The Secrets of Roscarbury Hall

Posted on 26 January 2018 by Ann O'Loughlin

Sisters Ella and Roberta O Callaghan haven t spoken for decades, torn apart by a dark family secret from their past They both still live in the family s crumbling Irish mansion, communicating only through the terse and bitter notes they leave for each other in the hallway But when their way of life is suddenly threatened by bankruptcy, Ella tries to save their home by opening a caf in the ballroom much to Roberta s disgust.As the caf begin to thrive, the sisters are drawn into a new battle when Debbie, an American woman searching for her birth mother, starts working at the Ballroom Caf Debbie has little time left but as she sets out to discover who she really is and what happened to her mother, she is met by silence and lies at the local convent Determined to discover the truth, she begins to uncover an adoption scandal that will rock both the community and the warring sisters.Powerful and poignant, The Secrets of Roscarbury Hall is a moving story of love lost and found. Free Read The Secrets of Roscarbury Hall [ By ] Ann O'Loughlin [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr Ireland Rathsorney And on the outskirts, down Arklow Road, Roscarbury Hall The place of history, of safety, of promise For Peter O Doherty, the bank manager, the tumbledown house and its occupants was a small, silly aggravation in his busy day It was a sight to behold Long neglected Empty looking dirty windows covered in thick layers of grime the wisteria out of control the brass knocker on the front door covered in decades of blown dust built up, obscured in layers and layers of dried Ireland Rathsorney And on the outskirts, down Arklow Road, Roscarbury Hall The place of history, of safety, of promise For Peter O Doherty, the bank manager, the tumbledown house and its occupants was a small, silly aggravation in his busy day It was a sight to behold Long neglected Empty looking dirty windows covered in thick layers of grime the wisteria out of control the brass knocker on the front door covered in decades of blown dust built up, obscured in layers and layers of dried up paint the corners of the threshold held clouds of cobwebs with dried leaves stuck in it The front door was not opened in decades But for Ella and Roberta O Callaghan it was their life giving mainstayChapter 1What did he care about Roscarbury, how the old house folded around them...3.5 starsTwo estranged, elderly sisters, a well worn period home that is in need of major renovation and a lifetime of secrets A recipe for historical fiction But, along with these storylines, there is the added tale of forced and hidden adoption in Ireland going back decades It may sound like fiction, but unfortunately, it s based on true life Author Ann O Loughlin has written about a formerly taboo subject that of the Catholic church supporting the adoption of babies to wealthy American f 3.5 starsTwo estranged, elderly sisters, a well worn period home that is in need of major renovation and a lifetime of secrets A recipe for historical fiction But, along with these storylines, there is the added tale of forced and hidden adoption in Ireland going back decades It may sound like fiction, but unfortunately, it s based on true life Author Ann O Loughlin has written about a formerly taboo subject that of the Catholic church supporting the adoption of babies to wealthy American families, without the full consent, or even knowledge in some cases, of the birth mothers The novel addresses the issue via the story of Debbie, an American who has come to Ireland in the hope of tracing her birth mother While there, she encounters Ella O Callaghan and agrees to help her wit...This is a moving and lovely story of two elderly sisters, Ella and Roberta who live in a run down Irish mansion and only communicate through notes, having not spoken to each other for decades Ella has no alternative but to open their home to the public as a cafe to try to raise money as the bank are threatening to take their home away.Throughout the book we learn the secrets of the sisters, the tragedies that have affected the O Callaghan family and why the sisters don t speak to each other This is a moving and lovely story of two elderly sisters, Ella and Roberta who live in a run down Irish mansion and only communicate through notes, having not spoken to each other for decades Ella has no alternative but to open their home to the public as a cafe to try to raise money as the bank are threatening to take their home away.Throughout the book we learn the secrets of the sisters, the tragedies that have affected the O Callaghan family and why the sisters don t speak to each other It is however the stories about the forced adoptions and the scandal involving the Catholic Church which makes this book stand out from the usual contemporary novels Based on true stories, my heart broke reading the pain and anguish these young women endured having their babies taken aw...Family secrets born of tragic lossAtmospheric doesn t begin to describe this novel Imagine A neglected and dilapidated manor house in County Wicklow, Ireland The owners are two elderly sisters They haven t spoken to each other in decades Though they share the house, they communicate only by terse notes left on the hall table They do not use each other s provisions They have one thing in common they both love Roscarbury Hall and wouldn t live anywhere else.The sisters beloved parent Family secrets born of tragic lossAtmospheric doesn t begin to describe this novel Imagine A neglected and dilapidated manor house in County Wicklow, Ireland The owners are two elderly sisters They haven t spoken to each other in decades Though they share the house, they communicate only by terse notes left on the hall table They do not use each other s provisions They have one thing in common they both love Roscarbury Hall and wouldn t live anywhere else.The sisters beloved parents, John and Bernie O Callaghan, died in a tragic accident when the girls were teenagers Theirs was a marriage of much love and affection Their father gifted their mother with a Weiss brooch every year on her birthday.Ella O Callaghan our protagonist is the elder sister She turned to the solace of the kitchen the night her mother and father died She married Michael Hannigan and had a daughter who died ...I took part in the blog tour for The Ballroom Cafe, Ann had written a guest post and shared a personal story about Weiss vintage brooches Having read the novel, those key moments when Ella unwraps different brooches are poignant and full of meaning The cafe at Roscarbury Hall is a place of gossip for the local women in the community Despite the negativity on the surface, when it s needed, the support is there for Ella and Debbie Ella knows just