The events which led to the famine, the people who were directly affected by it, and the steps taken to ameliorate or escape it are the subjects of joseph o connor s intense and heartfelt novel, star of the sea, named for the britishowned famine ship which is the center of the action here. Joseph oconnor award winning irish author official website. Star of the sea is a historical novel by the irish writer joseph o connor published in 2004. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Free download or read online star of the sea pdf epub book. On board are hundreds of hopeful emigrants, some brimming with optimism, many more desperate to get away and start afresh in the new world. Set in the time of the great famine in ireland, it tells the story of those individuals aboard the star of the sea as they travel towards the promised land of america.
Before success as an author, he was a journalist with the sunday tribune newspaper and esquire magazine. Among them are a maidservant with a devastating secret, bankrupt lord merridith and his family, an aspiring novelist, a maker of revolutionary ballads, all braving the atlantic in search. The first edition of the novel was published in march 8th 2004, and was written by joseph oconnor. Star of the sea, a daring novel by irish author joseph o connor, is an engrossing tale of many parts. Joseph oconnor is a talented writer who has delivered a rollicking good story. In the bitter winter of 1847, from an ireland torn by injustice and natural. In the bitter winter of 1847, the star of the sea sets sail from ireland for new york. Joseph o connor is the author of seven novels, including the international bestseller star of the sea, a new york times notable book, and redemption falls. The seeming present of the novel takes place on the ship, the star of the sea, a freighter from my international fiction book club blog. Compare how america is depicted in star of the seaand how it is diversely understood by the main characterswith how you think america is perceived today, both at home and abroad. His novels include cowboys and indians whitbread prize shortlist, star of the sea irish post award for fiction, frances prix millepages, prix madeleine zepter for european novel of the year, redemption falls, and ghost light dublin one city one book novel, 2011. Joseph o connor talk to ryan about one inaccuracy in star of the sea that one reader. The irish famine of the 1840s was the greatest social catastrophe of 19thcentury europe, yet inspired surprisingly little imaginative.
It was not part of my own thinking when i came to write star of the sea. Star of the sea by joseph oconnor in the bitter winter of 1847, from an ireland torn by injustice and natural disaster, the star of the sea sets sail for new york. Star of the sea by joseph oconnor overdrive rakuten. If mary duane is the books hero and to me, she is it is mulvey who lives at the centre of its web. Joseph oconnors most popular book is star of the sea.
Joseph oconnor is the author of seven novels, including the international bestseller star of the sea, a new york times notable book, and redemption falls. Joseph o connor is a talented writer who has delivered a rollicking good story. Pdf star of the sea book by joseph oconnor free download. Joseph oconnor books list of books by author joseph o. An taibhdhearc, galway joseph oconnor s 2004 novel doesnt exactly beg for the stage. The main characters of this historical, historical fiction story are. Exceptional roman catholic and anglocatholic books preserving the intellectual, aesthetic, and liturgical memory of the church. In star of the sea, however, the young irish novelist joseph oconnor not only vividly conjures up the memory of the disaster out of which modern ireland was born, but produces an acutely contemporary piece of experimental fiction disguised as a quaint victorian historical novel. Jan 23, 2011 joseph o connor tackles a tragedy too long ignored.
Joseph oconnor was born in 1963 eldest of four children raised in dublin. Explore books by joseph oconnor with our selection at. This book consolidates and deepens oconnors stature as a major novelist. Star of the sea by joseph oconnor books the guardian. The novel is set in 1847 against the backdrop of the irish famine. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Joseph oconnor has 40 books on goodreads with 29955 ratings. Modernity, gender, and the nation in joseph oconnors star of. Star of the sea became an international number one bestseller, selling more than 800,000 copies in a year plot. Oct 06, 2012 joseph o connor talk to ryan about one inaccuracy in star of the sea that one reader wrote to him about. Joseph oconnor talks about historical inaccuracies and. See all books authored by joseph oconnor, including introducing neurolinguistic programming.
In the bitter winter of 1847, from an ireland torn by injustice and natural disaster, the star of the sea sets sail for new york. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 432 pages and is available in paperback format. Read star of the sea a novel by joseph oconnor available from rakuten kobo. Discover the powerful sequel to international bestseller star of the sea. It is here that synge, the author of the playboy of the western world and the tinkers wedding, will meet an actress still in her teens named molly allgood. Yeats is working with the talented john synge, his resident playwright. On a ship packed with irish immigrants, one passenger is a killer people. The seeming present of the novel takes place on the ship, the star of the sea, a. Joseph oconnor s star of the sea was an international bestseller, a new york times, economist notable book of the year, and a sunday times number 1 bestseller. Read the star of the sea by joseph o connor available from rakuten kobo. It won frances prix millepages, italys premio acerbi, the irish post award for fiction, the nielsen bookscan golden book award, an american library association award, the.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Indeed, in dutch and other translations the book was given the title stella maris. The star of the sea of the title is a famine ship, making the journey from ireland to new york. The storys mournful tone is typical of oconnors recent style, which has shifted from the somewhat blokey comedy of his early books into the elegiac mood of. Star of the sea by joseph oconnor took center stage. Buy books and get all the latest news, information, event listings, biography, media resources and much more about joseph here. A new york times notable book and thoroughly gripping historical mystery. James kincaid in the new york times commented, this is a brave and artful novel disguised to appear safe and conventional. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read star of the sea. Star of the sea by joseph oconnor, random house uk. Star of the sea by joseph oconnor book club discussion.
