For Nan, on the threshold of puberty, and her younger sister Mary, innocence blends uneasily with the trials of convent life and a shadowy knowledge of the facts of life. For their mother, buffeted by the whims of her tyrannical, unreliable husband, the days take on an unreal, dreamlike quality. And while Nellie, the Dickensian maid with a dubious past, regales the children with tales of her antics, home becomes a haven to a stream of unwelcome guests - as the dangerous depths of the adult world loom ever closer...
Clare Boylan was a highly acclaimed novelist and short story writer whose work also regularly appeared in the GUARDIAN etc. She died in May 2006.
Title: Holy Pictures
Author: Boylan, Clare
ISBN: 9780349110080
Binding:
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Publication Date: 1998-08-06
Number of Pages: 256
Weight: 0.1588 kg
Fresh, beautiful and quirky OBSERVER Full of laughter as well as affection ...a midsummer dream THE TIMES Clare Boylan has a light touch... her humour is sure, with a right feeling for the grotesque... the mixture is delicious. IRISH TIMES All the familiar concerns of Clare Boylan's short stories are extended here into a beautifully observed, witty and touching story of growing up in a tyrannical household and surviving. GOOD HOUSEKEEPING