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The Linen Queen

A Novel

Contributors

By Patricia Falvey

Formats and Prices

Price

$14.99

Price

$16.50 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around February 15, 2012. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

Abandoned by her father and neglected by her self-centered, unstable mother, Sheila McGee cannot wait to escape the drudgery of her mill village life in Northern Ireland. Her classic Irish beauty helps her win the 1941 Linen Queen competition, and the prize money that goes with it finally gives her the opportunity she’s been dreaming of. But Sheila does not count on the impact of the Belfast blitz which brings World War II to her doorstep. Now even her good looks are useless in the face of travel restrictions, and her earlier resolve is eroded by her ma’s fear of being left alone.
When American troops set up base in her village, some see them as occupiers but Sheila sees them as saviors–one of them may be her ticket out. Despite objections from her childhood friend, Gavin O’Rourke, she sets her sights on an attractive Jewish-American army officer named Joel Solomon, but her plans are interrupted by the arrival of a street-wise young evacuee from Belfast.
Frustrated, Sheila fights to hold on to her dream but slowly her priorities change as the people of Northern Ireland put old divisions aside and bond together in a common purpose to fight the Germans. Sheila’s affection for Joel grows as she and Gavin are driven farther apart. As the war moves steadily closer to those she has grown to love, Sheila confronts more abandonment and loss, and finds true strength, compassion, and a meaning for life outside of herself.

  • "Sheila McGee, the feisty young 'Linen Queen,' will touch your heart as she grows from a girl who values herself only for her good looks into a compassionate woman who discovers inner reserves of strength. A dramatic love story told against the backdrop of World War II in Northern Ireland."
    Mary Pat Kelley, author of the best-selling novel Galway Bay

On Sale
Feb 15, 2012
Page Count
320 pages
Publisher
Center Street
ISBN-13
9781599951997

Patricia Falvey

About the Author

Patricia Falvey was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. She was raised in Northern Ireland and England before immigrating alone to the United States at the age of twenty. Until recently, she served as a Managing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC, where she led a national tax consulting practice.
Over the years she participated in numerous writing seminars, and in June of 2007, Patricia finally made the decision to leave her position with PWC at the pinnacle of her career and devote herself full time to her first love – writing.The author of The Yellow House (Center Street 2009), this is her second novel.

Learn more about this author