The Girls of Ennismore

Both of the girls in this story are raised very differently but throughout the book we can see how similar they actually are. They both dream of love and family but have to go down a very twisted path to find their dreams.

I read this after finishing World Without End and waiting for A Column of Fire to be released. This book easily fit in with Ken Folllett's works. I found the characters interesting and the story believable. The descriptions of the countryside were very vivid and I enjoyed the historical context. Highly recommended.

I truly enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading another book by Patricia Falvey. I especially like the time this story took place and Patricia has a writing flare that made me feel like I was there! Victoria and Rose became my best friends and in my imagination, their story continues.

Ireland - 1900

Rosie Killeen, age 8, lives on the Killeen farm near the Ennis Estates. She has come to the Big House on the Ennis Estates to work temporarily in the kitchen. They are scurrying around in preparation for a visit from Queen Victoria. But Rosie is disappointed at the sight of the old, fat Queen dressed in black. Rosie’s sister, Bridie, woks at the Big House and soon Rosie will be working there full time as well.

When out walking one day, Rosie meets Victoria Bell, age 7, who lives at the Ennis House. Victoria wants Rosie to be her friend so her mother reluctantly agrees that Rosie can take lessons with Victoria and her governess. While Victoria can’t wait for Rosie to arrive, Rosie doesn’t want to go. But go she does. Even with the snide comments Rosie gets from the teacher, she excels in reading, learning French, and how to play the piano. More and more she begins to imitate Victoria to become a lady.

Valentine, Victoria’s second oldest brother has not done well at school or any other positions he has tried. But he and Rosie have become good friends.

When it comes time for Victoria’s season in Dublin, her mother refuses to allow Rosie to accompany her. With Victoria gone, Rosie is at loose ends with nothing to do. Her sister is a maid at the Big House but Rosie feels that with her education, that type of work would be beneath her. However, when her sister becomes ill, Rosie has to take her place to make money for her family.

Soon Rosie realizes that the love that she and Valentine now share is not to be and that she will always be just a maid. She then decides it is time to move to Dublin and start a new life there.

The story follows Rosie and Victoria as their lives touch one another over the years and the pain both women face during the difficult time of the Easter Rebellion in Dublin which tore apart so many lives.

This is a long saga about life in Ireland in the early 20th century. It depicts the decline of the aristocracy and the many class changes that took place around the time of World War I.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. The characters are so real and the way the author threaded actual historical events into the story is so very well done. Don’t miss this book.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

I so enjoyed this story. It felt like someone was sitting next to me by the fire telling me all about their life.

The story begins when little, poor girl, Rosie, saves a toy boat when it drifted away from little, rich girl, Victoria. Victoria begs her father to allow Rosie to be educated with her at Ennismore. And that’s when the story begins. Their friendship waxes and wanes throughout the story.

The characters are so real, the story is so well told, and not much turns out the way I expected. But that’s okay; that’s what makes this novel so entertaining. The author’s descriptions and ‘feel’ of Ireland are spot on. The great divide between the rich, with their lavish and most often selfish lifestyle, and the poor, with their desperation and most often hopelessness, was effortlessly portrayed. Well described is how Rosie’s pride, stubbornness, and lack of forgiveness nearly destroys her.

I loved the wrap-up. All stories are brought together for a great ending. Again, not exactly what I expected, but terrific.

The Girls of Ennismore by Patricia Falvey is set in Ireland in June of 1900. Rosie Killeen is eight years old and is earning a little extra money by helping at the Ennis estate or as the locals call it the “big house”. Queen Victoria will be stopping at the house and extra help is needed in the kitchen. On the way home, Rosie encounters Victoria Bell (7 years old) who needs some assistance. Victoria is the daughter of Lord and Lady Ennis. After helping Victoria, Rosie heads home. Rosie is unaware of it, but this accidental meeting will forever change her life. Victoria is greatly impressed by Rosie and asks her Father to let her take lessons with her. Victoria is lonely and would love to have a friend. Against Lady Althea Ennis’ protests, Lord Edward Ennis agrees to the arrangement. This is a great opportunity for Rosie, but one she does not want. Rosie soon joins Victoria at the big house for lessons with Lady Louisa, the girl’s’ tutor. Lady Louisa resents being forced to teach Rosie and sets out to make it miserable for her. Over the years, the girls grow closer. But when Victoria heads off for her first season in Dublin, these two young women are head off on separate paths. Rosie, though, is in an unusual position. She is not gentry, but she has the education. She is not a servant, but her family is poor. Rosie is caught between these two very different worlds and does not know where she belongs. It is especially difficult that she is attracted to Valentine Bell, Victoria’s brother. Rosie is not considered a suitable mate for Valentine. Rosie must find a way to earn money for her family and find her place in the world during these tumultuous times in Ireland. The Home Rule (who are fighting for Irish independence) is gaining popularity in Ireland and the first World War is starting to break out in Europe. To find out what happens to Rosie and Victoria, you need to read The Girls of Ennismore.