ho I took part in the blog tour for The Ballroom Cafe, Ann had written a guest post and shared a personal story about Weiss vintage brooches Having read the novel, those key moments when Ella unwraps different brooches are poignant and full of meaning The cafe at Roscarbury Hall is a place of gossip for the local women in the community Despite the negativity on the surface, when it s needed, the support is there for Ella and Debbie Ella knows just how to deal with the gossip and I have to say I identified with her from the beginning I loved her no nonsense attitude She has strength and purpose and is the first person to offer empathy although underneath that facade she needs support herself I found it easy to become emotionally attached to her as her own story is revealed to the reader.Debbie s quest itself is something that happened to many and reminds me of Philomena Lee s search We re taken back to Debbie s own childhood to get a glimpse into how it was for her gro...If it had been possible to give this book zero stars I would have Talk about lets jump on the cake shop bandwagon chuck in a bit of Philomena The book came across to me as not so much subtle plot twists as someone making it up as they went along not very successfully as it clunked wearily throughout most cliches nuns orphans , adoption Characters were not very well drawn, came across as bad then good then bad again Never heard so much mention of rills that might possibly fill wi If it had been possible to give this book zero stars I would have Talk about lets jump on the cake shop bandwagon chuck in a bit of Philomena The book came across to me as not so much subtle plot twists as someone making it up as they went along not very successfully as it clunked wearily throughout most cliches nuns orphans , adoption Characters were not very well drawn, came across as bad t...Notes, secrets and sisters combine to make The Ballroom Cafe one of the best reads for me this year Once started I could not put Ann O Loughlin s book down.The blurb tells you everything you need to know about this absorbing tale so I have little to add about the story, but I will say that a web of intrique is woven within this novel and every page is written with such brilliance that I read it in one sitting My life was on hold for the day.This tragic and profound read is both emotional and c Notes, secrets and sisters combine to make The Ballroom Cafe one of the best reads for me this year Once started I could not put Ann O Loughlin s book down.The blurb tells you everything you need to know about this absorbing tale so I have little to add about the story, but I will say that a web of intrique is woven within this novel and every page is written with such brilliance that I read it in one sitting My life was on hold for the day.This tragic and profound read is...The Secrets of Roscarbury Hall is historical fiction based on the scandal that rocked Ireland and the Catholic church Debbie is an American who finds out too late that she was adopted from Irelandlittle does she know that her quest to find her birth mother would create a whirlwind of investigations, heartbreaks, frenzy and the growth of a beautiful friendship Ella has lived in Roscarbury Hall all her life and now it s just her and her sister, Roberta neither has spoken to the other for de The Secrets of Roscarbury Hall is historical fiction based on the scandal that rocked Ireland and the Catholic church Debbie is an American who finds out too late that she was adopted from Irelandlittle does she know that her quest to find her birth mother would create a whirlwind of investigations, heartbreaks, frenzy and the growth of a beautiful friendship Ella has lived in Roscarbury Hall all her life and now it s just her and her sister, Roberta neither has spoken to the other...Life in all its shadesThe story deals with complex and heart rending issues The writing flows well, the characters believable Although I could imagine myself in Roscarberry Hall and gardens I didn t understand how so many villagers would visit so regularly I also don t understand why I wasn tmoved by the emotional dramas, I see that some reviewers said they wept, there is plenty to weep about and I wonder if some of that directness was lost for me because I was listening on audio Very Life in all its shadesThe story deals with complex and heart rending issues The writing flows well, the characters believable Although I could imagine myself in Roscarberry Hall and gardens I didn t understand how so many villagers would visit so regularly I also don t understand why I wasn tmoved by the emotional dramas, I see that some reviewers said they wept, there is plenty to weep about and I wonder if some of that directness was lost for me because ...This was an okay read, pleasant, a story that kept me turning pages, though it didn t set me alight Sometimes though, that s exactly what you need, and this did it for me I d call it a beach read or a good one for when you can t sleep don ...I enjoyed reading this for the most part, but its not a book I would choose to re read Some of the events are very disturbing and I was left feeling profoundly sad at the end However, this is a powerful story, if you don t mind dark themes.The Secrets of Roscarbury Hall by Ann O Loughlin4.5 sWhat s It About n a crumbling mansion in a small Irish village in County Wicklow, two elderly sisters, Ella and Roberta O Callaghan, live alone in Roscarbury Hall with their secrets, memories, and mutual hatred Long estranged by a dark family tragedy, the two communicate only by terse notes But when the sisters are threatened with bankruptcy, Ella defies Roberta s wishes and takes matters into her own hands, putting her baking skills to goo The Secrets of Roscarbury Hall by Ann O Loughlin4.5 sWhat s It About n a crumbling mansion in a small Irish village in County Wicklow, two elderly sisters, Ella and Roberta O Callaghan, live alone in Roscarbury Hall with their secrets, memories, and mutual hatred Long estranged by a dark family tragedy, the two communicate only by terse notes But when the sisters are threatened with bankruptcy, Ella defies Roberta s wishes and takes matters into her own hands, putting her baking skills to good use and converting the mansion s old ballroom into a caf.Much to Roberta s displeasure, the caf is a hit and the sisters are reluctantly drawn back into the village life they abandoned decades ago But gossip has a long life, and Ella finds herself reliving painful memories when Debbie, an American woman searching for her birth mother, begins working at the caf As the local convent comes under scrutiny, the O Callaghan sisters find ...Good subject that would have profited gettinginto depth with Good chick lit, but had potential to be .

English
26 January 2018

Ann O'Loughlin