Ann Leary

Successful real-estate broker, family woman and raging alcoholic Hildy Good embarks on a life of denial and loneliness while resenting the intervention of her loved ones and becoming embroiled in a scandal in her New England town that involves two craggy seniors.

A Novel

The Good House

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good House, the story of two friends, raised in the same orphanage, whose loyalty is put to the ultimate test when they meet years later at a controversial institution—one as an employee; the other, an inmate. It’s 1927 and eighteen-year-old Mary Engle is hired to work as a secretary at a remote but scenic institution for mentally disabled women called the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. She’s immediately in awe of her employer—brilliant, genteel Dr. Agnes Vogel. Dr. Vogel had been the only woman in her class in medical school. As a young psychiatrist she was an outspoken crusader for women’s suffrage. Now, at age forty, Dr. Vogel runs one of the largest and most self-sufficient public asylums for women in the country. Mary deeply admires how dedicated the doctor is to the poor and vulnerable women under her care. Soon after she’s hired, Mary learns that a girl from her childhood orphanage is one of the inmates. Mary remembers Lillian as a beautiful free spirit with a sometimes-tempestuous side. Could she be mentally disabled? When Lillian begs Mary to help her escape, alleging the asylum is not what it seems, Mary is faced with a terrible choice. Should she trust her troubled friend with whom she shares a dark childhood secret? Mary’s decision triggers a hair-raising sequence of events with life-altering consequences for all. Inspired by a true story about the author’s grandmother, The Foundling offers a rare look at a shocking chapter of American history. This gripping page-turner will have readers on the edge of their seats right up to the stunning last page…asking themselves, “Did this really happen here?”

The Foundling

"New York Times bestseller Ann Leary brings an engaging novel in which four adult step-children must come to terms with their legacy and the family myths they've built their lives upon"--

The Children

Delighted when her actor-husband lands a role on a hit TV series, Julia DeLuca is disturbed when she accidentally overhears the voice of a sultry Southern belle on her husband's voice mail and launches a desperate campaign to uncover the truth, in a witty study of a long-term marriage in crisis, the perils of fame, and one woman's quest to find herself. A first novel. 50,000 first printing.

Outtakes from a Marriage

Mary Beth Hurt

Ora de aur

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good House, the “harrowing, gripping, and beautiful” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author) story of two friends, raised in the same orphanage, whose loyalty is put to the ultimate test when they meet years later at an institution—based on a shocking and little-known piece of American history. It’s 1927 and eighteen-year-old Mary Engle is hired to work as a secretary at a remote but scenic institution for mentally disabled women called the Nettleton State Village for Feebleminded Women of Childbearing Age. She’s immediately in awe of her employer—brilliant, genteel Dr. Agnes Vogel. Dr. Vogel had been the only woman in her class in medical school. As a young psychiatrist she was an outspoken crusader for women’s suffrage. Now, at age forty, Dr. Vogel runs one of the largest and most self-sufficient public asylums for women in the country. Mary deeply admires how dedicated the doctor is to the poor and vulnerable women under her care. Soon after she’s hired, Mary learns that a girl from her childhood orphanage is one of the inmates. Mary remembers Lillian as a beautiful free spirit with a sometimes-tempestuous side. Could she be mentally disabled? When Lillian begs Mary to help her escape, alleging the asylum is not what it seems, Mary is faced with a terrible choice. Should she trust her troubled friend with whom she shares a dark childhood secret? Mary’s decision triggers a hair-raising sequence of events with life-altering consequences for all. Inspired by a true story about the author’s grandmother, The Foundling is compelling, unsettling, and “a stunning reminder that not much time has passed since everyone claimed to know what was best for a woman—everyone except the woman herself” (Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author).

Successful real-estate broker, family woman and raging alcoholic Hildy Good embarks on a life of denial and loneliness while resenting the intervention of her loved ones and becoming embroiled in a scandal in her New England town that involves two craggy seniors. (general fiction)

"The Good House tells the story of Hildy Good, who lives in a small town on Boston's North Shore. Hildy is a successful real-estate broker, good neighbor, mother, and grandmother. She's also a raging alcoholic. Hildy's family held an intervention for her about a year before this story takes place--"if they invite you over for dinner, and it's not a major holiday," she advises "run for your life"--And now she feels lonely and unjustly persecuted. She has also fooled herself into thinking that moderation is the key to her drinking problem. As if battling her demons wasn't enough to keep her busy, Hildy soon finds herself embroiled in the underbelly of her New England town, a craggy little place that harbors secrets. There's a scandal, some mysticism, babies, old houses, drinking, and desire--and a love story between two craggy sixty-somethings that's as real and sexy as you get. An exceptional novel that is at turns hilarious and sobering, The Good House asks the question: What will it take to keep Hildy Good from drinking? For good"--

Successful real-estate broker, mother, and raging alcoholic Hildy Good embarks on a life of denial and loneliness while resenting the intervention of her loved ones and becoming embroiled in a scandal in her New England town.

