The Irish Boarding House: Completely heart-warming Irish historical fiction

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This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from Bookouture via NetGalley. The author has a way of making the reader realize how good we have it today compared to a century ago. It seemed as though every renter was troubled, had a secret to hide, or a past they were running from. I loved that yes there was still a slight bitterness towards her mother abandoning her but that she took the money and was determined to do good with it.

The Irish Boarding House, by Sandy Taylor - loopyloulaura

Set in Dublin in the 1950s, it was peopled with mostly Catholic women – women who had faced adversity of one kind or another. Suddenly, she inherits a large sum of money, which changes her life and a lot of other people besides.

Well, what can I say it was just such a lovely read from start to finish and I found myself nearing the end before I knew it which is a good sign and shows that I didn’t find the plot dull or that it was a trial to get through as there wasn’t much happening. I’ve often found that people who grow up with very little are the very ones who have gained the most from what life has to offer.

The Irish Boarding House | Sandy Taylor | 9781803140827 The Irish Boarding House | Sandy Taylor | 9781803140827

I fell in love with this book as soon as I started reading it… I loved all the characters, especially Olive. One might say her previous suffering shaped her heart in ways that proved immensely useful when she inherited a large sum of money. I was utterly enthralled by this book and although at times it made me cry there were also some laugh out loud moments. She never made a rash judgement regarding individual women’s situations instead she offered a place of refuge and security and the women she takes her under her wing appreciated her all the more for it.

The Joyce family, particularly Joyce and his father, were supporters of Irish Home Rule, a campaign for Ireland to govern itself, as championed by the Irish political leader Charles Stewart Parnell.

The Irish Boarding House by Sandy Taylor | Waterstones

She became like the matriarch to whom they all turned to for advice and it wasn’t just a case that the residents were renting a room and going off to work each day, it was as if they were walking into a new family and whatever troubles or worries that had would be dealt with in a kind, compassionate and loving way no matter how big or small they were. Leaving school at fifteen, Sandy worked in a series of factories before landing a job at Butlins in Minehead. Also why was she asked to set up a box number having been told you never know you may send you a letter. Mary Kate Ryan receives a surprise inheritance from the woman who abandoned her as a tiny baby and finds herself a wealthy woman.

Provided there had been no inconvenient results there would have been no reason at all for her to tell her mother anything and she certainly wouldn’t have done. Suddenly she is catapulted into wealth and decides to open a boarding house with a caring ethos which attracts women in need. This career change led her to becoming a singer, a stand up comic and eventually a playwright and novelist.