The Element of Fire - Hardcover

Graham, Brendan

3.48

97 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 000225977X ISBN 13: 9780002259774

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2001

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The sequel to the highly-acclaimed The Whitest Flower.

Boston in the 1850s is the hub of the universe: gateway to America’s temples of commerce and learning; liberal, sophisticated – the very best place in all of the New World for a woman to be. There, awaiting Ellen, are the stability of a new life and Lavelle, the man who loves her.

But Ellen, desperate to shake off the Old World, is driven by her own demons to put everything at risk. And Boston, on the brink of Civil War, seems only to mirror her own conflict, to sound the knell of her own battle for survival.

A powerful and compelling tale of lives and loves dislocated, The Element of Fire captures emotions as timeless as life. And love.

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Review:

Reviews for The Whitest Flower:

‘Irish history is like a gold seam for historical novelists. Occasionally a nugget is produced and Graham’s is one of those.’ Ireland on Sunday

‘A remarkable and emotional odyssey which uses the great Irish Famine and the subsequent diaspora as the subject matter for a novel of immense potency.’ Irish Post

‘This huge sweep of a novel will whisk you from Ireland to Australia and Canada.’ Woman’s Realm

‘This is truly an extraordinary book, an epic in the true sense. Ellen Rua, the central character, is clearly discernible, through her struggles, her journeys, her ultimate overcoming of her sufferings, as the personification of Ireland. She is the keeper of its culture, its music and language, its spirituality. She is its voice, even when the impossible choices which faced people at the time force her to be complicit in the destruction of her own language... Ellen is the quest for Ireland’s spiritual soul tossed between the old and the new religions. She is also the resurrection of the new Ireland rising out of starvation and disease, the embodiment of the hope that kept our people going.’ An Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, T.D.

About the Author:

Brendan Graham’s, You Raise Me Up (music by Rolf Lovland), is a song which has become a global phenomenon, touching the hearts and minds of people the world over. With over one thousand recordings in forty languages it has amassed 100 million sales and one billion internet views. Apart from its commercial success, You Raise Me Up, has become a worldwide anthem of celebration, commemoration and inspiration, crossing boundaries of culture, creed and country.

Both his musical and narrative work has demonstrated the ability to touch the nerve of humanity, to inspire and to give hope. His self-narrated essays for RTE Radio’s Sunday Miscellany have evoked similar reactions, while the RTE Radio documentary, Fumbling for the Light, explored these aspects of his life and writings.

Renowned for the spiritual and historical dimensions to his work, his songs and stories continue to travel, far beyond the door of his home in the remote mountains and lakes of County Mayo, where he lives.

The Whitest Flower trilogy of documentary novels span the mid-part of 19th Century Ireland and tell the story of the Irish diaspora in America, Canada and Australia.

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