Olive Collins Books

"1821: AFter the landlord of Lugdale Estate in Kerry is assassinated, young Art O'Neill's innocent father is hanged and Art is deported to the cane fields of Jamaica as an indentured servant. On Mangrove Plantation he gradually acclimatesis to the exotic country and unfamiliar customs of the African slaves, and achieves a kind of contentment. Then the new plantation heirs arrive. His new owner is Colonel Stratford-Rice from Lugdale Estate, the man who hanged his father. Art must overcome his hatred to survive the harsh life of a slave and live to see the eventual emancipation which liberates his coloured children. Eventually he is promised seven gold coins when he finishes his service, but doubts his master will part with the coins."--back cover

The Memory of Music tells the story of one Irish family spanning 100 turbulent years: 1916 to 2016 Betty O Fogarty is proud and clever. Spurred on by her belief in husband Seamus's talent as a violin-maker and her desire to escape rural life, they elope to Dublin. She expects life to fulfil all her dreams. To her horror, she discovers that they can only afford to live in the notorious poverty-stricken tenements. Seamus becomes obsessed with republican politics, neglecting his lucrative craft. And, as Dublin is plunged into chaos and turmoil at Easter 1916, Betty gives birth to her first child to the sound of gunfire and shelling. But Betty vows that she will survive war and want, and move her little family out of the tenements. Nothing will stand in her way. One hundred years later, secrets churn their way to the surface and Betty s grandchildren and great-grandchildren uncover both Betty's ruthlessness and her unique brand of heroism.