The Girls of Ennismore is nicely written, had a good pace, and was easy to read. I found the book to be engaging. My interest was captured and held throughout the story. The author did a great job at bringing this period of time to life for me. I appreciated the setting of Ireland. So many novels have been set in England, so this was a nice change of pace. The Girls of Ennismore reminds me of Upstairs Downstairs (the show), A Woman of Substance (the book by Barbara Taylor Bradford) and Downton Abbey (you will think of Branson when reading this book). I give The Girls of Ennismore 4 out of 5 stars. There were a couple of slow sections, but they were minimal. Rosie attitude was challenging as she got older (in other words, she annoyed me), but it was understandable (most of the time). I was happy to see her character develop emotionally as she got older. The ending is so sweet. I am definitely checking out Patricia Falvey’s other novels.

Spanning several years that were, in retrospect, fairly crucial to the changes happening in the world, and more specifically in Ireland, both for women and the country that has struggled with its own identity and rule years. Mixing the two main characters from disparate situations, we have Rosie, a local child most decidedly not born to the finer things and Victoria, daughter of the Lord of the ‘big house’. Laden with the dynamics of class, power and expectations, the story is rich with description, setting the scene in ways that readers can instantly connect. More striking is the ease with which Falvey conveys the history and forces that will ultimately come to blows, pitting countrymen against one another in the series of events most commonly referred to as “The Troubles”.

From the start, Rosie is the more accessible and empathetic of the two characters: imagine yourself a child with next to nothing, a father and family who’s every move depends on the Lord of the Manor, and then being brought into a life of luxury beyond expectations. Allowed to join in lessons and play time, influencing her new friend to think for herself, even as the world would seek to silence both their voices. Victoria is a bit harder to suss out, she’s been raised to certain expectations, and even the influence of her bold and often brash friend, her only friend in reality, isn’t necessarily going to cause her to buck convention.

From the two distinct personalities, we get a sense of their growth and changing alliances, from girls to young women, the two provide a more personal, if not always emotionally available approach to the changes that they experience and see as the world around them pushes and struggles to redefine Ireland, what it means to be Irish, and the questions about home rule.

Wonderful prose features descriptions and political views that bring an understanding of the time, and keeps feeding information in tolerable bits, through the character’s understanding and interactions. While I didn’t actually find the romance threads as engaging as the rest of the book, the winner in that contest would have had to have been Victoria and Brandon, bringing the sense of the forbidden in far more palpable ways than did Rosie’s relationship with her brother, Valentine. For me, the story is more memorable for delivery of a story that places these disparate elements into the history, allowing an understanding of the various forces and the uneven distribution of power that led so many to speak, and later, act on their frustrations spurred by the unfairness of it all.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I have been interested lately in reading books set in countries of my own ancestry in order to better understand pieces of history. The civil unrest in Ireland was a subject I knew about only in the vaguest of terms. For that reason alone this book would have been enjoyed to me. I commend the author on her ability to create such heartfelt characters and weave them into the threads of history. She adds in elements of friendship and romance to make her characters all the more relatable and empathetic. All of these things made this book an excellent read for me and I would highly recommend it.

*I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is set around WWI in Ireland- at the Ennismore Estate where Victoria Ennis is growing up as the only daughter of Lord Ennis. She convinces her father to bring Rosie Killeen (a local farm girl) to the estate to take lessons with her and serve as her friend and companion. The story revolves around all the class differences that arise and disappear. The high points of the book involve descriptions of the historical time period and the Irish setting. The downside is that it is so derivative of Downton Abbey as to feel absolutely predictable. It is strange that the author chose to set it around WWI when the Irish famine occurred before that and Irish independence 20 years after. Either of these other time periods would have been more interesting and made the book feel less like a cliché.

