Ghost Light

(Paperback)

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A powerful and deeply moving masterpiece about love, partings and reconciliation. Reissued in a new series look to coincide with the publication of his new novel, Shadowplay A powerful and deeply moving masterpiece about love, partings and reconciliation from the international bestselling author of Star of the Sea 'A virtuoso display of literary talent...brimming with sympathy and skill' Irish Times Dublin, 1907. A young actress begins an affair with a damaged older man, the leading playwright at the theatre where she works. Outspoken and flirtatious, Molly Allgood is a Catholic girl from the slums of Dublin, dreaming of stardom in America. Her lover, John Synge, is a troubled genius, whose life is hampered by convention and by the austere and God-fearing mother with whom he lives. Their affair, sternly opposed by friends and family, is quarrelsome, affectionate and tender. Many years later, Molly, now a poverty-stricken old woman, makes her way through London's bomb-scarred city streets, alone but for a snowdrift of memories. Her once dazzling career has faded but her unquenchable passion for life has kept her afloat. 'Masterful in its management of re-imagined lives and the time they inhabit' Financial Times

Reviews

A subtle wonder... Unmissible * Daily Mail *
Throughout a complex structure with shifting timeframes, O'Connor's writing is compellingly beautiful and Molly is marvelously drawn. A captivating read * Guardian *
A spellbinding read * The Times *
Joseph O'Connor is one of the most exciting novelists of his generation * Daily Mail *
A superbly written, magically evocative novel * Scotsman *

Author Bio

Joseph O'Connor was born in Dublin. His books include Cowboys and Indians, Inishowen, Star of the Sea (American Library Association Award, Irish Post Award for Fiction, France's Prix Millepages, Italy's Premio Acerbi, Prix Madeleine Zepter for European novel of the year), Redemption Falls, Ghost Light (Dublin One City One Book Novel 2011) and Shadowplay (Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year, Costa Novel of the Year shortlist). His fiction has been translated into forty languages. He received the 2012 Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature and in 2014 he was appointed Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick. www.josephoconnorauthor.com