Acclaimed Irish novelist Nuala O'Connor's bold reimagining of the life of James Joyce's wife, muse, and the model for Molly Bloom in Ulysses is a "lively and loving paean to the indomitable Nora Barnacle" (Edna O'Brien). Dublin, 1904. Nora Joseph Barnacle is a twenty-year-old from Galway working as a maid at Finn's Hotel. She enjoys the liveliness of her adopted city and on June 16--Bloomsday--her life is changed when she meets Dubliner James Joyce, a fateful encounter that turns into a lifelong love. Despite his hesitation to marry, Nora follows Joyce in pursuit of a life beyond Ireland, and they surround themselves with a buoyant group of friends that grows to include Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and Sylvia Beach. But as their life unfolds, Nora finds herself in conflict between their intense desire for each other and the constant anxiety of living in poverty throughout Europe. She desperately wants literary success for Jim, believing in his singular gift and knowing that he thrives on being the toast of the town, and it eventually provides her with a security long lacking in her life and his work. So even when Jim writes, drinks, and gambles his way to literary acclaim, Nora provides unflinching support and inspiration, but at a cost to her own happiness and that of their children. &nbsp; With gorgeous and emotionally resonant prose, Nora is a heartfelt portrayal of love, ambition, and the quiet power of an ordinary woman who was, in fact, extraordinary.

Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce

Literature & Fiction

O'Connor, Nuala

British & Irish

Harper-perennial

An Amazon Canada Best Book of the Year, the American debut of an award-winning Irish writer that brings to life Emily Dickinson and will enthrall fans of Longbourn and Mrs. Poe and the film A Quiet Passion, starring Cynthia Nixon as Emily Dickinson. Nuala O’Connor’s enchanting American debut novel, Miss Emily, reimagines the private life of Emily Dickinson, one of America’s most beloved poets, through her own voice and through the eyes of her family’s Irish maid. Eighteen-year-old Ada Concannon has just been hired by the respected but eccentric Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts. Despite their difference in age and the upstairs-downstairs divide, Ada strikes up a deep friendship with Miss Emily, the gifted elder daughter living a spinster’s life at home. But Emily’s passion for words begins to dominate her life. She will wear only white and avoids the world outside the Dickinson homestead. When Ada’s safety and reputation are threatened, however, Emily must face down her own demons in order to help her friend, with shocking consequences.

Miss Emily: A Novel

United States

G.P.Putnam's Sons

Longlisted for the International DUBLIN Literary Award Emily Dickinson’s life is reimagined in her own voice and through eyes of a young Irish maid—an enchanting novel in the spirit of Longbourn and Mrs. PoeAda Concannon’s first day in America is a success. She’s the new maid for the respected but eccentric Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts. Despite the differences in age and class, eighteen-year-old Ada, “a neat little Irish person, fresh off the boat,” strikes up a deep friendship with Miss Emily, the gifted elder daughter living a spinster’s life at home. Emily is a bastion of support as Ada struggles to find her place in this new world, while Ada’s toil gives Emily the freedom she needs to write.
But Emily’s passion for words begins to dominate her life. She decides to wear nothing but white and increasingly avoids the outside world. When Ada’s safety and reputation are threatened, however, Emily faces down her own demons in order to help her friend, with shocking consequences.

Miss Emily

Genre Fiction

Penguin Canada

Irish music transcends all national boundaries, and yet expresses intensely the spirit of the place - that longing of all exiles for their home country. For the story of Irish music is also the story of centuries-long emigration to, especially, America and England. With a blend of social history, interviews with musicians and analysis of technique, this book attempts to chart some of those journeys, to visit some of the places reached - the Appalachians, Chicago, New York, London - and to provide an account of how Irish music eventually wound its way back home again, enriched, re-invigorated and changed. Way back, Irish traditional music belonged to remote rural communities - the hauntingly beautiful "sean nos", unaccompanied songs sung in Irish, the ballads, the jigs, reels, slides and polkas taught by itinerant dancing masters. But it was in America that Irish music re-invented itself, to meet the musical needs of the New World, and 20th-century technology also sent it off in new directions to meld with rock, country, pop, electric folk, blues and the avant-garde. This book chronicles those transformations, from the Clancy Brothers and Bob Dylan, Planxty and Clannad, to the Pogues, Van Morrison, U2, Sinead O'Connor and Christy Moore, and to John Cage's "Roaratorio". It aims to show, too, how modern music has been alchemized by the use of traditional Irish techniques and instruments like the bodhran, the harp and the uilleann pipes to form that unique sound that is so unmistakably Irish. The book ties in with a BBC2 television series in March and April 1991.