You'll like this if you like historical fiction set in the years before WWI- and this one has a terrific Irish setting as well. I loved the details of Rosie's life and how Falvey gave us insight into the fate of girls in Ireland during this period. Victoria is also highly sympathetic (this could jade gone wrong but it didn't). Falvey has good old fashioned story telling skills- especially important since this is a theme we've often seen (think Upstairs/Downstairs or Downtown Abbey). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC- I very much enjoyed this and think you will too.

I love Patricia Flavey's two other books, in fact they're some of my favorite books of all time. However, this one isn't quite as good as The Yellow House or the Linen Queen. However, if you liked those two books, I'm sure you'll like The Girls of Ennismore. It definitely is Downton Abbey inspired, and sometimes a little too similar. But not for most of the book I guess. It is predictable at times, but that didn't stop me from liking it because I don't really read historical fiction/romance for plot twists. But overall I really loved this book. It was hard to put down towards the end, although I wish it would've gone on just a little longer and explored more of the story. I will probably read it again.

If you are a fan of Downton Abby, you will like this book. It is historical fiction at its best and takes place in Ireland at the dawn of World War I. Lots of details about the beginning of the Irish Revolution and the Issue of Home Rule. The book starts in the manor house and details the friendships and relationships between the servants and the Earl's family. These relationships develop thorugh this novel.

I enjoyed this book, but it took me awhile to get into it. I almost stopped reading when (spoiler alert) the Titanic was brought into the story. I actually stopped reading and said, "Really?". I kept with it and it turned into a really good story. The story went from predictable, to not so predictable and then it was just plain good. Stick with it, it turns into a good read.

It felt like an Irish cousin to Downton Abbey! For me that was good because I had lots of visuals to draw from. I enjoyed the story lines delving into the class differences between the Gentry and the peasants/poor villagers and the forbidden relationships between the two that were bound to develop just due to human nature.

I typically read the one star reviews before making a purchase, but unfortunately skipped it this time. I agree with all of the other reviewers who gave this book 1 star (go read those!). I will add that the narration on the audio book is equally atrocious. I totally enjoy it when a narrator reads the book assuming different voices for each character, but when an American accented reader tries haphazardly to use an Irish accent for some, but not all, of the characters (oh, and some get English accents), it's just too hard to listen to. Sorry, Alana Kerr Collins...you got some very bad direction on this one.

The book moves along predictably with events of that time and place in history. BUT, the characters & coincidences of them are within a hairs breadth of the Downton Abbey characters. Toward the end, this made me uneasy as if I was reading a twin narrative that bordered precariously on plaggerism.

Wonderful, captivating story, great characters in very vividly described scenes and settings, set during an interesting time in Irish/world history. Would make a fabulous movie!
I love the authors' style and will definitely read more from her. Highly recommended.

I love books about Irish history and this is a new one to add to my shelf. I thought that it was well written and historically accurate in its time span from the early 1900's until the beginning of WWI. The author wove a great story line around the historical events of the time. I recommend this one for anyone who enjoys Irish history.

Being part Irish myself I was happy to read this story myself which portrayed both the domestic life and political turmoil which occurred as the poor who lived in Ireland struggled to gain freedom from the ruling class.

Thank you to net galley for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the story of Victoria and Rosie, who become best friends even though they came from different worlds. Victoria is a member of the gentry and Rosie is a member of the working class. Victoria convinces her father to let Rosie visit the "big house" so she can have a friend. Things are fine until Victoria is old enough for her "coming out." Rosie also develops feelings for Victoria's brother, Valentine. This is the fascinating story of how Victoria and Rosie manage to stay friends. There is a lot of problems along the way, but their strong friendship helps them survive. This book contains everything-history, friendship, love and a little "Downton Abbey." I loved it! Highly recommend!

I love "period" stories (i.e. The Clifton Chronicles) and this book just captivated me. Great characters, interesting story lines and another did not want to put it down! Books in which one can immerse oneself in the tale and troubles of so many different personalities is rare these days. Possible spoiler alert: I had so hoped this would be the first of a series and was looking forward to following the younger ones, but alas, no series. I totally recommend this book for pure reading pleasure.