As I walked slowly home in the wet darkness I tried desperately to warm the cold thing that coiled inside me. I clutched the envelope that held the two hundred pounds. I had wanted this prize more than anything else in the world, but I had not realized the price I would have to pay for it. I was special now — set apart from family, friends, and neighbors by status and envy. I realized that tonight I had not just won a title, a tiara, and money. The real prize was my discovery of the raw power of beauty.
(from The Linen Queen, page 37 in the ARC)
Set in Northern Ireland during World War II, The Linen Queen is the story of Sheila McGee, a young woman helping to support her mentally unstable mother and desperately seeking a way out of her life. Sheila has worked in the Queensbrook Mill as a spinner since she was 14, and when the novel opens in 1941, she is 18 and finally eligible to compete in the Linen Queen pageant. Unfortunately, Sheila has a reputation for being a flirt, and much to the chagrin of the self-righteous Mrs. McAteer, sister of the mill’s owner, she wins the title of Linen Queen and the two hundred pounds in prize money that she believes is her ticket out of the village.
However, the war has come to Northern Ireland, and Sheila’s life is forever changed after the Belfast Blitz. The aunt and uncle with whom Sheila and her mother live take in a young evacuee, Grainne, for the extra money. Her best friend, Gavin, expresses feelings for her that she’s not ready to acknowledge, and his connections to the Irish Republican Army strain their relationship. Moreover, American troops move into the area, and Sheila and her friends are caught up in all the excitement. She goes out dancing, drinking, and flirting — behavior that could cost her the Linen Queen title and her job given that Mrs. McAteer and her daughter, Mary, always have their eyes on her. Then Sheila meets Captain Joel Solomon, a Jewish-American army officer, forging a strong bond with him and at the same time thinking that he can whisk her away from her troubles.
In The Linen Queen, Patricia Falvey writes about tensions in Ireland between those who support the British and those who do not, the struggles of the poor mill workers, the Catholic Church and its harsh stance when it comes to women with less-than-favorable reputations, and life during World War II amid bombing raids and rationing. But more than anything, Falvey writes about the transformative power of relationships, with Sheila’s troubled relationship with her mother, her compassion for Grainne, and her love for both Joel and Gavin helping her shed the selfishness that has defined her and allowing her to see her true value.
Sheila is not an easy character to like. She’s self-centered and whines a lot about her troubles. However, I could understand her actions, given that she feels abandoned by everyone she loves, from her father, who sails away and never returns, to her friends, who snub her when she wins the Linen Queen competition. Falvey did a good job showing Sheila’s evolution from the beginning of the novel through D-Day, as she deals with love and loss.
I enjoyed Falvey’s writing style and found it difficult to put the book down, but I couldn’t help noticing the clichés, particularly with the Irish characters. It seems that every book I’ve read that is set in Ireland has a host of characters who are poor, drunk, or Catholics on the moral high horse. It didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the book, but it made me wonder if there are other novels out there that show a different side of the Irish experience.
The Linen Queen has a little something for everyone. It’s a love story and a war story, a story of heartache and loss, and a story of relationships and growth. I enjoyed reading about Irish superstitions and ghosts, and Falvey beautifully describes life on the Irish coast. I highly recommended it fans of historical fiction set in Ireland and those interested in life during wartime.
Courtesy of Hachette Book Group, I am giving away a copy of The Linen Queen. To enter, simply leave a comment with your e-mail address telling me what interests you about this book and/or your favorite book set in Ireland. Because the publisher is shipping the book, this giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada addresses only, no P.O. boxes. This giveaway ends Sunday, March 20, 2011, at 11:59 pm EST.
**Please note that this giveaway is now closed**
Disclosure: I received a copy of The Linen Queen from Hachette for review purposes. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I do like to read about Ireland, so this sounds interesting to me. No need to enter me.
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I love books about Ireland, too, and I’m happy to have stumbled upon some with a WWII connection.
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This book is new to me. I had Yellow House in my wishlist, and now will add this one as well. Nice review Anna
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Thanks, Diane! I have The Yellow House, but haven’t read it yet. Now I’m really looking forward to it.
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Well, you know my love of all things Irish! My favorite Ireland-related read is still one of the first I ever read – Trinity by Leon Uris. 🙂
nnjmom at yahoo dot com
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Adding it to my list. Thanks for the recommendation!
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Thank you for a nice review. The book came out all over the blogs this last week but yours is the first review out I think.
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I’ve only seen a couple of reviews so far. Looking forward to reading others.
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I love historical fiction, and I love books set in Ireland (I love Ireland – period!). This is already on my Goodreads wish list!
My favorite “set in Ireland books”: Trinity by Leon Uris and the Irish Country series by Patrick Taylor
rlawrence110 at yahoo dot com
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Thanks for the recommendations, Michele!
