Alice Taylor is a beloved Irish author whose work is deeply rooted in her connection to rural life in County Cork. Her writing is characterized by an authentic portrayal of human relationships, landscapes, and traditions, often focusing on themes of family and community. Taylor possesses a unique ability to capture the essence of the Irish countryside, offering readers a poignant and relatable glimpse into life. Her narratives resonate with a broad audience due to their sincerity and warmth.
Am I cocooning or self-isolating? In today's climate both words mean the same thing, but it's amazing the different picture each word paints in our subconscious. Alice Taylor explores wellbeing, what community now means and so many other topics thrown into sharp relief by the arrival of COVID19.
Some people are home alone by choice, while others, like Alice, journeyed into it through a change of circumstances. Alice discovers the challenges and pleasures of living alone.
Alice Taylor takes a journey back to the 1940s and 1950s in rural Ireland through the well-used schoolbooks that she has kept from that time. Poetry, legends, stories and history evoke a way of life, and pace of life, that's long changed.
A classic memoir from Ireland’s favourite storyteller. Here Taylor follows To School Through The Fields with these equally captivating recollections of family life in pastorial County Cork. Infused with wit and lyricism, the story centres on the 1950's when the author and her friends were teenagers. She describes the past vividly and without complaint as the years of hard labour for herself, parents and siblings, were also filled with fun in the close knit community.
This sequel to The Woman of the House and Across the River is a story of love for the home place and of the passions and jealousies it can inspire. A story of grief and trying to cope with loss, but also of resilience in the face of family tragedy.
Alice Taylor remembers her childhood home - the farm with all its tools and animals, the home with its equipment for living, its daily challenges, constant hard work, and its comforts too. She describes the huge open fireplace where all the cooking was done, where the big black kettle hung permanently from the crane over the flames; here the family sat in the evenings, talking, knitting, going over the events of the day, saying the rosary. She experienced the sow being brought indoors to have her precious brood of bonhams. She recalls the faithful, beloved horses and their wonderfully varied outfits - one set of tackle for each job they did on the farm; the ritual of lighting the oil lamps - from the fancy one in the parlour to the tiny one under the Sacred Heart picture; the excitement of threshing day and the satisfaction of a good harvest - the stations, the neighbours, and later the local dancehall and cinema. All the jobs and tools of a way of life long gone live on in the hearts of those who were formed by it. Here Alice Taylor celebrates them all with love. 'magical ... reading the book, I felt a faint ache in my heart ... I find myself longing for those days ... it is essential reading.' Irish Independent
Alice’s garden is her refuge. Inherited from Uncle Jacky, she introduces the great variety of plants and objects she has gathered – everything, of course, with its own unique and fascinating story, brought to life by a master storyteller.
Alice Taylor's second novel, a story of land, love and family set in rural Ireland. Sequel to The Woman of the House. schovat popis
The Phelans have owned Mossgrove for generations. The small, rural Irish farm has been the pride of them all until Ned's wife, Martha, arrives and begins to undermine generations of hard work and happiness. She resents the deep history of the place and sets about making it her own, shutting out what is left of Ned's family. She is particularly jealous of Ned's sister, Kate, a local nurse and doting aunt to Martha's children. When Ned dies suddenly, Martha puts Mossgrove up for sale in hopes that it will be bought by the neighbouring Conways, who have long coveted the Phelan farm. What she does not realize are the lengths to which Kate and the hired hand Jack will go to keep the land in the family ...
Her classic account of growing up in the Irish countryside, the biggest selling book ever published in Ireland.
