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Claire Harris
Original language
English

HER MOTHER'S DAUGHTER

Alice Fitzgerald

Set across two decades in London and Ireland, Her Mother's Daughter sees the lives of a troubled and emotionally abusive mother and her innocent ten-year-old daughter change forever after one summer holiday.
1980: Josephine escapes her home in Ireland, hoping never to return. She starts a new, exciting life in London, but as much as she tries, she can't quite leave the trauma of her childhood behind.

Seventeen years and two children later, Josephine gets a call from her sister to tell her that their mother is dying and wants to see her - a summons she can't refuse.

1997: Ten-year-old Clare is counting down to the summer holidays, when she is going to meet her grandparents in Ireland for the first time. She hopes this trip will be 'just what the doctor ordered' and cheer her mum up.

But family secrets can't stay buried forever and following revelations in Ireland Josephine and her family unravel, perhaps to the point of no return.


Alice Fitzgerald has worked as a journalist for six years. She has been published in literary journals, online at Refinery29 and Hello Giggles and in magazines including Hello!. Her Mother's Daughter is her debut novel. Born in London to Irish parents, she now lives in Madrid.
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Book

Published 2018-04-05 by Allen & Unwin

Book

Published 2018-04-05 by Allen & Unwin

Comments

A very moving, authentic portrait of an Irish family with deep secrets.

It's been a long time since I found a book so utterly engaging and enveloping. Mental illness and the long-term effects of emotional and sexual abuse are drawn with insight and subtlety. The writing is vivid and raw, the characters real, and the voices of mother and daughter feel pitch-perfect. I raced through it, so immersed that it kept me up half the night.