The Pawnbroker's Reward
1846. County Cork.
On the barren outskirts of Macroom, Pádraig and Cáit ua Buachalla face a perilous winter after the failure of their blighted crop. At the centre of town, pawnbroker Cornelius Creed sees the poor in their darkest hour, his shop often being their last stop on the way to the workhouse.
Their stories, and those of many others, are woven into a powerful account of the Great Famine’s grip on a single Irish town. At once epic and intimate, this meticulously researched, multi-layered work from one of Ireland’s best-loved songwriter’s delivers a rich, lyrical debut based on real lives and events from this defining moment in Ireland’s history.
'A powerful and gripping piece of writing from a born storyteller.' Joseph O’Connor
‘The narrative is just like his singing voice, full of powerful strength and compassion.’ Michael Harding
‘Lucid, lovingly-written and lyrical.’ Professor Christine Kinealy
31 Available
ISBN
9780717199884Publication Date
September 2023Language(s)
EnglishFormat
Paperback, 512 pagesCountry of Origin
IRELANDPublisher
Gill BooksAuthor(s)
By Declan O'RourkeAvailability Status
AvailableDeclan O’Rourke, one of Ireland’s best-loved songwriters, has been described by the New York Times as a writer of songs full of ‘compassion, romance, a sense of mortality and a sense of history’. His iconic hit song ‘Galileo’ has been described by Paul Weller as the song from the past thirty years he most wished he’d written. His award-winning album Chronicles of the Great Irish Famine illuminated an extraordinary series of eye-witness accounts, including the story of Pádraig and Cáit Ua Buachalla in the song ‘Poor Boy’s Shoes’, which provided inspiration for this book.
The Pawnbroker’s Reward is the first book in the Great Famine saga. The second book in the series is A Whisper From Oblivion. The Long Walk Home completes the trilogy.
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