Ireland, 1749. Dennis McDermott, a witty, charming and daring young man with shades of the Scarlet Pimpernel, lives two lives in eighteenth-century Dublin. Fashionable society idolises him as a handsome, rakish man of their world, never suspecting that he is the mysterious leader of the Irish underground whose nightly missions ... more >
This is book nine in my Laura Kinsale reread tour, which started back in 2016. It was Kinsale’s second published book, and it’s a weird one, featuring Irish fairies and mindreading and a plot that I hoped would make more sense in the end than it did the first time ... more >
Now you see her… Still haunted by memories of his last case, in which an innocent woman was accidentally killed, Bow Street Runner John Pickett welcomes the challenge of a new assignment in the West Country. Unfortunately, this time he’ll have to leave his beloved wife, Julia, behind, as he’ll ... more >
Husband takes makeup lessons – This story has been out for a while but it’s so touching that I had to mention it once I finally saw it. A husband’s simple gesture of love for his wife is inspiring people around the world. Mona Manahan, 82, has trouble doing her ... more >
Publishers, writers rally against N.L. book tax – Newfoundland and Labrador (N.L.) has become the first and only Canadian province to institute a book tax – 10 percent a book, as compared to the 5 percent GST. Insisting that “books are not luxury items,” writers and publishers are also pointing out ... more >
Brian Friel, Playwright Called the Irish Chekhov, Dies at 86 – The writer behind such classics as Dancing at Lughnasa, Faith Healer, and The Loves of Cass McGuire died last week at his home in Ireland. Before becoming a playwright, Friel contemplated becoming a priest, taught math, and wrote short stories ... more >