Bringing it all back home: The influence of Irish music

Arts & Photography

Music

BBC Books

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. The American debut of an award-winning Irish writer that brings to life Emily Dickinson and will enthrall fans of Longbourn and Mrs. Poe Nuala O'Connor's enchanting American debut novel, Miss Emily , reimagines the private life of Emily Dickinson, one of America's most beloved poets, through her own voice and through the eyes of her family's Irish maid. Eighteen-year-old Ada Concannon has just been hired by the respected but eccentric Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts. Despite their difference in age and the upstairs-downstairs divide, Ada strikes up a deep friendship with Miss Emily, the gifted elder daughter living a spinster's life at home. But Emily's passion for words begins to dominate her life. She will wear only white and avoids the world outside the Dickinson homestead. When Ada's safety and reputation are threatened, however, Emily must face down her own demons in order to help her friend, with shocking consequences.

Miss Emily (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Literary

Turtleback

Becoming Belle

A witty and inherently feminist novel about passion and marriage, based on a true story of an unstoppable woman ahead of her time in Victorian London. In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed "the peasant countess" by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle's rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down. With only her talent, charm, and determination, Isabel moves to London alone at age nineteen, changes her name to Belle, and takes the city by storm, facing unthinkable hardships as she rises to fame. A true bohemian and the star of a dancing double act she performs with her sister, she reigns over The Empire Theatre and The Corinthian Club, where only select society entertains. It is there she falls passionately in love with William, Viscount Dunlo, a young aristocrat. For Belle, her marriage to William is a dream come true, but his ruthless father makes clear he'll stop at nothing to keep her in her place. Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.

A witty and inherently feminist novel about passion and marriage, based on a true story of an unstoppable woman ahead of her time in Victorian London In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed "the peasant countess" by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle's rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down.      With only her talent, charm, and determination, Isabel moves to London alone at age nineteen, changes her name to Belle, and takes the city by storm, facing unthinkable hardships as she rises to fame. A true bohemian and the star of a dancing double act she performs with her sister, she reigns over The Empire Theatre and The Corinthian Club, where only select society entertains. It is there she falls passionately in love with William, Viscount Dunlo, a young aristocrat. For Belle, her marriage to William is a dream come true, but his ruthless father makes clear he'll stop at nothing to keep her in her place.      Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.

The American debut of an award-winning Irish writer that brings to life Emily Dickinson and will enthrall fans of "Longbourn "and "Mrs. Poe" Nuala O'Connor's enchanting American debut novel, "Miss Emily," reimagines the private life of Emily Dickinson, one of America's most beloved poets, through her own voice and through the eyes of her family's Irish maid. Eighteen-year-old Ada Concannon has just been hired by the respected but eccentric Dickinson family of Amherst, Massachusetts. Despite their difference in age and the upstairs-downstairs divide, Ada strikes up a deep friendship with Miss Emily, the gifted elder daughter living a spinster's life at home. But Emily's passion for words begins to dominate her life. She will wear only white and avoids the world outside the Dickinson homestead. When Ada's safety and reputation are threatened, however, Emily must face down her own demons in order to help her friend, with shocking consequences.

Miss Emily (Thorndike Press Large Print Historical Fiction)

Thorndike Press

Becoming Belle (Thorndike Press Large Print Historical Fiction)

Romance

Thorndike Press Large Print

*One Dublin, One Book choice for 2022* *Shortlisted for an Irish Book Award 2021* When Nora Barnacle, a twenty-year-old from Galway working as a maid at Finn’s Hotel, meets young James Joyce on a summer’s day in Dublin, she is instantly attracted to him, natural and daring in his company. But she cannot yet imagine the extraordinary life they will share together. All Nora knows is she likes her Jim enough to leave behind family and home, in search of a bigger, more exciting life. As their family grows, they ricochet from European city to city, making fast friends amongst the greatest artists and writers of their age as well as their wives, and are brought high and low by Jim’s ferocious ambition. But time and time again, Nora is torn between their intense and unwavering desire for each other and the constant anxiety of living hand-to-mouth, often made worse by Jim’s compulsion for company and attention. So, while Jim writes and drinks his way to literary acclaim, Nora provides unflinching support and inspiration, sometimes at the expense of her own happiness, and especially at that of their children, Giorgio and Lucia. Eventually, together, they achieve some longed-for security and stability, but it is hard-won and imperfect to the end. In sensuous, resonant prose, Nuala O’Connor has conjured the definitive portrait of this strong, passionate and loyal Irishwoman. Nora is a tour de force, an earthy and authentic love letter to Irish literature’s greatest muse.

NORA: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

New Island Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O'Connor, Nuala. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by O'Connor, Nuala

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O'Connor, Nuala. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce

Miss Emily: A Novel

Miss Emily

Bringing it all back home: The influence of Irish music

Miss Emily (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Becoming Belle

Becoming Belle

Miss Emily (Thorndike Press Large Print Historical Fiction)

Becoming Belle (Thorndike Press Large Print Historical Fiction)

NORA: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce