople
call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that
ails them.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#rhzpjIajHSwjLFUI.99
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#rhzpjIajHSwjLFUI.99
Teenager Emily is spellbound by the exotic stranger - here is a man of the world who won't care that she's not respectable.
However, Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. It seems the women of her small town are all mesmerized by the visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the miracle-worker's dark side, her world turns upside down. She may be naive, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. With his fate lying in her hands, Emily must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make the herbalist pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another place?
My review of The Herbalist can be found by clicking here.
" This is a beautiful and fascinating book. It captures the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small town in Ireland in the 1930’s with an accuracy that is almost painful."
I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well written, charming and thought-provoking historical novel.
The kind people of Penguin Ireland have offered me the opportunity to give a copy of this title to one of my followers. If you'd like to be in with a chance to win please leave a comment to this post, including details on how you may be contacted. One week from today, on November, 26th, I'll pick and contact a winner. This competition will be restricted to followers in England and Ireland.
Finally, don't forget to vote for this and/or other titles. Voting in the Bord Gais Energy Book Awards is open right now:
The Herbalist is the electrifying first novel from Niamh Boyce, winner of the
2012 Hennesssy XO Award for New Irish Writing.
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
The Herbalist is the electrifying first novel from Niamh Boyce, winner of the
2012 Hennesssy XO Award for New Irish Writing.
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
The Herbalist is the electrifying first novel from Niamh Boyce, winner of the
2012 Hennesssy XO Award for New Irish Writing.
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
A devastating and emotional story of yearning and obsession in 1930s rural Ireland, in its freshness and immediacy, The Herbalist will appeal to fans of Edna O'Brien and Patrick McCabe.
Out of nowhere the herbalist appears and sets out his stall in the market square. In this dull midlands town the exotic stranger brings glamour and excitement. The townspeople call him The Don and with his potions and lotions he seems to have a cure for all that ails them.
Teenager Emily is enchanted. In the herbalist she sees a Clark Gable to her Jean Harlow, a Fred to her Ginger - a man to make her forget her lowly status in this place where respectability is everything.
But Emily has competition for the herbalist's attentions. The women of the town - the women from the big houses and their maids, the shopkeepers and their serving girls, those of easy virtue and their pious sisters - all seem mesmerised by this visitor who, they say, can perform miracles.
When Emily discovers the dark side of the man who has infatuated her all summer, once again her world turns upside down. She may be naive and full of foolish dreams, but she has a fierce sense of right and wrong. And with the herbalist's fate lying in her hands she must make the biggest decision of her young life. To make him pay for his sins against the women of the town? Or let him escape to cast his spell on another town?
The Herbalist is a riveting story about the shadow side of Irish life - the snobbery, the fear of sex, the tragedy of women destroyed by social convention and the bravery of those who defied it. It is an unforgettable story from a rare new talent.
In addition to winning the 2012 Hennessy New Writing Award, Niamh Boyce has been shortlisted for the 2011 Francis McManus Short Story competition, the 2010 Hennessy Literary Award and the 2010 Molly Keane Award.
Read more at http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781844883042,00.html#TS6RAKIjlKK8Gjaf.99
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