The Hunger: The Diary of Phyllis McCormack, Ireland 1845 - 1847 by Carol Drinkwater (yes that Carol Drinkwater, the one who played Helen Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small!)
Jamie recently read this and I am hoping he is also going to write a review of this book, it would be lovely to have his opinion as a contrast to mine! This is part of the My Story series which tells of important times in history through the eyes of a child, roughly 12 - 14 years old, events such as World War II, Tudor times, The Great Plague amongst several others. So I quickly read the book, but nevertheless really enjoyed it as I did want to find out what happened to Phyllis.
This is a simple telling of the story of the 1845-1847 Irish Famine through the eyes of a 14 year old farmer's daughter. A spirited girl who adores her older brother, who goes away and gets involved in the early Irish freedom struggle, she works hard in the family home but does have ambition and a belief in her own destiny. Once the famine starts to bite she begins working at the 'big house' and helps the family out, but it isn't enough to save some of her family. Here she also meets Edward who plays an important role in her future, because unlike his father he believes in Ireland and is not prepared to play the part of the absentee landlord, so disappears to Dublin to become part of the struggle. Eventually her family is cast out of their home, like so many others onto the road and she loses touch with them and find herself in Dublin with Edward.
The book is simply written, but it doesn't shy away from mentioning the difficult topics such as the death of a baby brother, Irish history and all that entails and the depths and lengths that some people would go to to secure Ireland's freedom from English rule. This is a children's book and feel the author has brought all of these topics into the book in a caring and sensitive way. I really enjoyed the book and felt it is a suitable way of bringing some Irish history to a younger audience.
Ciao
Sue
XX
Reading challenge 15/16 - currently reading Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
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