The Irish Boarding House, Sandy Taylor
The Irish Boarding House, Sandy Taylor
116 Rating(s)
List: $34.99 | Sale: $24.50
Club: $17.49

The Irish Boarding House

Author: Sandy Taylor

Narrator: Aoife McMahon

Unabridged: 8 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/06/2022


Synopsis

Dublin, 1952. When Mary Kate Ryan receives a surprise inheritance from the woman who abandoned her as a tiny baby, she’s stunned. All her life, she has longed to know why her mother disappeared, and now she’s devastated to realize that every lonely night she spent without a home or family of her own, her mother knew exactly where she was. Mary Kate is about to refuse the money when she sees a beautiful, deserted house for sale and something sparks in her heart. She will reawaken it, as the Dublin Boarding House for Single Ladies, and provide a shelter for others as lost and alone as her. Can she help the two young girls left at the local orphanage, desperate for a home of their own? Or the pregnant teenager on the run, who only wants to keep her baby safe? The boarding house brings Mary Kate love and friendships she never dreamed of, but just as her heart is about to burst with joy, a new guest arrives. The stern older woman won’t speak about her past, but when Mary Kate uncovers her story, it reveals a devastating secret about her mother. With her life in turmoil once more, can Mary Kate draw on the strength of the women in the house to help her face her past, or will the tragedy she uncovers spell disaster for them all?

About Sandy Taylor

Sandy Taylor is the author of the Brighton Girls Trilogy and The Runaway Children as well as several other novels. She grew up on a council estate near Brighton. There were no books in the house, so her love of the written word was nurtured in the little local library. Leaving school at fifteen, she worked in a series of factories before landing a job at Butlins Resort in Minehead. This career change led her to becoming a singer, a stand-up comic, and eventually a playwright and novelist.

About Aoife McMahon

Aoife McMahon is an experienced actor and voiceover artist. Trained at RADA, she has since appeared in leading roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Young Vic, Royal Court, and the Abbey in Dublin. She has also appeared in numerous television projects on both sides of the Atlantic and was awarded the Canadian Gemini Award for best actress in a leading role. An Earphones Award winner, she has narrated over sixty audiobooks.


Reviews

What a wonderful book. This book was lovely. The writing was in such an easy reading style, it was the perfect way to spend a couple of evenings before bed. Sandy Taylor created such warm characters, that you instantly liked and rooted for immediately. The setting of 1950s Dublin was so interesting,......more

Goodreads review by Elisabeth on February 17, 2023

3.5 stars......more

Goodreads review by Michelle on August 14, 2022

Mary Kate Ryan was abandoned by her mother as a baby and was brought up by her grandparents. But when they died, she was on her own and ended up going from one boarding house to another. With no money and her future looking glum she decides that she wants to end her life in the local river. But some......more

Goodreads review by Jonelle on April 16, 2023

This book is the sweet, easy going love child Of later Maeve Binchy books and a Hallmark movie special. Everyone gets a happy ending, all the priests and nuns are wise and kind, everyone slighted is forgiving, and nothing too complex is dwelled on to ruin the taste of Happily Ever After. 52book challe......more

Goodreads review by Connie on December 21, 2022

not my taste Novel is like eating apple cake for every meal every day, you just get tired of the same sweetness every meal. Supposedly historical fiction but really just Pollyanna fiction.......more