Emily Hourican

From London to Ireland during the 1920s, here is a glorious, gripping, and richly textured story thaat takes us to the heart of the remarkable real-life story of the Guinness Girls -- for fans of Downton Abbey and Julian Fellowes' Belgravia. Aileen. Maureen. Oonagh. The private lives of the Glorious Guinness Girls fascinated a nation. But privilege always has its price... Granddaughters of the first Earl of Iveagh, the three daughters of Ernest Guinness are glamorous society girls, the toast of Dublin and London. Darlings of the press, with not a care in the world. But what beautiful ruins lie behind the glass of their privileged worlds? Inspired by fascinating real events and a remarkable true story, from the turmoil of Ireland's War of Independence to the brittle glamour of 1920s London, this dramatic, richly textured reading group novel takes us into the heart of a beautiful but often painful hidden world.

The Glorious Guinness Girls

'An utterly captivating insight into these fascinating women and the times they lived in ... it's an absolute page-turner' Irish Independent 'An enthralling tale that will dazzle and delight ... If you loved the drama of The Crown, then you will adore The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal with its lavish descriptions and its glorious insight into this truly fascinating family.' Swirl and Thread As Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh - the three privileged Guinness sisters, darlings of society in Dublin and London - settle into becoming wives and mothers, they quickly discover that their gilded upbringing could not have prepared them for the realities of married life. For the eldest, Aileen, in Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin, being married offers far less than she had expected; for outspoken Maureen, in the crumbling Clandeboye in Northern Ireland, marriage means intense passion, but fierce rows; while Oonagh's dream of romantic love in London is shattered by her husband's lies. And as 1930s Britain becomes increasingly politically polarised, the sisters' close friends, the Mitfords, find themselves under the media glare - causing the Guinness women to examine their own lives. Inspired by true-life events, The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal is a sweeping, epic novel of Ireland and Britain in the grip of change, and a story of how three women who wanted for nothing were about to learn that they couldn't have everything.

The Guinness Girls: A Hint of Scandal

A Glorious Guinness Girls Novel

Mummy Darlings

a Question of Honor

Other Guinness Girl

'A gloriously good read' Sunday Independent LIFE SURROUNDED BY WEALTH, GLAMOUR AND EXCITEMENT Lady Honor Guinness is a reluctant wallflower. But that all changes when she marries Henry 'Chips' Channon, a charming and ambitious American. On his arm, she finds herself at the heart of 1930s London's most elite social circles, mingling with aristocrats, politicians and royalty. But it's not too long before Chips begins to prioritise his aspirations over all else, and Honor begins to wonder who exactly she has married. By her side is her best friend Doris, a young woman eager to establish her place in society. A social butterfly who keeps the details of her family background to herself, Doris is hopeful her beauty and charm will win her a suitable husband, but she has no interest in a romantic attachment. Until she is introduced to 'the most devastating man in London'. Inspired by true-life events, The Other Guinness Girl: A Question of Honor is an elegant, captivating story of two young women navigating friendship, loneliness, love and desire as they try to find their places in a society where the rules seem to change every moment. PRAISE FOR THE GUINNESS GIRLS NOVELS 'Utterly captivating ... an absolute page-turner' IRISH INDEPENDENT 'Masterfully and glamorously told' SUNDAY BUSINESS POST 'Fans of Downton Abbey will adore this' SUNDAY TIMES

The Other Guinness Girl: A Question of Honor

From London to Ireland in 1920s, a glorious, gripping, moving and richly textured novel which takes us to the heart of the remarkable real-life story of the Guinness Girls.

The Glorious Guinness Girls: a Story of the Scandals and Secrets of the Famous Society Girls

Two weeks in White Villa, under the scorching Ibiza sun, is the last chance for a group of university friends to cut loose before they embark on their adult lives. But when Jennifer invites an outsider, the aloof and beautiful Natasha, tensions begin to simmer. The days pass amid the sweltering rays, and dissolve into wild, humid nights. And Natasha, reckless after the recent death of her beloved father, seems bent upon a path of destruction, leading her to Jennifer's boyfriend, Todd - while Jennifer and the rest of the group look on ... Then, one hazy afternoon, paradise is shattered. Ten years later, the friends reunite. Will the secrets between them still have the power to hurt?

White Villa

This stunning novel the from author of The Glorious Guinness Girls follows the three enigmatic Guinness sisters as they take on married life and motherhood at the beginning of the 1930s. It's the dawn of the 1930s and the three privileged Guinness sisters, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh, settle into becoming wives and mothers: Aileen in Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin, Maureen in Clandeboye in Northern Ireland, and Oonagh in Rutland Place in London. But while Britain becomes increasingly politically polarized, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh discover conflict within their own marriages. Oonagh's dream of romantic love is countered by her husband's lies; the intense nature of Maureen's marriage means passion, but also rows; while Aileen begins to discover that, for her, being married offers far less than she had expected. Meanwhile, Kathleen, a housemaid from their childhood home in Glenmaroon, travels between the three sisters, helping, listening, watching--even as her own life brings her into conflict with the clash between fascism and communism. As affairs are uncovered and secrets exposed, the three women begin to realize that their gilded upbringing could not have prepared them for the realities of married life, nor for the scandals that seem to follow them around.