Funny, moving account of three months in London that changed three lives forever, following the premature arrival of baby Jack, by wife of comedian and film star Denis Leary. An affectionate take on the Brits: why a consultant goes from Mr to Dr to Mr; the filthy taste of Lucozade and the weird but ultimately successful workings of the NHS. An incredible series of events kicks off during what was supposed to have been a brief, weekend trip to England for Denis to appear on 'Live at Paramount City'. At the time, Denis was an unknown comic still struggling for his big break and Ann was just five-and-a-half months pregnant. Their weekend getaway took an unexpected turn the morning after their arrival, when Ann's waters broke as they strolled along Oxford Street. University College Hospital while Denis used the following months to make it in Britain as a stand up star, partying with Joe Strummer and Mick Jagger in his spare time. It would be five months before the family would return to the United States. The Leary's lives were suddently altered as they now revolved around the NHS, poll tax riots, mad cow disease and a 24-hour badger watch on British TV. This account of the Leary's three months in London is a travel log, an intimate and moving look at family life and the birth of a baby, as well as an insider's account of launching a major career in show business.

A Surprised American Mother in England

The Long Weekend

When Ann Leary and her husband, then unknown actor-comedian Denis Leary, flew to London in the early nineties for a brief getaway during Ann's second trimester of pregnancy, neither anticipated the adventure that was in store for them. The morning after their arrival, Ann's water broke as they strolled through London's streets. A week later their son, Jack, was born weighing only two pounds, six ounces, and it would be five long months before mother and son could return to the States. In the meantime, Ann became an unwitting yet grateful hostage to Britain's National Health Service -- a stranger in a strange land plunged abruptly into a world of breast pumps and midwives, blood oxygen levels, mad cow disease, and poll tax riots. Desperately worried about the health of her baby, Ann struggled to adapt to motherhood and make sense of a very different culture. At once an intimate family memoir, a lively travelogue, and a touching love story, An Innocent, a Broad is utterly engaging and unforgettable.

An Innocent, a Broad

Vin, skvaller och hemligheter med Hildy Good. ↵Livet enligt Hildy Good är en tragikomisk berättelse om Hildy, som tar ett glas för mycket (fast inte om man frågar henne), arbetar som mäklare (den bästa, enligt henne) och vet allt om alla i den välbärgade staden i New England. ↵Ex-maken har kommit ut som gay, men vänskapen består, liksom Hildys komplicerade relation till deras döttrar. När lusten faller på träffar hon stadens skrotsamlare, Frank. Samtidigt har Hildys alkoholkonsumtion börjat märkas alltmer och snart blir minnesluckorna alltfler. ↵Livet enligt Hildy Good är Ann Learys genombrott och en New York Times bestseller som nominerats till flera priser. En filmatisering är på gång med Meryl Streep och Robert De Niro i huvudrollerna.↵↵Om någon hade sagt att jag skulle uppskatta en roman om en äldre amerikansk kvinnlig mäklare så hade jag fnyst föraktfullt. Men den är överraskande medryckande, med en klarsynt, vass människosyn. Framför allt ger den ett inifrånperspektiv på kvinnlig alkoholism som blir en konstant osäkerhetsfaktor, där man aldrig vet vad som har hänt kvällen innan förrän omvärlden generat berättar det för Hildy Good.↵Lotta Olsson, DN↵ ↵Livet enligt Hildy Good är en tragikomisk roman, som jag fastnade för direkt när jag hörde talas om den. Den är rolig samtidigt som den tar upp ett tungt tema  alkoholism. Ann Leary skriver, utan pekpinnar, om kvinnlig alkoholism, som det inte skrivs så ofta om annars.↵Ämnet bagatelliseras aldrig och bara någon med ett kallhamrat hjärta kan undgå att tycka om Hillary Good. Hon är mäklaren som hävdar att hon kan läsa av en människas inre enbart genom att att betrakta dennes hem. Hon tror sig kunna genomskåda andra, men sina egna problem förnekar hon totalt. Snabbt förstår man att hennes och omgivningens uppfattningar går isär. Ömsint, roligt och romantiskt om en kantstött, men smart kvinna.↵Feelgoodbibliotekarien

Ann Leary

About

Books

Join the club