James kincaid in the new york times commented, this is a brave and artful novel disguised to. Star of the sea by joseph o connor thrilling and full of suspense, this is a novel of ireland set on a new yorkbound ocean liner. His novels include cowboys and indians whitbread prize shortlist, star of the sea irish post award for fiction, frances prix millepages, prix madeleine zepter for european novel of the year, redemption falls, and. Moonfish theatre codirectors mairead ni chroinin and ionia ni chroinin are joined by joseph oconnor to talk about their adaptation of his epic. The star of the sea joseph oconnor by maureenmcmichael issuu. Cowboys and indians whitbread prize shortlist, desperadoes, the salesman, inishowen, star of the sea american library association award, irish post award for fiction. In the spring of 1847, from an ireland torn by disaster and injustice, the star of the sea sets sail for new york. On board are hundreds of refugees, some of them optimistic, many more of them desperate. Among them are a maid with a devastating secret, the bankrupt lord merridith and his wife and children, and a. Star of the sea became an international number one bestseller, selling more than 800,000 copies in a year. I have read it four times now over the years and i know i will read it again and again.
Joseph oconnors impressive historical novel, star of the sea, examines the unsettled personal tragedies among a group of interrelated characters and their difficulties in disregarding the past. Pdf joseph oconnors 2002 star of the sea represents a significant attempt to work through the lingering trauma of the. In the bitter winter of 1847, from an ireland torn by famine and i. For other people named joseph o connor, see joseph o connor disambiguation. His 2002 historical novel star of the sea was an international number one bestseller. Jan 25, 2003 star of the sea by joseph oconnor 436pp, secker. Rebellious, irreverent, beautiful, flirtatious, molly is a girl of the inner. Grantley dixon, an american journalist traveling home to manhattan on the star. In the bitter winter of 1847, from an ireland torn by famine and injustice, the star of the sea sets sail for the new world. Even though it was nasty outside, inside we had a pleasant conversation about a most horrible time in irish history the great famine. Joseph oconnors impressive historical novel, star of the sea, examines the unsettled personal tragedies among.
The first edition of the novel was published in march 8th 2004, and was written by joseph o connor. Lord merridith and his family board the titular ship in 1847, bound for new york, leaving behind an ireland devastated by famine and strife. Among them are a maid with a devastating secret, the bankrupt lord merridith and his wife and children, and a killer who stalks the decks in search of vengeance. Joseph oconnor irish author, author of shadowplay, the. Star of the sea ebook by joseph oconnor rakuten kobo. Jul 03, 20 the star of the sea joseph oconnor download here. Joseph o connor s impressive historical novel, star of the sea, examines the unsettled personal tragedies among a group of interrelated characters and their difficulties in disregarding the past. Star of the sea, a daring novel by irish author joseph oconnor, is an engrossing tale of many parts. Joseph oconnor talks about historical inaccuracies and star. Joseph oconnor talk to ryan about one inaccuracy in star of the sea that one reader wrote to him about. Star of the sea is a historical novel by the irish writer joseph oconnor published in 2004. The poverty surrounding these people and the injustices they have to endure only pushes a lot of them to think of other means to survive. We will be happy to add you to the emailing list at the bottom of the page for an occasional update on new acquisitions. He has written ten widely acclaimed and bestselling books including the novels cowboys and indians.
Thus the story feels more authentic, as dixon uses excerpts from the captains log and bits and pieces from his own unpublished novel, along with other similarly clever literary. Its a beautiful, layered and dense read, set against the lofty sails of a. He earned a ba and ma in english and history at university college, dublin, followed by postgraduate research at university college, oxford and lived in london until 1996. Compare how america is depicted in star of the sea and how it is diversely understood by the main characterswith how you think america is perceived today, both at home and abroad. Oct 05, 2012 the storys mournful tone is typical of o connor s recent style, which has shifted from the somewhat blokey comedy of his early books into the elegiac mood of star of the sea and ghost light. It is a piece of historical fiction that presents a vivid picture of a grim, hopeless time.
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