From London to Ireland during the 1920s, this glorious, gripping, and richly textured story takes us to the heart of the remarkable real-life story of the Guinness Girls—perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and Julian Fellowes' Belgravia. Descendants of the founder of the Guinness beer empire, they were the toast of 1920s high society, darlings of the press, with not a care in the world. But Felicity knows better. Sent to live with them as a child because her mother could no longer care for her, she grows up as the sisters’ companion. Both an outsider and a part of the family, she witnesses the complex lives upstairs and downstairs, sees the compromises and sacrifices beneath the glamorous surface. Then, at a party one summer’s evening, something happens that sends shock waves through the entire household. Inspired by a remarkable true story and fascinating real events, The Glorious Guinness Girls is an unforgettable novel about the haves and have-nots, one that will make you ask if where you find yourself is where you truly belong.

Motherhood has never been so dissected, deconstructed and discussed. Part memoir, part rant, part laugh-out-loud, 'How to Really be a Mother' is ready to reclaim motherhood for modern mothers everywhere.

How to Really Be a Mother

'Insightful and astute writing ... Emily Hourican has a wonderful understanding of human nature' Louise O'Neill The summer she turned twenty-five, Anna felt invincible. In love for the first time, in a strange city far from home, she could be a new person. All that she had ever wanted was there for the taking. But the glorious possibility of those long sultry days ended in a reality far starker than she could have imagined. Now, fifteen years later, Anna is struggling to get through to her teenage daughter Jessie -- named in memory of Anna's best friend -- who has developed an eating disorder. Mother and daughter were once close, but now Anna feels as if Jessie's every word and action is a mystery. Though sometimes she wonders if Jessie can see right through her. And when her daughter starts to report dreams about the namesake she never met, Anna -- increasingly unnerved by just how much her daughter seems to know -- is forced to face the secrets of that summer when her life changed in one unravelling moment, and the brutal truth about the part she had to play.

The Blamed

What happens when you invite an outsider in? It was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime - a luxury villa in Ibiza, a group of university friends, and their last chance to cut loose before embarking on their serious adult lives. But when when one of the group invites an outsider, the aloof and beautiful Natasha, tensions begin to simmer. The days pass amid the sweltering rays, and dissolve into wild, humid nights. And Natasha seems bent upon a path of destruction, leading her to Jennifer's boyfriend, Todd - while Jennifer and the rest of the group look on . . . Then, one hazy afternoon, paradise is shattered. Ten years later, the friends reunite. Will what happened that afternoon at White Villa now destroy the lives and facades they have so carefully built?

What happens when you invite an outsider in?

'A Circle of Friends for the 21st century' Irish Times A haunting tale of friendship, loyalty and how one decision, one night, can decide the future. In an exclusive all girls' secondary school, they become friends. They choose the same university, and through smoke-filled nights, lectures, sexual encounters and first loves, their bond deepens: a friendship which seems like it will last for evermore. But then, at an end-of-year party, something happens which changes everything ... Afterwards, they drift apart. Now Stella, a lawyer in New York, lives for her work; Laura, a struggling journalist in Dublin, is still waiting for the scoop to kick-start her career; while Amanda, broken and beautiful, lives a life of slow decay in London. Then the phone call comes which brings them back together, to the friendship they swore would last, and the night when it all went wrong.

The Privileged

Debbie Deegan

The incredible story of one woman's quest to improve the lives of abandoned Russian children and the people who helped her to do it.

Changing the Lives of Abandoned Children

To Russia with Love

'A brilliant blend of sweeping satisfying family drama with a tense undercurrent of psychological thriller that hooks on and doesn't let go until [Hourican] delivers her last devastating page' Sunday Independent 'The Outsider is everything you could want from high-end commercial fiction - it's sharp, compelling, and full of keenly observed truths about human behaviour. Emily Hourican has always been an insightful, astute writer but this may be her best novel yet.' Louise O'Neill Two very different families ... One is loud, eccentric, rich and confident. The other is less sure of their place in life. On holidays in Portugal, a near-drowning brings the ten-year-old daughters, Jamie and Sarah, together and a friendship is formed. As the bond between the girls grows deeper, so too do the ties between their families and an unsettling closeness develops between two of the adults. Then, as Jamie begins to feel suffocated by the intensity of Sarah's friendship, cracks begin to show. What will it take to shatter the façade of friendship? The affair? The obsessive crush? And which family will be left whole? The Outsider is the compelling and unforgettable story of the complexity of friendship, marriage, hidden passions and teenage desire.

Emily Hourican

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