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Anna, I enjoy historical fiction and would love to read this. I guess I’m most interested in the way that the relationships change and develop in the story. But I am also very interested in the Irish superstitions and ghosts you mention. Please enter me in this giveaway.
Thank you. I will post this giveaway in my blog’s sidebar.
suko95(at)gmail(dot)com
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Thanks, Suko! I appreciate it.
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I like reading WWII stories set in Europe. My dad a member of the 101st Airborne and met my mom while he was stationed in England during the war so I guess it helps me see what they had to go through.
seknobloch(at)gmail(dot)com
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How interesting! I’m not surprised then that you seek out WWII books!
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It all sounds good to me. Tales about Ireland, romance and war. A good mix
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I think Falvey blended them well. Hope you get a chance to read it.
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My father was stationed in WWII in England and Ireland and flew reconnaisance flights starting from there. Also some of my ancestors came from the part of Ireland that is in the book!! And I love historical fiction. Would really love to read it!
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
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Interesting! I have ancestors from Ireland, but I don’t know where they came from.
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would love to read this. lomazowr@gmail.com
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I love historical fiction & this book sounds wonderful. Please enter me, thanks.
ruthiekb72ATyahooDOTcom
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I hadn’t heard of this book before, but your review really piqued my interest. I’ve recently begun reading more about WWII, a time period that previously did not interest me much. But after The Book Thief, Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie etc., and a few others, I’m trying to read more. And this sounds like a unique perspective.
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I’ve always been fascinated with WWII, but The Book Thief really started my obsession with WWII books. Hope you get a chance to read this one.
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Great review. I’m simply fascinated with anything Ireland. My favorite book is Galway Bay – I loved it! I would love to read this one as well so please enter my name Anna! Thanks!
darreads (at) gmail (dot) com
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Thanks, Dar! I loved Galway Bay, too. I remember staying up until 3 am to finish it, even though I was due to fly out for vacation at 5 am. It was worth it, though.
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This one does sound good and I like that it incorporates some themes that I haven’t read it in an Irish book.
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I hadn’t read anything about Ireland during WWII until this book. It’s funny that I’m reading another book with a similar theme right now…completely unintentional!
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I am thinking or writing up an Irish book post for St Paddy’s day. This looks like a great addition. 🙂
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I’ll have to check out that post!
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This book sounds very good – I really like books set in Ireland. I would recommend books by Frank Delaney or Colm Toibin if you enjoy books set in Ireland. Toibin’s Blackwater Lightship is one of my all time favorites.
Thanks for hosting this giveaway – booksncity (at) gmail (dot) com
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I do love Delaney, but haven’t read Toibin yet. Thanks for the recommendation!
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I was wondering about this one, so thanks for your great review.
I’m still not 100% sold because I am thinking it perhaps focuses most on romance. I don’t mind some romance, but there has to be more to a book to pull me in. I guess I’ll wait and see.
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There wasn’t as much romance as you’d think. Her relationships with these men were one of the main themes, but there was so much more…the war, class, working in the factories, mother-daughter relationships. I hope you give it a try.
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I love historical fiction, and anything set in Ireland. This one sounds good.
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I do hope you read it! 🙂
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This is the book I would loved to have read for the tour. I love Ireland and WWII novels. You know that my favorite book about Ireland and the Irish is Galway Bay! I would loved to be entered, but if I don’t win I hope you’ll let me borrow your copy sometime . . . I could use it for the Ireland Reading Challenge. Great review by the way . . . I like Irish books, but I’ve noticed some of those same cliches about Irish people as well…I think Frank Delaney does a great job with his characters…but I think you’ve read his books before.
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I loved Galway Bay, too, as well as Delaney’s novels.
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I absolutely loved this one. I could not put it down.
I loved Yellow House and now have to get my own copy, since I borrowed this one from Mrs Q.
Can’t get enough of Falvey.
No need to enter me since I have this copy already 🙂
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Can’t wait to read Yellow House! Glad you enjoyed this one as much as I did!
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My favorite book set in Ireland is An Embarrashment of Riches by Gerald Hansen.
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Thanks for the recommendation!
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I love Maeve Binchey books but would love to read something set in Northern Ireland. Sounds like this books gives the reader a good insight into life there.
Ann
cozyintexas@yahoo.com
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I think I read Binchey ages ago. Will have to check. Thanks for the recommendation.
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This giveaway is now closed. Thanks to all who entered! The winner will be chosen by Randomizer.org and announced shortly.
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[…] Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah (WWII) 7. How Many Miles to Babylon? by Jennifer Johnston (WWI) 8. The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey (WWII) 9. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (WWII) 10. The Return of the Soldier […]
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[…] Falvey’s are so complex and vivid that they feel real to me. I loved her most recent novel, The Linen Queen, but so far, The Yellow House is even […]
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[…] the Irish War of Independence. Patrica Falvey first grabbed my attention with her second novel, The Linen Queen, set during World War II, but this, her debut novel, was even better. Falvey isn’t a […]
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